precious-postcards

Bordeaux, Port of the Moon

The Port of the Moon, port city of Bordeaux in south-west France, is inscribed as an inhabited historic city, an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble, created in the age of the Enlightenment, whose values continued up to the first half of the 20th century, with more protected buildings than any other French city except Paris. It is also recognized for its historic role as a place of exchange of cultural values over more than 2,000 years, particularly since the 12th century due to commercial links with Britain and the Low Lands. Urban plans and architectural ensembles of the early 18th century onwards place the city as an outstanding example of innovative classical and neoclassical trends and give it an exceptional urban and architectural unity and coherence. Its urban form represents the success of philosophers who wanted to make towns into melting pots of humanism, universality and culture.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1256

Bordeaux, Port of the Moon, encompasses the historic centre of Bordeaux as an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble created in the Age of Enlightenment. A bend in the river Garonne has created a natural harbour here, and because of its shape it's called Port of the Moon.

The most prominent examples of the period of Enlightenement, created from the 1730s, are:

- Place Royale (today Place de la Bourse)

- Allées de Tourny

- Place Dauphine (Gambetta nowadays), Place d'Aquitaine, Place de Bourgogne and Place Tourny

- public garden

- Grand Theatre

- Palais Rohan

- Place des Quinconces

Bordeaux has been a commercial centre for ages, primarily based on its wine export. It was founded as a Roman settlement in 56 B.C. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/bordeaux.html