BORDEAUX, one of the finest and wealthiest commercial cities of France, formerly the capital of Guienne and Bordelais, and now the chief town of the department of Gironde. It is situated 370 miles S.E. of Paris, in 44° 50' N. lat. and 0° 25 ’ W. long., on the left bank of the Garonne, about 60 or 70 miles from its mouth, and in the midst of an extensive plain which comprises the district of Médoc, well-known for its red wines. Opposite the town the river makes a semicircular curve, and widens out into an extensive basin, which serves as a harbour, and is lined with quays on both sides for a distance of three miles. Vessels of 800 tons can come up to the town, and ships of the greatest ordinary tonnage have depth enough as far as Pauillac, about 35 miles from the mouth of the river. The basin is crossed by a magnificent stone bridge of 17 arches, 1534 feet long, which was built in 1821, and remained in the hands of a company till 1861 when it was declared free. A short distance further up the river is spanned by a railway bridge. Few cities in Europe can show such a striking water-front as Bordeaux; and though the streets of the older part are narrow and mean, those of the newer portions are wide and well paved, and contain handsome houses and public buildings. The principal square is the Place des Quinconces, which is adorned with statues of Montaigne and Montesquieu. Among the ecclesiastical buildings the most important are the cathedral of Saint André, a fine Gothic structure with two spires 160 feet high; the church of Saint Michel, founded in 1160, and formerly remarkable for a spire 319 feet in height, destroyed by a storm in 1768; Saint Croix, probably in existence before the 7th century, restored in 1864-5; Saint Paul, built by the Jesuits in 1676; and the ...