Local Info

Facts about France

Currency: Euro

Population: 64 million

Head of state: President François Hollande

Varieties of cheese: more than 500

Border countries: Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, Switzerland

Annual alcohol consumption (per person over 15 years): wine 78.9L, beer 41L, cider 6.9L, spirits 9.1L

Inventions: braille, bikini, digital calculator, hot air balloon, scuba equipment, stethoscope, parachute, sewing machine, guillotine

Guinness World Record: Charles de Gaulle survived more assassination attempts (32) than anyone else in the world

Facts about Bordeaux

Population: 1.1 million

Time zone: GMT +1.

Bus:

Citram Aquitaine runs most buses to destinations in the Gironde and has an information kiosk (05 56 43 68 43; 1-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1.30pm & 5-8pm Sat) at esplanade des Quinconces.

Eurolines (05 56 92 50 42; 32 rue Charles Domercq; 7am-7.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-7pm Sat) faces the train station.

Car:

Rental companies have offices in both, the train station and the airport.

Train:

Bordeaux is one of France’s major rail transit points. The station, Gare St-Jean, is about 3km from the city centre at the southern terminus of cours de la Marne.

Air:

Bordeaux airport (05 56 34 50 50; www.bordeaux.aeroport.fr) is in Mérignac, 10km west of the city centre, with domestic and some international services. A taxi from the airport into town costs about €30.