Bordeleaux is the second port of Bretonnia and capital of Gascogne.Increased wealth and culture have come to Bordeleaux in recent years, mainly on the back of the burgeoning wine trade. Many consider it on a par with Guisoreux in terms of sophistication. Bordeleaux's affluence is not evenly spread however, and there are a great many poor living in shantytowns, stealing and even killing just for a bottle of wine to drown their sorrows.

    Jules Blois, Duc de Gascogne, is the governor of Bordeleaux. His main interests are wine and high living; he is a popular figurehead in the city, but the real decision-makers are his wife Blanche de la Rose Amboise and their son Hubert de la Motte, Marquis de Frejus who usually resides in the Oisillon Palace). By tradition, the governor's hand has not lain heavy on Bordeleaux, and the city's guild council, dominated by the wine merchants, tackles most day to day matters; the noble rulers divide their time between their lavish mansions in the Place Royale and their equally extravagant chateaux in the Morceaux valley.

    Situated in less-threatened southern waters, Bordeleaux is not home to such a large part of the navy as l'Anguille, and the only modern warships are stationed at the military port of Rochefort, situated at the Navarrese border. In practice the city's mercenary garrison spends as much time patrolling the streets alongside the watch as manning the walls, and the troops' pay is mainly spent on wine and women. The great merchant houses, such as La Primante, employ their own mercenary forces partly of native Bretonnians to protect ships and land-bound possessions.     

    Having a good time is the main aim of the rich; work is seen as just a distasteful preliminary. The lower classes aspire to this happy state, but most can only stretch to drowning their sorrows in the occasional night of revelry in the notorious waterside Quartier Bleu, den of lechery and debauchery of all kinds. Cynical observers claim the comparative rarity of major riots in the city is linked to the volume of alcohol consumed in Bordeleaux. Literature, scholarship and art are well patronised in the acclaimed university of Bordeleaux, and all citizens take pride in this cultural refinement. As a major port, Bordeleaux has a large foreign community, though this has rarely been a cause of trouble; most visitors enjoy the cheap wine too much to be a nuisance.

    Wine is the greatest export of Bordeleaux, dominating its life and trade. It is exported far and wide, mainly by sea routes. Furniture, jewellery, luxury foods and grain from Gascogne, fish and hand-crafted goods are also produced. There are strong links between Bordeleaux and the New World; most products of the Bretonnian colonies (including chocolate, coffee and tobacco) arrive in the city's port and are highly valued as luxuries all over the Old World.