France Autour de Bordeaux

Vintage French tourist map of the department of Gironde in southwestern France, with major focus on the city of Bordeaux. The map extends to show Angoulême in the north, Lourdes in the south, the western coast to the Atlantic Ocean in the west marking the coastal resorts of Arcachon and Biarritz, and east towards Périgueux, Bonagiul and Agen.

Across this graphic map, there are icons to denote the location of landmarks of historical interest, ancient dwellings, castles, ruins, grottoes, and pilgrimage sites, as well as vineyards for both red and white wine varieties, airfields, spas and seaside resorts. A key to these icons sits in the lower right corner of the map. Major roads and rivers are marked.

The map would have originally been presented as a folding pamphlet and created by “Sofcar” for the Ministère des Travaux Publics, des Transports et du Tourisme, Comissariat Generale au Tourisme [Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Tourism, General Tourism Commission]. On the reverse of the map, there is a short history of the important French port city of Bordeaux and the surrounding country. There is a reproduction of a circa 1700 copper-engraved prospect of the city accompanied by a quote by French novelist, Francois Mauriac. The following suggestive itineraries are listed on the back for those visiting the vineyards of the region:

Bordeaux – Arachon – Cote d’Argent – Pyrenees,
Graves – Garonne Valley, Libourne – Saint-Emilion
Médoc – The Blaye Country
The Agen Region
Dax and the Chalosse

Each itinerary is peppered with inspiration for the traveller.

Printed colour. [SL]