Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region. Bordeaux proper has a population of 239,399 but together with its suburbs and satellite towns Bordeaux forms the 6th-largest metropolitan area in France with a population of over 1,1 million. The city's nicknames are "La perle d'Aquitaine" (The Pearl of Aquitaine), and "La Belle Endormie" (Sleeping Beauty) in reference to the old center which had black walls due to pollution. Nowadays, this is not the case. In fact, a part of the city, Le Port de La Lune, was completely renovated.