The Gironde is a department in south-west France, on the Atlantic coast, centred on the city of Bordeaux. It is the largest department in mainland (metropolitan) France, home to around 1.6 million people, and part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Most of the world knows it without realising: almost all Bordeaux wine is made here, and it also contains the Dune du Pilat, the Arcachon Bay and some 125 km of sandy ocean coastline.
Map of the Gironde
The outline below shows the department's borders. The coast runs almost dead straight from the Pointe de Grave in the north to the Arcachon Bay in the south; the Gironde estuary cuts in from the north-west, and the Garonne and Dordogne rivers divide the inland half into the "banks" that wine lovers talk about. Click a marker to jump to our guide for that place.
Department outline simplified from IGN / OpenStreetMap open data. Base map © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO.
Where is the Gironde?
Find Bordeaux on a map of France and you have found the Gironde. The department sits on the Bay of Biscay, about 500 km south-west of Paris (just over two hours by TGV), roughly 200 km north of the Spanish border and a long way from the Mediterranean. Its neighbours are:
- North: Charente-Maritime, across the Gironde estuary (Royan faces Le Verdon-sur-Mer).
- East: Charente and Dordogne.
- South-east: Lot-et-Garonne.
- South: Landes, with the pine forest running continuously across the border.
- West: the Atlantic Ocean.
That position explains a lot. The ocean gives a mild, damp oceanic climate; the rivers made Bordeaux a trading port for wine with England and northern Europe for centuries; and the sandy coastal plain behind the dunes became the vast planted forest of the Landes de Gascogne.
Key facts
| Type | Département (department) — not a region |
|---|---|
| Number / postcode prefix | 33 |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Aquitaine before the 2016 merger) |
| Prefecture | Bordeaux |
| Sub-prefectures | Arcachon, Blaye, Langon, Lesparre-Médoc, Libourne |
| Area | About 10,000 km² — the largest department in mainland France |
| Population | Around 1.6–1.7 million, roughly half in Bordeaux Métropole |
| Communes | 535 |
| Inhabitants | Girondins (m.) / Girondines (f.) |
| Created | 1790, one of the original departments of the French Revolution |
| Named after | The Gironde estuary |
| Coastline | Roughly 125 km of Atlantic beach (the Côte d'Argent), plus the shores of the Arcachon Bay |
| UNESCO World Heritage | Bordeaux (Port of the Moon), the Jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion, Vauban's fortifications at Blaye and Cussac-Fort-Médoc, the Cordouan lighthouse, and several monuments on the Routes of Santiago de Compostela |
Figures are rounded: population changes every year and area measurements vary slightly with the treatment of the estuary. For official statistics, INSEE publishes the legal population of every department and commune.
Department, region, or wine region?
The word "Gironde" gets used in three different ways, which is why people search for "Gironde region", "Gironde department" and "Gironde wine" interchangeably.
- The department. France is divided into regions, and regions into departments. The Gironde is one of the twelve departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the large south-western region whose capital is also Bordeaux. The department's elected council (the Conseil départemental) runs things like roads, secondary-school buildings and social services; the state is represented by the Préfet in Bordeaux. See our administration guide.
- The estuary. The Gironde is also a body of water: the 70-odd-kilometre estuary where the Garonne and Dordogne meet before reaching the ocean. It is often described as the largest estuary in western Europe. Read more in The Gironde Estuary.
- The wine region. The Bordeaux wine region covers almost the whole department — so "Gironde wine" and "Bordeaux wine" are, in practice, the same thing. The labels you'll see are the appellations within it: Médoc, Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Graves, Sauternes, Entre-Deux-Mers and dozens more.
The main areas at a glance
Locals divide the Gironde into a handful of "pays", each with its own landscape:
Bordeaux and the metropolis
The city of Bordeaux and the 27 other communes of Bordeaux Métropole form the urban heart of the department, with a tram network, the airport at Mérignac and the main railway station, Saint-Jean. The 18th-century centre is UNESCO-listed. Visit Bordeaux →
The Médoc
The long peninsula north-west of Bordeaux, between the estuary and the ocean. On the estuary side: the gravel ridges of Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe and their famous châteaux. On the ocean side: lakes, pine forest and surf beaches from Lacanau to Soulac. The Médoc wine route →
The Arcachon Bay and the Val de l'Eyre
A triangular tidal lagoon an hour west of Bordeaux, with Arcachon town, the oyster ports, Cap Ferret and the Dune du Pilat. Inland, the Leyre river winds through the forest of the Parc naturel régional des Landes de Gascogne. Arcachon Bay →
The Libournais (Right Bank)
East of Bordeaux around Libourne, on the right bank of the Dordogne: Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Fronsac and their satellites — Merlot country on limestone and clay. Saint-Émilion →
Entre-Deux-Mers
The rolling country "between two seas" — really between the Garonne and Dordogne rivers — with bastide towns, Romanesque churches, abbeys and family wine estates. Entre-Deux-Mers →
The Graves, Sauternais and the south
South of Bordeaux along the left bank of the Garonne: Pessac-Léognan and the Graves, the sweet-wine villages of Sauternes and Barsac, then Langon, Bazas and La Réole towards the Lot-et-Garonne. Sauternes & Barsac →
The Blayais and Bourgeais
The right bank of the estuary north of Bordeaux, with Vauban's citadel at Blaye, the Côtes de Bourg vineyards and the cliffs and caves along the water. Citadelle de Blaye →
Getting to the Gironde
- Train: high-speed TGV services link Paris Montparnasse and Bordeaux Saint-Jean in a little over two hours. Regional TER trains then run to Arcachon, Libourne, Langon, Pauillac and the Pointe de Grave.
- Air: Bordeaux-Mérignac airport has domestic and European flights; tram line A now reaches the airport.
- Road: the A10 comes from Paris and Poitiers, the A62 from Toulouse, the A63 from Spain and the A89 from Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand. The Bordeaux ring road (the rocade) is notoriously congested at rush hour.
- Getting around: see our transport guide for trams, regional coaches, trains and bikes, and our guide to the best time to visit.
A very short history
Bordeaux was Burdigala to the Romans, already trading wine. Through the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry Plantagenet in 1152, the area spent three centuries under the English crown, which built the claret trade with England; the Battle of Castillon in 1453, just over the department's eastern edge, ended English rule. The 18th century, fuelled by Atlantic and colonial trade, gave Bordeaux its classical stone façades. During the Revolution the department lent its name to the Girondins, the moderate political faction whose leaders came from Bordeaux. The 1855 classification of the Médoc and Sauternes wines, the planting of the Landes forest in the 19th century and the 20th-century growth of the Arcachon and Lacanau resorts shaped the Gironde visitors see today.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Gironde in France?
The Gironde is in southwest France, on the Atlantic coast, about 500 km south-west of Paris. It surrounds the city of Bordeaux and lies between the Charente-Maritime to the north and the Landes to the south.
Is the Gironde a region or a department?
The Gironde is a department (number 33), not a region. It is one of twelve departments in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, whose capital is also Bordeaux.
Is the Gironde part of Bordeaux?
It is the other way round: Bordeaux is part of the Gironde. Bordeaux is the department's prefecture (administrative capital) and its largest city, but the Gironde also includes the Médoc, the Arcachon Bay, Saint-Émilion, the Entre-Deux-Mers and hundreds of other communes.
Is the Gironde in the south of France?
It is in the south-west of France, on the Atlantic. When people say 'the south of France' they usually mean the Mediterranean coast (Provence, the Côte d'Azur, Occitanie), which is a different climate and coastline roughly 400 km to the south-east.
What does the name Gironde mean?
The department takes its name from the Gironde estuary, the wide tidal mouth formed where the Garonne and Dordogne rivers meet and flow into the Atlantic north of Bordeaux.
What is the Gironde best known for?
Bordeaux wine above all, plus the city of Bordeaux, the Dune du Pilat, Arcachon oysters, the surf beaches of the Atlantic coast, Saint-Émilion and the Landes pine forest.
How do you pronounce Gironde?
Roughly 'zhee-ROND', with a soft 'g' as in 'measure' and a nasal final vowel. People from the Gironde are called Girondins.
Gironde.org is an independent guide, not the website of the Département de la Gironde or of any tourist office. For official departmental services see gironde.fr; for state services, the Préfecture at gironde.gouv.fr.