Stone Faces of Bordeaux

The Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux occupies this building, a grand nineteenth century structure facing the Place de la Comédie. Its ground floor houses Le Bar à Vin, where the windows open directly onto the stone pavement.…

Twelve massive Corinthian columns support the portico of the Grand-Théâtre, topped by statues of nine muses and three goddesses. Victor Louis designed this structure in the seventeen seventies, stripping away the cramped, flammable wooden…

Rue de la Devise is a narrow, medieval-style street in the heart of Bordeaux, identifiable by the tall, limestone-faced buildings that crowd the path. During the eighteenth century, the street served as a bustling commercial artery,…

The Place du Parlement features a central fountain topped with a cast-iron lamp post, surrounded by facades from the eighteenth century. Merchants built these townhouses to display their wealth, carving mascarons—grotesque or beautiful…

The limestone buildings lining Rue Fernand Philippart wear a distinct, uniform gold hue, a hallmark of the stone quarried nearby in the eighteenth century. This street serves as the formal gateway to the Place de la Bourse, designed to…

The Place de la Bourse features a wide, horseshoe-shaped facade of cream-colored limestone that mirrors itself perfectly across the central fountain. King Louis the Fifteenth commissioned this plaza in the seventeen twenties to open up the…

Rue de la Rousselle runs through the heart of the old merchant quarter with a narrow, cobblestone profile that feels carved out of the city stone. In the eighteenth century, this street became a hub for wealthy traders who lined the way…