Bienvenue!  Whether you are here to visit, do business, or stay the people of the Baie de Métropolitain welcome you!  The region is still young with just less than 900,000 citizens, but it offers an outstanding quality of life in a variety of environs.  Today I'll be introducing you to the Capital region of Baie de Métropolitain.  While not the oldest city, it is the largest, the center of commerce, and more planned than many of the cities in the region.  Officially one city, Des Capitales is made up of devolved and largely independent départments, which are further divided into arrondissements.

The population of Des Capitales today is 311,000, and life is centered around the départment of Etoille:

Etoille is the central business district, and the core of life in Des Capitales.  Tech parks surround the départment on nearly all sides.  To the west of Etoille is the coast of the Baie itself and the départment of Ville de Université.  Université, while smaller in population and size than Etoille is home to three distinct arrondissements with distinct character.  The center of life is the Université Des Captiales itself, and it's surrounding tech park.

The University focuses on science and technology and has resulted in numerous startups both in the industrial and commercial sector.  A ferry and docks helps connect the University to the larger region.  The south arrondissement is called Plage Sud.

Few live in the exclusive neighborhood, which is home to some of the most successful companies in the region, and the beautiful beaches that give the arrondissement its name.  North of Ville de Université is the Plage Nord arrondissement.

A reasonably exclusive address, Plage Nord is separated from the rest of the University District and accessible only by highway.  The Plage Nord business district runs into the main Etoille district, and is one of the premier shopping destinations in Baie de Métropolitain.

Moving east of Etoille we encounter the départment of Vieux Aéroport.  Once simply called the Aéroport district, and home to one of the city's most affluent business districts, the region has been repurposed many times since the new airport was added to the south side of the Limites départment.

The départment is still struggling somewhat, with recent new residents and businesses benefiting from the new city zoo, and the tech park which separates it from Etoille.  The airport itself is still heavily utilized, providing servicing for the eastern industrial areas.

Moving north we come to another arrondissement of Etoille, the Foreign Quarter, also known as Midtown.

Midtown is a largely English speaking part of the city, and varies between suburban on the south, to urban and slightly decayed north of the highway.  This highway, Routes des Etoilles separates the southern reaches of the city from the newer and once fully separated communities of the North.  Most of midtown and these northern départments were farm land until recent expansion drop citizens north.  To the far east we have La Bande.

Many people had high hopes for La Bande which was supposed to be a rural retreat of sorts.  As industry moved in, and the district became more dense and industrial, urban blight set in and it became a mostly lower income neighborhood.  Many of the middle-class flocked westward to the newly constructed Ville Solaire.

Once home to nine solar energy plants, the region recently got its first hydrogen plant.  Numerous energy-focused tech companies exist in this region, along with a thriving commercial market, though many citizens believe it is getting too urban, and far from its roots. Continuing our tour of Des Capitales, just west of Ville Solaire is the high growth and energy district of Passarelle.  Part of the same départment as Ville Solaire, this arrondissement is the new nightlife center for young urban professionals.

Owing to its proximity to the Foreign Quarter, a wide variety of cuisines are available, and a variety of housing exists, from soaring and expensive, to low-rise affordable tenements. 

The Limites départment lies just to the west of the Route de Baie highway which separates it from Passarelle.

The northern arrondissement of Haute Ville is the oldest in the départment and was originally thought of mainly as a commuter suburb for Des Capitales.  North of the Route de Premier the arrondissement is largely working class and depressed.  South of the highway is a thriving commercial district and tech park which gives way to the low rise and wealthy estates, and eventually the Ville du Stade arrondissement surrounded by a thriving commercial section of the city, and a major tourism attraction with the stadium of the Des Capitales Faucons.

To the South of Ville du Stade is the arrondissement of Nouvel Aéroport.

The southern portion of this neighborhood thrives around the Studios Des Capitales, home to movies and television for the entire region, and the famous St. Etienne Cathedral.

While many more locales exist, the final destination on our tour today is Île de Monument just west of Nouvelle Aéroport and Plage Nord.

An exclusive community, and home to a tech park focused around data science and engineering, the island is connected to the mainland by ferry and subway only.  Cars, while allowed on the island, are rarer than would be expected, and rents are extremely high.  The northern most beach of the départment features a unique below sea-level beach front, surrounded by seawall to help prevent pollution from the nearby port.