Piled up houses

In centuries gone by, like across much of Europe, France had large areas that were covered with dense woods and forests.

Although France still has a great deal of forest (increasing each year, as agricultural land in inhospitable regions gets abandoned), there are also many areas that we now see as open farmland that were once forested.

About 500-700 years ago, the Lot-et-Garonne region of southern France was well covered in trees, including oak and mixed woodlands. So the first building material that came to mind when building somewhere to live was, naturally, wood.

For a short period of time towards the end of the ‘dark ages’ – perhaps lasting as little as 10 years  – a new ‘architectural style’ came into being in the region.

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Dordogne village architecture

The Dordogne region has numerous buildings that are immediately recognisable, such as Chateau Beynac or Chateau des Milandes – great impressive medieval castles standing aloft on rocky clifftops that have come to represent the region, along with the picture-postcard-pretty villages that dot the region.

But these are perhaps not the memories that you will take away with you after a vacation in the region!

Despite the popularity of the region with visitors (during the summer months) there are still numerous hamlets and villages that are easy to find yet off the tourist circuit.

It is in these places, often little more than a few houses clustered around a church, that you will find the real Dordogne.

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Exotic gardens of Monaco

Yes, I know that Monaco is not in Provence, or France.I’m allowed to take liberties, especially for somewhere so attractive as the Exotic Gardens of Monaco.

If you are in this part of south-eastern France a visit to these gardens is indispensable. Covering about 3 acres the garden is set on a cliff overlooking the bay of Monaco and the French and Italian Riviera. It is absolutely stunning.

Cacti and Succulents as well as Mediterranean plants cover the cliff and have achieved a size and maturity rarely seen outside their natural habitats. There are more than 1000 varieties of cacti and succulents to admire.

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Airports in the south of France

In recent years there has been an ‘explosion’ of airports opening in France, and of new routes becoming available to visitors (especially from the UK) being operated by the budget airlines such as ryanair and flybe.

This is good news for the visitor, since the new airports tend to open up new areas of France to visitors – think of the impact Rodez airport has had on visitors to the Aveyron region, for example. Likewise, Bergerac airport has been very successful at bringing thousands of people into the Dordogne region – although the region was pretty successful at attracting visitors even before the airport opened!

Below is a summary of the places where the airports in the south of France are found, to help you when you are planning your visit:

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Monpazier – bastide town

Monpazier is a small town (OK, village) to the south of the Dordogne region, and south of Domme.

A little removed from the main highlights that follow the Dordogne river, Monpazier is none the less firmly on the tourist circuit – and if you are visiting the Dordogne it should be on yours!

The region to the south of the Dordogne and into Lot-et-Garonne was once a wild, undeveloped region – and also the frontier between French and English territory during the Hundred Years War. To encourage settlement in the region, perhaps the first ‘new towns’ in Europe were designed and built here in the 13th century, and people were offered tax incentives to live in them.

The ground area was carefully allocated, with terraces of houses placed evenly along a square grid pattern of roads radiating out from a central square – which contained the weekly market and the church. The villages were often built on hilltops (as is Monpazier) for the defensive advantage that provided.

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