Bordeaux (France)

Bordeaux is a Gironde River cruise port and a large city in France's Gironde department (Nouvelle-Aquitaine region). By population (town-proper around 250,000, urban ~760,000, metro around 1,2 million /with the suburbs and satellite towns) it is ranked country's 6th-largest (after Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille).

Port Bordeaux is located inland from France's Atlantic coast and along the Gironde Estuary (river's moth). The city and the entire region is best-known for its premium-quality wines. The new city was planned with large squares, wide streets and imposing buildings, while Vieille Ville (Old Town) features wooden buildings and narrow, crooked streets. Tourist attractions include several renowned art museums, Porte de Bourgogne (18th-century gate), St Andre Cathedral (early-11th-century), Sainte Croix Church (12th-century Romanesque basilica), Hotel de Ville (City Hall).

Excursions outside the city include Arcachon, Medoc's vineyards, Saint Emilion. During the 12th century, King Louis VI's son married Eleanor, daughter to Duke William of Aquitaine. The dowry included France's southwestern portion. However, 15 years later, the marriage was dissolved, the dowry returned. Eleanor married the Duke of Normandy, who was crowned Henry II (1133-1189, King of England between 1154-89). The following 3 centuries were filled with conflicts between France and England. In the final battle of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453), Bordeaux was won back for France. During the French Revolution (1789-99), in Bordeaux was formed the group of the Girondins, which members in 1773 were accused of conspiracy against the revolution and all executed/guillotined.

In mid-2017, Port Bordeaux introduced a new cruise ship garbage collection system for all berthed vessels. The ship's garbage is now offloaded on a river barge and shipped upstream Garonne River to a waste processing plant. The new system replaced the previous garbage trucks, which resulted in less noise and pollution, as well as in easier and safer for the crew garbage handling, regardless of tide levels. The new system was implemented for both ocean and river cruises.

In late 2018 were completed the works on matching the powerlines height to the city's bridges. Bordeaux' largest bridges (Pont d'Aquitaine, Pont Bacalan-Bastide) now have air draft/clearance 53 m (174 ft) allowing upriver navigation for larger ships. Downtown's berths have capacity to dock vessels with LOA length up to 262 m (860 ft).

In 2019, Port Bordeaux had scheduled 57 cruise ship calls (berth bookings) with estimated ~45,000 passengers. ~90% of all visits are with overnights. At season's end were reported 54 handled ships with ~40,000 tourists, or 21% increase over 2018.

Bordeaux cruise terminal