Bergerac

Introduction

Houses in Bergerac

© Di and Cam

Bergerac is a small city in the southwestern of France, with around 27,000 inhabitants. Bergerac is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Dordogne department within the Nouvelle-Aquitaine administrative region. It has been designated a "town of art and history". One of its main tourist attractions, and therefore its main income, is its choice of wine and tobacco. In the town square stands a statue of Cyrano de Bergerac, a fictional character created by playwright Edmond Rostand who was based on a 17th-century novelist and playwright from the north of France who never set foot in the town.

Sights and Activities

• Musée du Tabac, 10 Rue de l'Ancien Pont, ☎ +33 5 53 63 04 13. Oct-Mar: Tu-F 10:00-12:00, 14:00-18:00; Sa 10:00-12:00. Apr-May: Tu-Sa 10:00-12:00, 14:00-18:00; Su 14:30-18:00. June-Sept 10:00-13:00, 14:00-18:00. The Tobacco Museum's collections, which are unique in Europe, explain this universal fact of social life, the history of tobacco’s use, and objects related to its consumption. The Tobacco Museum is located in the Maison Peyrarède, also known as the Château Henri IV. The building was constructed in the 17th century in the heart of the historic centre of Bergerac. Adults €4, discounted rate €2, children free.
• Maison des Vins de Bergerac, 1 rue des Récollets, ☎ +33 5 53 63 57 55, e-mail: ivbd.poletouristique@vins-bergeracduras.fr. Nov-June: Tu-Sa 10:00-13:00, 14:00-19:00. July-Aug: 10:00-19:00. Sept-Oct: M-Sa 10:00-13:00, 14:00-19:00. Located in the viticultural village of Monbazillac, the “Maison du Tourisme et du Vin” focuses on the renowned “vin liquoreux” (sweet white wine) which has made this region famous. There an audio-visual exhibition where you can discover its secrets. In season, you can also sample the wine made by local producers and buy a bottles of this delicate wine. free.

Getting There

By Plane

Bergerac Dordogne Périgord Airport (EGC) offers flights with Ryanair to Bristol, Brussels, Liverpool and London, with Flybe to Birmingham, Edinburgh, Exeter, London, Manchester and Southampton, with Jet2.com to Leeds, with Transavia.com to Rotterdam and with Twin Jet to Paris Orly Airport.

By Train

SNCF Trains go regularly to Bordeaux.

Sleep

You can use the form below to search for availability (Travellerspoint receives a commission for bookings made through the form)

Keep Connected

Internet

France is one of the best connected countries in the world, with data speed for upload/download ranked among the top 5 in the world. Most hotels and hostels would have in-house facilities to provide free internet access. Many major cities also have initiatives put in place to provide free wi-fi connection in public spaces. Alternatively there are internet cafés available in most cities/towns at a reasonable rate. Some private businesses, such as local cafés (or even the Starbuck's chain), may also provide wi-fi connectivity - keep an eye out for the signs by the shop windows/doors. Also look for the @ symbol prominently displayed, which indicates internet availability. However, with most homes now wired for the internet, cyber cafés are increasingly hard to find, especially outside the major cities.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

To dial an international number from France, the IDD is 00, followed by the country code that you wish to dial, the area code and the phone number.
To call France from abroad, start with the international direct dialing (IDD) code from the country you're in, followed by French country code 33, the area code (drop the first zero in front of the area code), and the phone number. French telephone numbers are rarely given without the area code. The telephone number, including the area code, is made up of 10 digits. They are written in a set of 5 pairs of digits (i.e. 01 xx xx xx xx xx).
In France, the area code designations are: 01 - Paris Area ("Région Ile-de-France"), 02 - northwest, 03 - northeast, 04 - southeast, 05 - southwest, 06 - mobile phone providers. From 2010 onwards, 07 will also be assigned to mobile phone providers in order to cater for the surging demands for mobile phones.

Emergency numbers are 15 (medical aid), 17 (police station) and 18 (fire/rescue). You can also use the European emergency number 112 (perhaps a better choice if you don't speak French). These calls are free and accessible from virtually any phone, including locked cellphones.

France uses the GSM standard of cellular phones (900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands) used in most of the world outside of the U.S. There are several companies (Orange, SFR, Free, Bouygues Télécom and some others MVNOs like Virgin Mobile) offering wireless service. The country is almost totally covered but you may have difficulties using your mobile phone in rural or mountainous areas. If you stay for some time, it may be advisable to buy a pre-paid cell phone card that you can use in any phone that supports the GSM standard on the 900/1800 MHz bands. Then incoming calls and SMSes are free.

Post

La Poste in France is also referred to as the PTT (short for postes, télégraphes et téléphones). The mailboxes are painted bright yellow and often there is a slot for local city mail and another slot for "outside mail". Normally there is a queue in the post office, but most of the post offices have the self service machine installed which is quite easy to operate. Nowadays many of the tabac and even some of the souvenir shops also sell postage stamps. Normally an overseas postcard costs almost as much as sending a letter. Mails sent in France also have a zip code. The first two numbers represent the administrative department (e.g. in Paris' case that would be 75).

Post offices are generally open from 8:00am to 7:00pm Monday through Friday, and 8:00am to noon on Saturdays. Apart from the basic job of mailing letters, most of the post offices do some banking activities also and some even have photocopy machines and cyber cafes for internet access.

For international package services, you might also check options with companies like DHL, UPS or TNT, which have competitive services and prices and might be faster in most cases.

External Links

• Official Website