VISIT BERGERAC AND THE DORDOGNE

 

This travel site is your one stop resource for Bergerac car hire and flights to the Dordogne region. We have shopped around for the best prices - so you don't have to.

Bergerac is often called the gateway to the Perigord - the airport is a major arrival point for visitors to the Dordogne area. It is in the Dordogne department and provides very convenient access to the area.

With the opening of the airport at Bergerac, and the easy access from the UK, many visitors to the region are now looking for cheap car hire and flights to the town.

The goal of this site is therefore simple - to help you find the lowest cost Bergerac car-hire and flights.

Bergerac Travel Guide

The town is located 92 kilometres to the east of Bordeaux and 40 kilometres south of Perigueux.

It owes its roots to a castle built here in the 11th century (no longer in existence) and the location's strategic importance when it once had the only bridge across the Dordogne River in the region.

The town flourished through the Middle Ages, based largely on wine exporting, although it changed hands between the English and French during the Hundred Years War. It was the Wars of Religion that were to prove Bergerac's undoing, at least temporarily, because of the continuous persecution of the protestants. The population declined from the end of the 17th century.

By the time of the Revolution the town had a renewed importance in Perigord, although in the following century transport links were to bypass Bergerac and hinder its development to the benefit of neighbour Perigueux. It was to be the 20th century before industry, tobacco, and the wine trade re-established Bergerac as an important local centre.

The highlight of the town now is the old town, towards the river, which has been carefully restored and is very attractive - there are some very interesting medieval houses and streets to amble around. Perhaps the finest building is the impressive Maison du Vin, in a building that was previously a monastery and played an important role in the Wars of Religion - the internal balconied cloister is especially attractive.

Small museums dedicated to tobacco and wine are also found in Bergerac town.

There is a more modern shopping region slightly above the old town.

 

Other Information

For more information about the Dordogne region itself please visit our partner site Dordogne France, and see our parent site for more general Car hire in France (for car hire in all regions of France and Corsica)

Acknowledgements

Bergerac Car Hire and Travel site is a member of France This Way, the guide for travel to France that includes a wide range of information about France region by region.

 

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