The medieval town of Bergerac glows with soft sunlight that casts a golden veil over its amber-coloured stone buildings and rustic half-timbered houses.
On Place Pélissière, the largest and most attractive square, restaurant terraces are abuzz with the good life as waiters balancing carafes of wine whizz past local hero Cyrano de Bergerac’s famed long nose.
A little farther uptown, there’s a market being held at the foot of the towering 19th-century Église Notre-Dame. Stalls lure you in with regional delicacies such as tinned duck, fragrant walnut oil, zingy goat’s cheeses and Périgord strawberries so ripe and aromatic you can smell them from afar. Not only does every corner of Bergerac ooze joie de vivre, but the town also boasts a rich wine history that dates back to Gallo-Roman times.
Discovering the wines
Though Bergerac was founded in the 11th century, the first grapes were planted in the area towards the end of the 3rd century. Because of its strategic location on the banks of the Dordogne, wine trade blossomed and by the 13th century, Henry III of England had granted Bergerac the right to export its wines.
Today, the wine region attracts more than 400,000 visitors annually and there’s no better place to embark on an oenological journey than at Bergerac’s old port, or more specifically, at Quai Cyrano.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2020-Ausgabe von France.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2020-Ausgabe von France.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Paindemic In Paris
For American actor and writer Alexander Burnett, a shortage of bread at his local boulangerie was one of the biggest challenges of lockdown in his adopted home city
VEULES-LES-ROSES
Between the white cliffs of the Côte d’Albâtre and the bucolic landscapes of the Pays de Caux, discover a village that combines coast and country,
Taking the BISCUIT
France is known for its exquisite pâtisserie and extravagant gâteaux but the not-so-humble biscuit deserves recognition too
PICTURE PERFECT PISTE
After a decade away from the slopes Janet Brice finds her ski legs in val d'arly, a hidden gem in the shadow of Mount Blanc
Let there BE LIGHT
Lyon’s annual Fête des Lumières brightens up the darkest of December nights in spectacular fashion, finds David Atkinson on a winter visit to the Rhône capital
Shop ‘til YOU DROP
In the first of our new Insight guides, Helen Parkinson delights in the French shopping experience
Floating YOUR BOAT
Spending a day on the River Seine in Paris, Heidi Fuller-love samples some of the city’s top entertainment that can be enjoyed afloat
Creamy Dijon Chicken With Bacon And Spinach
Enjoy this hearty dish from Bisous & Brioche, a cookbook shot on location in Burgundy
A Moveable Feast
Philip Sweeney embarks on a voyage gourmand along the Vallée de la Gastronomie travelling from Dijon to Marseille
BOND RETOUR 7
To celebrate the return of everyone’s favourite globe-trotting British intelligence officer in No Time to Die, Helen Parkinson rounds up five of James Bond’s top cross-Channel escapades