Above: The Place de la Bourse, designed by King Louis XV’s architect, Ange-Jacques Gabriel, in the 1700s

The French call Bordeaux “the pearl of the Aquitaine,” and few places in the world enjoy a more accurate sobriquet than this elegant city on the Gironde Estuary in southwestern France. Arguably the capital of the global wine trade, Bordeaux hosts the world’s most prestigious annual wine fair, Vinexpo, and has an annual regional turnover from the wine business of nearly $16 billion.

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Above: The Place de la Bourse, designed by King Louis XV’s architect, Ange-Jacques Gabriel, in the 1700s

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