Gironde, Aquitaine

Gironde, land of Bordeaux, land of evasion, land of culture, land of adventure and land of festivals.

The Gironde is a beautiful and calm place to live in with vast natural stretches of land. The art of eating and drinking flourishes here like nowhere else.

The department enjoys the second highest level of sunshine in France!

It is well known for the Côte d'Argent beach which is Europe's longest, attracting many surfers to Lacanau each year. The coastline certainly inspired Jacques-Yves Cousteau who was born here.

Renounded around the world for its wine the Bordeaux region is naturally divided by the Gironde River into a Left Bank area which includes the Médoc and the subregions of St-Estèphe, Pauillac, St.-Julien, and Margaux and a Right Bank area which includes the subregions of Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Bourg and Blaye. Additional wine regions include the area of Graves which is south east of the Médoc and includes the sub regions of Pessac-Léognan, Sauternes and Barsac.

Across from the Graves, on the Right Bank, is the Entre-Deux-Mers area between the Gironde and Dordogne rivers. All of these regions have their own appellation and Appellation d'origine contrôlée laws which dictate the composition of their vineyards, time of harvest and appropriate yields as well as various winemaking techniques.

Communications include extensive air links, TGV lines and easy road access to the rest of France and Spain.