Famous World Heritage Sites

“Take Versailles and add Antwerp, and you have Bordeaux”.
That’s how Victor Hugo described the city, struck as he was by the majesty of its 18th-century buildings and by the broad sweep of the Garonne River.

On 28 June 2007, Unesco inscribed Bordeaux, The Port of the Moon, on the World Heritage List as an “Outstanding Townscape”.

Bordeaux is the largest urban complex to be recognized in this way. No less than 1810 hectares are entered on the list, out of the 4,455 hectares that make up the metropolitan area. The Unesco inscription gives global recognition of our city in terms of its architectural integrity and its value as a heritage site. Bordeaux is remarkable for its cohesive statement of an integrated urban vision, expressed through its classical and neo-classical buildings, a development which has continued without a break for over two centuries.

Two other Unesco sites within the confines of the department of the Gironde are Saint-Emilion, with its monolithic church hollowed out from a cliff ; and the Citadel at Blaye, brainchild of Louis XIV’s master architect Vauban.