River Dreaming




River Dreaming is in the French town of Sainte-Foy-La-Grande in the Gironde, where the Saturday market is one of the best in the whole of France. The town boasts several excellent restaurants featuring delicious Perigord food, and is in the middle of wine country. Saint Emilion and Bergerac are close by, and Bordeaux is an hour away by train. The town also lies on the Vezelay route to Santiago de Compostela. Canoe the river, visit the vineyards, sample the food, go fishing, horseriding, swimming or birdwatching - there are herons, hawks, ducks and swans just below the balcony.





Street map of Ste Foy La Grande


Click on map to enlarge


Access to Sainte-Foy-La-Grande

The great thing about staying in Sainte-Foy-La-Grande is that you don't necessarily need your own transport. The train system is excellent: Bordeaux is an hour away, St Emilion for exploring the vineyards is 25 minutes and Bergerac, with its airport, great shops and restaurants, just 15 minutes.

The TGV from Paris to Libourne takes three hours; change here and then take the train to Ste Foy - it takes around 30 minutes. The schedules are the same as above.

Coming by road from Bergerac, take the D936 direct to Ste Foy.



Sainte-Foy-La-Grande


This bastide town is more than 750 years old, and boasts one of the best markets in France. It's held every Saturday and attracts visitors from across the region.


There's wonderful local produce, fish and shellfish from the coast including succulent oysters, cheeses from around the Dordogne, pates and sausages, preserves, local wine, meat and poultry and crusty traditional bread, as well as clothing, books, antiques, fabrics and art. The main roads in the town are closed to traffic for most of the day.




The town has a number of restaurants of varying prices:

The Globetrotter
is on the main square, Place Gambetta, less than a minute's walk from the apartment. It has a pleasant outdoor eating area as well as a cosy interior. It's a great place for a beer or glass of wine, the daily specials are good value, and salads and pizzas generous.

For a more authentic French experience, head for Le Comptoir des Sports on Place du Marche. It has a large fireplace inside, and pleasant seating outside.

Cafe Culture on market day

Lucetti on Rue Victor Hugo offers decent pizzas and a French take on Italian staples.

For special occasions, Au Fil de l'Eau can't be beaten. It's tucked under the bridge just inside Porte Ste Foy and has superb fare.

Thursday evenings in July and August see trestle tables set up in the square behind the library, on rue Denfert Rochereau, for a producer's market. Buy a bottle of wine, make a choice between oysters, snails, steaks, magret de canard (duck breast), foie gras, breads and cheeses and grab a seat. There's a great village atmosphere and always music. Torchlit processions to discover the town start from here as soon as it's dark.