Historic Cities · France
Bordeaux through the ages
Bordeaux is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called "Bordelais" (masculine) or "Bordelaises" (feminine). The term "Bordelais" may also refer to the city and its surrounding region.
Bordeaux in 1360
English Bordeaux
This is Bordeaux at the height of English rule in Gascony, when the city supplies claret and wine casks sail under English bills of lading. The walk follows the river crescent, the busy quays and the cathedral quarter, passing pilgrims, port workers, merchants and the palace by the water.
A low, crenellated skyline of stone towers, church spires and wooden hoardings sits on a broad horseshoe bend of the Garonne. Roofs are tile and thatch, streets are narrow and paved unevenly, quays are cluttered with barrels and plank ramps, and pale limestone facades rise above timber shops. Autumn light is cool and the river's tide defines the city's life and colour.
The walk — 22 streets, squares and views
Vineyards Outside Bordeaux → Road and City Ramparts → Garonne Bend from Afar → Palais de l'Ombrière → Quays of the Garonne → Wine Warehouses → The Autumn Wine Fleet → Port Market at Low Tide → Sailors' Stairs → Saint-Seurin Basilica → …
Step inside — 13 interiors
Prince's Great Hall · Prince's Private Audience Chamber · Cellar of New Claret · Ship's Wine Hold · Coopers' Workshop · Pilgrim Nave · Pilgrim Dormitory · Cathedral Nave · Choir and High Altar · Bell Chamber · Tanners' Wet Loft · Merchant Market Hall · Cask Loft
Planned from the Wikipedia record: Bordeaux.
Bordeaux in 1780
Golden-age Bordeaux
Bordeaux in 1780 is at the peak of its maritime prosperity, its honey-coloured stone façades and newly ordered boulevards the visible signs of vast transatlantic trade. This walk traces the river quays, the warehouses of the Chartrons, the new theatre and the intendants' promenades, ending atop Pey-Berland for a wide view of sails, carts and the city’s curved riverfront.
A crescent of honey-coloured limestone façades runs along the Garonne, their unified plane punctuated by classical colonnades and narrow medieval towers. Low-slung negociant warehouses and chianti-coloured chai roofs back onto broad stone quays crowded with masts, canvas and barrel staves. Sunlight off the Atlantic brings a clear, slightly salty brightness; streets are wide where Tourny rebuilt them and still narrow and patched in the old market quarters.
The walk — 23 streets, squares and views
Lormont Hill → Garonne Ferry Crossing → Quai des Chartrons → Chartrons Warehouses → Rue Notre-Dame (Chartrons) → Landing at La Barre → Place Royale → The River Quays → Bourse Riverside Façade → Place de la Comédie → …
Step inside — 13 interiors
Negociant's Wine Chai · Riverside Merchant Salon · Customs Counting Room · Trading Hall · Coffeehouse Parlour · Horseshoe Auditorium · Marble Grand Staircase · Panelled Mercantile Salon · Gatehouse Guardroom · Covered Market Hall · Archbishop's Stair Hall · Upper Gallery · Great Nave and Choir
Planned from the Wikipedia record: Bordeaux.
.jpg?width=640)
