Bordeaux is not only the name of a worldwide, high-quality wine terroir, it has long been the center city of the countryside of France. A magnificent place founded in the third century B.C., Bordeaux boasts several golden periods of development, including its meteoric rise in the eighteenth century as the country s center for the arts. More recently, the city s great mayor, Alain Juppe, has driven its resurgence as one of the most contemporary and enjoyable cities in Europe a city synonymous with arts, culture, and business growth. Today, more and more English speakers flock to this cosmopolitan locale, choosing to become part of its story and its way of life. Here, Anne Garde, a well-known artist and photographer, reveals the personality of this great city of change, while writer Laure Verniere evokes the spirit of the city, past and present.