Region: Aquitaine
Population: 242,945
City ambassadors: Alain Giresse (former French international), Emmanuelle Grizot (ballet dancer)

Bordeaux, the capital of the Aquitaine region, is world-renowned for its wine. The Romans planted the first vineyards over 2,000 years ago and the area around Bordeaux is now a major wine-producing region as a result of its maritime climate and calcium-rich soils. Producing some 800m bottles a year and with sales topping €3bn, Bordeaux is a serious contender for the title of the world capital of wine.

Bordeaux is equally famous for its classical and neoclassical architecture that has remained practically unchanged for 200 years. While Bordeaux has more listed buildings than any other French city outside Paris, it is still a lively town which retains major trading links as a result of its strategic position on the banks of the Garonne. A 2013 survey concluded that outside Paris, French people considered Bordeaux the best place to live.

What to See

•  Place de la Bourse

Place de la Bourse is one of the most recognizable sights of Bordeaux. Its architect was Ange-Jacques Gabriel. It was built from 1730 to 1775

•  Grand Theatre de Bordeaux

Grand Theatre de Bordeaux, is a theatre in Bordeaux, France, first inaugurated on 17 April 1780. It was in this theatre that the ballet La Fille Mal Gardee premiered in 1789, and where a young Marius Petipa staged some of his first ballets.

Transport

As the economic capital of south-west France, Bordeaux has always been a strategic city for travelers. The city stands at the crossroads of major north/south routes and on the western European arc of development.

The Bordeaux-Merignac airport has scheduled connections to 32 cities (and over 60 charter destinations), linking to all the main regions in France and major European cities, as well as 24 long-haul destinations. Approximately 20 flights a day leave for Paris.

Just ten minutes from the city's historic centre by tram, the Bordeaux Saint Jean railway station is the largest in the Aquitaine region. This busy hub turns around some 260 trains a day, with 25 to and from Paris, five to Charles de Gaulle airport, six to Lille and three high-speed TGV trains to and from Strasbourg.

Bordeaux's port is also growing and is the second largest on the Atlantic coast. Cruise ships and pleasure boats can dock in the heart of the city at the renowned Port de la Lune, whether for brief visits or longer stays.

Distances to other UEFA EURO 2016 venues
Toulouse – 245km
Saint-Etienne – 540km
Lyon – 555km
Paris – 590km
Saint-Denis – 600km
Marseille – 650km
Lens – 790km
Lille – 805km
Nice – 810km

Football

Established in 1881 as a multi-sports club, FC Girondins de Bordeaux turned their full attention to football in 1920 and turned professional in 1937. The Spanish Civil War and the construction of Parc Lescure for the 1938 FIFA World Cup resulted in the club taking a major step forward. The Basque 'sorcerer' Benito Diaz became the team manager and brought in Spanish refugees such as Santiago Urtizberea. Bordeaux won their first French Cup in 1941 and were finalists in 1943, yet had to wait until 1950, with players such as De Harder, Gallice and Swiatek, to lift their first French league title.

Over the next 20 years, the Girondins experienced highs and lows but could not win the league again. They reached the French Cup final five times – losing on each occasion. However, in the 1980s Bordeaux became a powerhouse of French and European football. Their president Claude Bez exuded great energy and, in a masterstroke, brought in Aime Jacquet as manager.

Bordeaux would be the club of the decade, winning the championship (1984, 1985, 1987) and French Cup (1986, 1987) as well as getting to two European semi-finals. But after eight seasons in charge, Jacquet's departure in 1989 heralded a decline. Financial troubles led to relegation in 1991. Just a year later, in 1992, Zinedine Zidane arrived from AS Cannes. Together with Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, he helped propel Bordeaux to the 1996 UEFA Cup final, knocking out AC Milan in the quarter-final.

Jean-Louis Triaud's accession to the presidency prefaced the league title triumph of 1999 followed by three League Cups (2002, 2007, 2009). With Laurent Blanc in the dugout, the team achieved a historic League Cup/Ligue 1 double in 2009. Then in 2013, after a wait of 26 years, Bordeaux again lifted the French Cup. Willy Sagnol's appointment as coach in summer 2014 signalled a new era, along with the prospect of a move to a new stadium (due for completion in May 2015).

 

UEFA capacity: 42,000
Tenants: FC Girondins de Bordeaux
Opened: May 2015

Stade Matmut Atlantique, previously also known as Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, is the recently opened new stadium of Girondins de Bordeaux and one of the playing venues of the Euro 2016 Championships. It replaced Bordeaux’s old stadium Stade Chaban-Delmas.

In 2015, a naming rights deal was announced with insurance firm Matmut, resulting in the name Matmut Atlantique.

Stade Matmut Atlantique officially opened on 23 May 2015 with a league match between Bordeaux and Montpellier (2-1), and hosted its first international match on 7 September of the same year when France beat Serbia 2-1 in a friendly.

During Euro 2016, Matmut Atlantique will host four first round group matches and one quarter final. The stadium will be referred to as Stade de Bordeaux as no sponsorship names are permitte.

UEFA EURO 2016 matches

Group stage
11/06/16, 18.00: Wales v Slovakia
14/06/16, 18.00: Austria v Hungary
18/06/16, 15.00: Belgium v Republic of Ireland
21/06/16, 21.00: Croatia v Spain

Quarter-finals
02/07/16, 21.00: W41 v W43