Department profile: Gironde

In Gironde, the Atlantic Ocean encounters the Garonne and Dordogne rivers. On this land, where the Bordeaux vineyards have been blossoming for centuries, the architecture shows signs of a prestigious past and today alternates with nature waiting to be discovered.

With a surface area of 10,000 km2, Gironde is France's biggest département. Its capital, Bordeaux, is also capital of Aquitaine. To the west there is the Atlantic Ocean and its 126 kilometres of coastline and beaches, from Soulac to Arcachon, via Lacanau. Then comes the immense forest protected by the dunes: 480,000 hectares of maritime pine trees, making Gironde the part of France with the greatest area of woodland.

Further inland, you will still find plenty of water, with 3500 km of rivers including 400 km of inland waterways: the Dordogne and the Garonne, as well as Hourtin and Carcans lakes and the Etang Cousseau, one of Gironde's many natural areas. The Gironde Estuary begins at the headland of Ambès and runs into the ocean between the Pointe de Grave and Royan. It is the biggest estuary in Europe (75 km long and 12 km wide) and the last refuge of the sturgeon, a species currently being reintroduced into the river.

And of course there is the world's most famous wine region with vineyards that seem to go on forever. Both the basis for the local economy and a genuine art de vivre, the wine region includes 57 Appellations d’Origine Contrôlées.

The Girondin people have a rich history, with medieval wars and the Enlightenment, illustrious writers and ancestral vine-growing techniques. During the wars of the 20th century, Bordeaux provided a refuge for the French governments. All this history is what makes up the Gironde heritage.

Nowadays in Gironde, people cultivate a taste for the good things in life. The economic fabric is diversified; agriculture, high technologies, aeronautics and tourism all cohabit and reap the benefits of the European and international commercial centre point that is Bordeaux.

Gironde is all this and much more. The region is naturally welcoming - a place where it is pleasant to live and to visit. You are spoilt for choice: you can walk along the 2750 kilometres of hiking paths, cycle around the 1000 kilometres of signposted cycling tracks, enjoy the landscape via river and green tourism, discover the history of the region by seeing the 205 classified monuments and 453 listed monuments, or do some wine-tasting on visits to châteaux.