Bergerac airport
About twenty kilometres from the estate, some thirty minutes by road. Direct flights from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, depending on the season, and car hire on site, essential for a stay in the countryside.
The surroundings
The Périgord
The surroundings
Between Périgueux and Bergerac
Issac lies in the Crempse valley, in the heart of the Périgord pourpre, the land of vineyards and bastide towns. The Périgord noir with its prehistoric sites, and the Périgord blanc with its capital, are both within a day's reach.
The commune itself is worth the detour. It holds the Château de Montréal, of the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, listed as a historic monument and open to visitors depending on the season, as well as the twelfth-century church of Saint-Avit and the fifteenth-century Tour Saint-Jacques. Four hundred and thirty inhabitants, a river, and a heritage that many better-known villages do not have.
From here the whole department can be covered in day trips: Bergerac eighteen kilometres to the south, Mussidan seven, Périgueux and Saint-Émilion a little further. You will never be more than an hour and a half from the essentials of the Périgord.
The Bergerac vineyards
Bergerac, Monbazillac, Pécharmant: the appellations can be visited from château to château, often without an appointment and almost always without ceremony. The vineyards begin less than twenty kilometres from the estate.
The village markets provide the rest, from duck to Périgord strawberries, from ceps in season to goat's cheese. Bergerac, its old town and its quays on the Dordogne make an easy half-day, and you are back for dinner at the house.
Bastide towns and arcaded squares
The bastide towns of the Périgord and the Agenais, with their timber market halls and arcaded squares, can be explored in a morning: Monpazier, Beaumont, Villeréal, Eymet. These thirteenth-century new towns have kept their grid plan and their arcades.
Saint-Émilion and its vineyards make an easy day out, as does Sarlat and its old town further east. The Périgord is best visited slowly; one outing a day is enough.
Castles and prehistory
The Dordogne valley lines its castles above the river: Beynac, Castelnaud, Milandes, Biron. A day is enough for two of them, no more if you also want lunch by the water.
Further east, the Vézère valley holds the painted caves of the Périgord noir, including Lascaux and its replica. It is the highlight for children, and the outing to keep for a rainy day or a very hot one.
River and open air
Canoeing on the Dordogne or the Vézère, supervised bathing areas on the river, and the village evening markets in July and August, where you dine at a shared table on what you have bought from the producers.
The walking paths start from the estate itself, with no car needed. Golf, riding and treetop adventure parks complete the picture for large family holidays, when three generations have to be kept busy at once.
Coming to Bontemps
Getting here
Mussidan or Périgueux
Mussidan is seven kilometres away, on the Bordeaux to Périgueux line. Périgueux, a little further, offers more connections, notably from Paris. In both cases you will need a car to reach the estate and to get around the region.
Bordeaux
About an hour and a half by the A89 motorway, which crosses the north of the department. International airport and TGV station, with Paris a little over two hours away by train. Free and unrestricted parking on the property.