Ranked the world’s most “trendy” city in 2017 by Lonely Planet, Bordeaux, a sunny city in southwestern France known for its wine, relaxed lifestyle, and proximity to the ocean (60 kilometers from the Atlantic and the Dune du Pyla, Europe’s highest sand dune at 105 meters), has something to charm both visitors looking for a change of scenery and locals seeking authenticity.

With 130,000 students, four universities, four university technology institutes, 12 engineering schools, nine business schools, two art schools, and an institute of political studies, Bordeaux is France’s sixth largest student city. The city offers an ideal environment for studying and is very dynamic in terms of research (3,000 teacher-researchers and 115 laboratories).

The pleasant climate combined with the city’s various parks (Jardin Public, Parc Bordelais, etc.), which serve as veritable “green lungs,” give the metropolis an exceptional living environment that extends to its surrounding areas: the Médoc, the Entre-deux-Mers, and the Arcachon basin.

But it is above all to its 119,000 hectares of vineyards and 60 appellations that Bordeaux owes its worldwide renown.

With a dynamic local ecosystem featuring four competitiveness clusters and a particularly well-developed business network (75,000 companies), Bordeaux is showing strong momentum in terms of employment. The craft industry in Bordeaux is booming (3,500 businesses), and the health and biotech sector is not far behind, representing 26,000 jobs. The tourism sector is also continuing to expand (nearly 7 million visitors in 2018), boosted by the city’s accessibility by train, plane, and car.