Visit Argentat in the Valley of the Dordogne
April 16, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Argentat is a small town in the southern Correze, at the heart of the Valley of the Dordogne region. It won’t take you long to explore and discover the highlights but be sure you do because it is a very lovely little town in an enviable setting.
The old town in Argentat, the region behind the quais a little up the hill from the river, has some exceptional buildings to discover, dating mostly from the 16th-17th centuries, including among others the Maison Delmas, which is a very lovely house but perhaps a little overly restored – I suspect that M Delmas would hardly recognise it.
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Visit Mirepoix
November 18, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
The Ariege department of south-west France is often visited for the countryside and scenery, and the chance to enjoy outdoor activities, but there are also some interesting towns and villages to discover and explore – and one of these is Mirepoix.
Situated to the north-east of Ariege (south-east of Toulouse, south-west of Carcassonne), Mirepoix is a small market town that contains a great deal of history.
The town as we now see it dates from the 13th century and later. Although an earlier town existed just across the river it was destroyed by a flood in 1209.
Mussidan
August 17, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Mussidan is a sizable town in the (less visited) north-west of the Dordogne region, north of Bergerac.
Escaping from the impact of tourism is perhaps a good thing for a town – but tourism also brings with it facilities, and money for maintenance. Perhaps the best way to describe Mussidan is that it has escaped both the benefits and the ‘perils’ of tourism.
Unfortunately these perils are what visitors are looking for, and it is true that you do need to search rather hard for the jewels in Mussidan. Keep looking though, for there are various sights and buildings to discover if you spend the time to explore a little.
The area around the church is attractive, and there are various bridges across the river where you catch glimpses of the history of the town – a pigeonnier here, a mill there…
Grimaud, Provence village
July 24, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
The action packed town of Saint-Tropez stands just a few kilometres from Grimaud, and in dramatic contrast!
If you are visiting the Riviera and want to leave the car behind, why not take the train? It is possible to get to Grimaud on a little tourist train that parts from Port Grimaud, the coastal ‘twin’ of Grimaud and itself a sophisticated town – a nice hassle free way to reach the village.
A visit to this super-attractive perched viillage is a highly recommended excursion if you can tear yourself away from the beaches. It is a very pretty place, with narrow cobbled streets winding up the hill between houses clad with greenery – including the bouganvillea flowers, the ‘trademark’ of the region.
South of Sarlat
May 10, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Sarlat, ‘unofficial’ capital of the Dordogne department and tourist magnet because of its extraordinary number of medieval buildings, is in the centre of a very attractive region. This is not news!
Most visitors to the region around Sarlat venture along the Dordogne River to see the villages and castles, and head up the Vezere Valley for the prehistoric sites. But to the south, towards Villefranche-du-Perigord, the region and places are much less well known.
This is a shame, because it is a lovely, often forested region which conceals some quiet unspoiled villages that are very much worth exploring.
Head into the countryside south-east of Domme (itself an unmissable highlight of a visit to the region), and discover the small villages at Saint-Pompon (officially Saint-Pompont), Daglan and Besse, along with several other small hamlets.
Highlights of your trip will include the lovely 12th century roman style church at Besse, and a wander around the small yet perfectly formed Saint-Pompon.
Villefranche-du-Perigord is perhaps the southern limit of your trip – stop to see the church, market hall and arcaded houses around the central square; while Belves is the eastern limit – be sure to allow time to explore Belves, because it is another very attractive small town, in the traditional Dordogne style.
Aubeterre-sur-Dronne
April 1, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Aubeterre sur Dronne is a remarkable village about 20 km west of Riberac.
The most fascinating thing about it is its underground church, the Eglise souterraine Saint Jean. This has been hewn out of the rock and is 20 metres high at its highest point. It is the tallest of its kind in the world – entering the church really is an incredible experience.
As well as the main nave which has a full-immersion baptismal font and a reliquary which is said to have once contained a holy relic, there is a burial chamber containing over 80 sarcophagi. These burial holes have all been hewn out in such a way that the heads all point to Jerusalem.
As well as the church, the village itself is charming. It is listed as one of ‘the most beautiful villages of France’, and rightly so.
Bergerac, gateway to the Perigord
March 5, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
Bergerac is found in the region of south-west france known as Purple Perigord – Perigord is the ‘ancient’ name for the region that now largely includes the Dordogne, and ‘purple’ for the wines grown in the region.
It is a lively active town that often gets overlooked as visitors head to the quaint villages and ancient castles of the Dordogne region to the east.
Bergerac itself is not the most exciting town in the world, but it is attractive, has a lovely medieval old town, and is well worth at least a half day explore – a whole day is even better, to allow time for lunch and a look in one or two of the museums and attractions of the town.
The Bergerac Old Town is the section that runs up from the river, and has numerous impressive medieval buildings to enjoy, along a cluster of streets and around a couple of open squares that form the centre of this part of the town.
Monpazier – bastide town
February 1, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
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.
Martel, in the Lot
January 2, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
The attractive town of Martel is in the Lot department, just to the east of the Dordogne and is a region I haven’t mentioned very often. Not, you understand, because it has nothing much to offer – rather, because I want to make sure that its beauty and charm remains unspoiled!
The north-west of the Lot department is the part I know best, and is jam-packed with natural beauty, beautiful scenery and great towns and villages.
Visit the Var
November 9, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
The coastal section of the Var department is quite well known, with the resorts including Toulon, Saint-Tropez and Saint-Raphael attracting very large numbers of visitors. But what lies inland in the Var department?
Heading towards the centre of the region you pass first through the forested (or deforested, where fires have destroyed the ancient woodlands) hills of the Massif des Maures. Head for the remote Chartreuse de la Verne, or follow the road between Cogolin and Collobrieres for some of the highlights.
Changing from forests to vineyards, we have the the attractive countryside of the Cotes de Provence wine department – you’ve seen it on the wine bottle labels, come and see where it is produced! The region around Les Arcs and Lorgues is the heart of this wine producing region, and offers ample opportunities to sample the wine.
Continuing north you come to Haut-Var, the Upper Var region. Quiet towns and villages, typically Provencal in nature, dot the landscape of olive trees and lavender, as the landscape becomes more rugged and more remote. the villages of Aups, Entrecasteaux and Tourtour (a classified most beautiful village) are representative of the region – steep streets, ruined castles, belltowers with wrought iron campaniles, the trademark fountains of the region…sleepy dogs and tightly closed shutters, washing hanging out to dry on high balconies…this is perhaps Provence as it was before being ‘discovered’.
Continuing even further north, to the border with the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, we find one of the great natural wonders of France at the Gorges-du-Verdon – but that is another department, and perhaps a different visit, to this special part of France, because Var itself has more than enough to entertain you for one holiday.
