The city is located in the purple Périgord, on the Dordogne. It is also watered by its tributaries Caudeau and Conne.
The city lies between Bordeaux (93 km to the west), Périgueux (48 km to the southwest), Agen (90 km to the south), and Cahors (110 km to the southeast). Libourne is 66 km to the west.
The regional park of Causses du Quercy is 110 km to the east, that of Périgord-Limousin 82 km north1.
Bergerac is found on the northern bank of the Dordogne River, in the western part of the Dordogne department. It is among the largest towns in the region and is classified as a town of Art and History.
The highlight of a trip to Bergerac is the old town - the area immediately north of the river, signposted 'vieille ville'. This part of the town has some lovely streets and squares to explore, and a variety of boutique type shops.
The old town centres around Place Pelissiere which is a lovely square edged with cafes and restaurants and always full of flowers. At the top edge is the St James church with its attractive bell-tower. Around Place Pelissiere are a number of lovely medieval streets including Rue St Clar and Rue St James. Rue St Clar in particular is a narrow street with half-timbered houses. Take the time to wander round the streets of the old time and admire the interesting architecture you will see as you wander. Down towards the river is another lovely square - the Place Mirpe surrounded by half-timbered buildings and offering some welcome shade in the summer.
Visit the Maison de Vins de Bergerac in the heart of the old town. It is a beautiful old cloister dating back to the 12th century. If you are a wine enthusiast there is an exhibition showing the history of Bergerac wines and its 13 appellations. During the summer there are occasional concerts which take place in the cloister. It is a lovely setting for them and worth going if you get the chance. In December there is usually a small but good quality Christmas Market here with products from local artisans, very useful if you are doing some Christmas shopping.
The National Tobacco Museum is based here in Bergerac, and is quite interesting. (Tobacco is still an important crop in the region, that you will probably see growing in the fields.)
History
In Corbiac (about 4 km northeast of Bergerac, less than 200 m from Caudeau which forms the boundary of communes with Lembras), the lawn of the castle is a prehistoric deposit with four layers of Perigordian and an underlying layer of Mousterian of Acheulean tradition (MTA). The last deposited layer (upper layer) of Perigordian and that of MTA are particularly rich. The Upper Perigordian layer has delivered more than 12,000 tools in addition to slides18 (more than 50,00019), cores and chips, from which François Bordes invented in 1970 the "burin Corbiac", a trihedral chisel on cutting edge18. The site also provided proximal or distal notches (which Bouyssonie had taken for pendants).
The remains of a Neolithic village dating from 3,500 to 3,000 BC. J.-C. are discovered in the district of Vaures in Bergerac.
On the Bout-des-Vergnes site, the burials of a Merovingian necropolis of the fifth and sixth centuries are unearthed in 2012 during the construction of the west bypass of Bergerac.
In May 1472, King Louis XI confirmed by letters patent the privileges of the city granted by his predecessors, following the death of the Duke of Guyenne.
In 1553, Protestant public worship is attested in the city.
In 1563, Armand de Piles took the city, occupied by a Catholic garrison left by Montluc; the garrison and the parish priest are executed on March 12th.
In 1565, Charles IX passed through the city during his royal tour of France (1564-1566), accompanied by the Court and Grand of the kingdom.
In 1567, the Bergerac bridge was destroyed to prevent the Catholic troops from crossing the Dordogne.
At the end of December 1569, Clermont de Piles managed to take back the city, and massacre the catholic garrison.
On 17 September 1577, during the Wars of Religion, a truce was signed in Bergerac: the peace of Bergerac.
July 16, 1621, King Louis XIII entered Bergerac and demolished the fortifications of the place of safety by the Huguenots.
In 1675, the revolt of stamped paper, antifiscal revolt of the reign of Louis XIV, begun in Bordeaux, extends to Bergerac which knows two days of riots on May 3rd and 4th.
On November 15, 1683, the temple is demolished.
On August 11, 1685, the first dragon companies arrived in Bergerac to convert the Huguenots. August 23rd, 24th and 25th are dragonnades and forced conversions.
In 1794, the old communes of La Conne, La Madeleine, Saint-Christophe-de-Monbazillac and Sainte-Foy-des-Vignes merge with Bergerac.
