A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called " Bordelais " masculine or " Bordelaises " feminine. The term "Bordelais" may also refer to the city and its surrounding region. The city of Bordeaux proper had a population of , in within its small municipal territory of 49 km 2 19 sq mi , [ 8 ] but together with its suburbs and exurbs the Bordeaux metropolitan area had a population of 1,, that same year Jan.
Bordeaux and 27 suburban municipalities form the Bordeaux Metropolis , an indirectly elected metropolitan authority now in charge of wider metropolitan issues. The Bordeaux Metropolis, with a population of , at the January census, [ 9 ] is the fifth most populated metropolitan council in France after those of Paris , Marseille , Lyon and Lille. Bordeaux is also one of the centers of gastronomy [ 11 ] and business tourism for the organization of international congresses.
It is a central and strategic hub for the aeronautics, military and space sector, home to major companies such as Dassault Aviation , ArianeGroup , Safran and Thales.
The link with aviation dates back to , the year the first airplane flew over the city. A crossroads of knowledge through university research, it is home to one of the only two megajoule lasers in the world, as well as a university population of more than , students within the Bordeaux Metropolis. Bordeaux is an international tourist destination for its architectural and cultural heritage with more than historic monuments , [ 13 ] making it, after Paris, the city with the most listed or registered monuments in France.
The "Pearl of Aquitaine" has been voted European Destination of the year in a online poll. Around BC, the region was the settlement of a Celtic tribe , the Bituriges Vivisci , who named the town Burdigala , probably of Aquitanian origin. The Romans were defeated and their commander, the consul Lucius Cassius Longinus , was killed in battle. The city came under Roman rule around 60 BC, and it became an important commercial centre for tin and lead.
