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.

Monpazier is now among the finest preserved of these bastide towns (perhaps the best of all) and is a fascinating experience. The centuries of poverty that blighted the region stopped development taking place, so there is almost no new construction to be seen – although enough wealth remained to prevent Monpazier crumbling away, as happened with some of the bastide towns that found they were no longer on trade routes.

The large open central square in Monpazier still contains the market hall, and is surrounded by extraordinarily beautiful houses, with the perfect compromise between elegance and dereliction (think of Venice and you’ll know what I mean). The ground floor of the square is surrounded by arcades, providing shelter in years gone by to traders in the town, and now providing shade from the sun to visitors.

I have used a picture of the mairie (town hall) which is found a little of the main square, in an effort to convince you to also explore the side streets, where even more interesting architectural details are to be found. Monpazier is also a listed ‘most beautiful village of France’.

There are several Monpazier restaurants, and a sprinkling of art gallery and antique type shops, but the town has not become victim the over-commercialisation that afflicts many towns of such beauty.

See also Monpazier for more photos, accommodation options etc. There are several other small interesting towns in the region – Villereal, Monflanquin and Issigeac among them – each of which also deserves a visit.