 |
Bergerac, Dordogne, France Guide | |
| Though Cyrano may never have lived in Bergerac, the town honors its fictional hero. More to the point, it makes good wine, and is interesting to visit. | ||
|
|
|
The Gascon city of Bergerac, 113 km (70 miles, 1-1/2 hours) east of Bordeaux (map), actually has little to do with the historical hero of the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, though the city has adopted Rostand's fictional hero as its own.
There was, in fact, a man named Cyrano de Bergerac, a military officer and playwright with a prominent nose, but much of Rostand's play is fictional. In any case, two statues of Cyrano stand in parks in Bergerac's historic district on the banks of the Dordogne River. Today Bergerac is known for its vineyards and wines, and its tobacco fields. In summer, as you approach the city, you'll ride through broad vineyards, and you may also see fields filled with the large nicotiana tabacum plants. Any time of year you can see, in many a farmyard, the weathered wooden tobacco barns with their louvred walls for airing the harvested leaves. Bergerac has plenty of hotels and restaurants to support you for a stay of a day or two. More...
|
|
Medieval houses, Bergerac, France.
|
