Green, purple, black, white… Which department of France can pride itself on having four colors? Only one: the Dordogne, better known as the Ancien Régime, the Périgord. Green like the many rivers of the limousine fringe, purple like Bergerac wine, black like the forests of the Sarladais, white like the limestone of the Isle of Isle. It was the diversity of his landscapes, his men and his history that gave him this surprising palette.
Return to 400,000 years of history
Everything was conducive to making Périgord the cradle of humanity: the vast valleys, the countless rivers, the shelters, the forests and the sites that the weather, complicit in nature, has shaped for millennia. All these testimonies are still present and contribute to the rich heritage of this country, which is, after Paris, the site of France most loaded in historical monuments. The Vézère Valley between Montignac and Limeuil was inhabited very early. The number and quality of prehistoric sites testify to this. The valley has fifteen sites inscribed on the World Heritage Site. The caves adorned with the Vézère valley valley, the most illustrious of which is the cave of Lascaux called the «Sixtine Sistine chapel», are the first signs of our ancestors. Since then, the traces of human invention have continued to enrich this inexhaustible heritage. The country will not escape barbaric invasions, but by the year a thousand a new society is emerging from these upheavals. Christianity is required and two great abbeys are founded, one in Sarlat in 720, the other in Brantôme in 779. Romanesque art will be expressed through the realization of many religious buildings. One of the most famous churches is the former abbey of Saint-Amand-de-Coly. In the Middle Ages, the Hundred Years War, during which the territory was the siege of fierce struggles between the Kingdom of France and the crown of England, left impressive fortresses and beautifully preserved bastides: Domme, Monpazier, Eymet, Villefranche-du-Périgord. During the Renaissance, the finite Gothic gave way to prestigious buildings similar to the castles of the Loire.
Live in black
The Black Périgord is by far the most frequented region in the department because of the many prehistoric sites of world-famous nature such as Les Eyzies, the capital of prehistory. One of the most beautiful approaches is the Dordogne River. On the detour of each loop, you come like sentinels almost all the castles that make the famous Périgord -montfort, Beynac, Fayrac, Castelnaud, Les Milandes, Marqueyssac ˇ- and beautiful sites like La Roque-Gageac or the bastide of Domme. The Black Périgord has its capital, Sarlat. It is the European city with the most monuments inscribed or classified by square kilometer. Medieval city par excellence, it delights visitors with narrow alleys, inner courtyards, special hotels with blonde and hot stones.
Located north of the department, Green Périgord is backed by the crystalline base of the Massif Central. The men sown here and there abbeys and castles in the midst of a lush greenery. Time has sometimes done his work and stones are no longer just the shadow of their history. It is more often a landscape of landscapes and views than monuments, but some sites remain indispensable like Brantôme. Located on the edge of a Dronne loop, the city owes its nickname «Green Venice ╩» to this particular configuration. A gateway to Périgord Limousin Regional Natural Park and a jewel in the Dronne Valley, Brantôme deploys its charms and its Benedictine abbey would own the oldest bell tower in France (ixe century). ❍
Perigueux and Bergerac: two enemy sisters
Perigueux, the prefecture to the north, and Bergerac, the sub-prefecture to the south, were never able to reach agreement. Bergerac is discovered all year round thanks to its old well-restored neighborhood: Romanesque church, lanes of the xive, xve and xvie centuries, timbered houses or the statue of Bergerac Cyrano. His Perigueux rival has always had more difficulty attracting tourists. Yet it has a Gallo-Roman city, a medieval Renaissance town and a nineteenth century, which marks its prosperity. The labyrinth of the labyrinth of the labyrinth, the Cathedral Saint-Front, World Heritage of Unesco on the roads of Santiago de Compostela. The city also has the Gallo-Roman museum Vesunna, designed by Jean Nouvel. Located on the remains of an ancient villa of 4 ¾ 000 m 2, it is rich in wall frescoes and private objects. If you are looking for the black diamond, the fat market, which takes place every Saturday morning from November to February Square places Saint-Louis, leaves a big place at the local trufflekeepers stand. You can also go to Sorges, the truffle capital, just a few kilometers on the road to Limoges.
Earth of flavors and drunkenness
The perigourdine land is an extraordinary garden where chestnuts, strawberries, walnuts or vineyards combine the black diamond, this mysterious fungus. Here, recipes are passed on from generation to generation. The secrets of the manufacture of garlic-milled peasants, truffles of truffles, and the art of cooking and tasting the foie gras in all its forms, let alone know-how for the collection of ceps, girolles or morilles, never really reveal. To this gastronomic tradition is added the pleasure of the bottle offending. The Bergeracan vineyards are terraces above the river. Distributed on ninety-three thousand and over twelve thousand hectares, it offers the extreme diversity of its thirteen AOC (Appellations of Origin Controlled). It is one of the few wine-growing regions in France to produce almost as many white wines as red wines. However, regardless of the color that attracts it, the visitor always leaves his head full of memories and the palace filled with flavors.
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When is it? In summer, to enjoy water leisure, but it is in autumn that colors are the most beautiful. The sun caresses the yellow stones of old houses and castles to give them gold reflections.
Go on. By car: A 20 from Paris to Limoges to go to the green or green Périgord or to Brive to go to the black or red Périgord. Distance Paris-Périgueux: 500 ¾ km. By train: SNCF
Useful. To find out:
Departmental Tourism Committee
