If you love Instagram THIS is the place you need to visit

Hello! I’ve taken an accidental, unplanned blog break due to having barely any internet in the second place we stayed in in France. Anyway, I’m back and want to share with you today a little (photo-heavy) post about a lovely day out we had in Bergerac during our first week. There’s also a video so if vlogs are your thing then scroll to the end to watch.

So it’s not the 90s TV show set in Jersey starring John Nettles, but the French town that I’m talking about today. (Side note: does anyone else remember that show? And if so, does anyone now have the theme tune stuck in their head?!) Anyway, Bergerac is in the south west corner of the Dordogne region which, if you’re unfamiliar with the geography of France, is about halfway down on the map.

It’s a historic town, set on the northern bank of the Dordogne river, with a beautiful “old town” area full of windy streets, colourful cafes and beautiful old shuttered houses. Instagram cat-nip, basically. 

I’m not going to go all Judith Chalmers on you because you can quite easily Google “Bergerac” for yourself and find out more about this beautiful French town, but if you’re after some tips for family things to do there then I can highly recommend a little wander around the Old Town, and a picnic by the river. If we’d have been there longer we’d have got a boat along the river too probably, but we arrived just before lunch and after a tootle around we were ready to find a cafe to refuel in.

The Old Town is bursting with cafes, restaurants, bars and creperies and I imagine it’s a got a fun and lively atmosphere in the evening. As we were there during the day we just opted for one of the cafes in the square which had a spare table. The menus were all pretty similar – salads, crepes, pizzas and the occasional burger – and all were very kid-friendly, although some were fancier than others. Fancy restaurants and hangry toddlers don’t really mix so we avoided the cafes with posh table clothes and long wine lists and went for the one serving the most decadent looking crepes. Standard.

The girls ate crepes laden down with melted chocolate, chantilly cream and icecream, while I tucked into an amazing goats’ cheese salad. The NLM wasn’t hungry so he ate our leftovers and had a cold beer instead. Yeah, I know, I don’t get it either. (Watch the video below to see the food in action but be warned, it might make you hungry!)

Sightseeing with kids is never easy but, because there was lots to look at and we allowed both kids a go at taking their own photos, they were entertained for a good couple of hours. If we’d have been without the children then the day would have taken on a whole different shape and we’d probably have had time to visit the famous Tobacco Museum (Bergerac was a major Tobacco exporter) and done a bit of a cafe crawl around the Old Town.

Frog’s favourite spot was this beautiful toy shop in the Old Town. It was full of colourful windmills, handmade wooden toys and nostalgic style games. We had to literally drag her out of it – not before I’d taken some photos, obviously.

My favourite thing about the day was people-watching, as it always is on holiday. I LOVE a good people watch, you know? We play a game called Guess the Nationality, which is exactly what you’d think it was (man, we’re SO rock and roll) and Bergerac is a real melting pot of nationalities, especially during the height of tourist season. It’s one of those rare places that is equally family and couples friendly, which made people watching even more interesting. I swear there were Instagrammers galore too, as I spotted quite a few people doing casual Instagram style poses in doorways, much to the amusement of my IG-phobic husband.

Here’s the video of our time in Bergerac if you fancy watching – I’m now salivating over that amazing goats’ cheese salad…