The exceptional vestiges of the lives of our earliest ancestors have made this region the cradle and world capital of prehistoric research. The countless ruins of medieval castles recall the troubled periods of French history. In these lands, which have shunned the excesses of modern life, man and nature have worked together to create one of France's most reputed and authentic culinary traditions. The Perigord and the Quercy, famed for their foie gras and their truffles, can legitimately lay claim to the title of "gourmet's paradise".

No other region has such a wealth of chateaux, manors or mansions. Legend has it that Saint Peter let them fall out of his pouch on his journey through the Perigord region. Which may explain why there are as many as there are days in the year ! Standing proudly at the top of a rock face or nestling in the heart of a romatic dale, these chateaux have been standing guard, like sentries, since the Middle Ages or the Renaissance. Tourists interested in military architecture will find here their fill of fortifications of all descriptions and all periods, as well as keeps, machicolations, embrasures, guard’s walkways, curtain walls, drawbridges, gates and towers. It’s impossible to choose between this treasury of castles. Most were built during the Gothic period, a time of great insecurity. Beynac, Biron, Bourdeille, Commarque, Castelnaud, Montfort have all preserved their Roman vestiges, often square keeps. Castelnau-Bretenoux boasts a magnificent fortified complex. Chateau-l’Evêque, a bishop’s palace, as its name suggests, flaunts its difference, like Hautefort, a magnificent secondary residence with elegant gardens, or Jumilhac-le-Grand, with its multiple slate roofs bristling with skylights, cupolas and chimneys. The small town of Bourdeilles even has two castles, one medieval, the other Renaissance ! Of all these castles, the chateau de Bonaguil is the most anachronistic. Built between the 15th and 16th centuries, it is a perfect example of military architecture. It has the most sophisticated defences of its period…which were never used, since the time of turmoil was already over when it was erected !

Certain relics belong to older periods in French history. Thus, the original town that later became Périgueux was called Vesone, which emerged as a prosperous gallo-roman city after the Gauls from the Pétrocore tribe had been subdued by Rome. The tower of Vésone is a vestige of that time, together with the ruins of a gigantic arena and of a magnificent gallo-roman villa. At the turn of the first millennium churches were erected throughout the Périgord and Quercy regions. The regional Roman style is sober on the outside, with a simple layout, a dome-shaped vault and sometimes, small variations ; in the Quercy region, it is often more richly decorated, whereas in Ribéraçois, the facades imitate the nearby Saintongais style.

The most spectacular building is without doubt the cathedral of St-Front in the Périgueux. In Byzantine style, with its cupulas and its layout in the form of a Greek cross, exceptional in France, it is reminiscent of St-Marc of Venice and the Saint-Apostles of Constantinople and inspired the architect Abadie, who designed the Sacré Coeur in Montmartre according to this model. During the Gothic period in Périgord, churches were fortified and become shelters for the local villagers in case of attacks (St-Amand-de-Coly, Rudelle, St-Pierre-Toirac…). The flamboyant Gothic period is beautifully embodied in the Cloisters of Cadouin and Cahors. The Quercy region also harbours one of France’s most exceptional sites, Rocamadour, with its towers, oratories and old dwellings, embedded in the cliff face. It was one of Christianity’s most frequently visited pilgrimage destinations. Tourist sites abound in the Quercy, including Figeac, the birth-place of the famous Egyptologist Champollion. Cahors, a picturesque administrative center, sports ramparts, towers and the famous Valentré bridge, one of the finest examples of medieval military architecture.

The region’s traditional housing is one of its prime attractions, because it is so fittingly integrated into the landscape. Who hasn’t gasped with admiration when taking a stroll through the streets of Sarlat – an authentic living museum which has been used as a backdrop for so many films ? Who can fail to be delighted by the old districts – which have all been renovated – of Périgueux, Bergerac, Figeac, Cahors….lovers of old stones are spoilt for choice. They can relish in thousands of details – half-timbered housing, corbelled façades, houses with medieval ground floors and Gothic upper floors, private hotels in Renaissance style with mullions in the windows, sculpted coats of arms, corner turrets, balconies with balusters, flagstone roofs with skylights, courtyards, staircases, workshops, etc..A number of villages combine the charm of old buildings with an exceptional site : St-Cirq-Lapopie, which overlooks the Lot Valley, Domme, a beldevere over the Dordogne, La Roque-Gageac at the foot of a tall rock face towering over the banks of the Dordogne, Brantôme, the « Venice of the Périgord », on the Dronne river, St-Jean-de-Côle, a charming green Périgord village. So many other sights to discover on a random walk through the countryside …

The raw material for all these different structures is invariably warmly-coloured limestone, ranging from soft white to luminous yellow and blond ochre. It adorns many different types of buildings : chateaux, churches, chapels, houses, the stone walls around wells, small farms, stables and even pigeon coops ! The builders of old only knew how to build solid constructions, made to last for eternity ! The country is riddled with pigeon coops, isolated towers in the middle of a field or elegant turrets projecting from a mansion house. Here and there you can discover huts built using uncut stone, with flagstone or Roman tile roofs, blending harmoniously into the landscape.

Stone possesses another essential virtue : memory. It testifies to the lives of our earliest ancestors. Recognized as the capital of pre-historic research for more than a century, Périgord has developed an authentic international research centre in this field. Since the exhumation of the skeleton of a Cro-Magnon man in Eyzies, scientists from all over the world have worked in Périgord. Many of the names used in prehistoric studies derive from the region : Cro-Magnon, Chancelade, the Perigordian period, the Magdalenian period. Humanity has learned much, thanks to the carvings and cave paintings, weapons and tools human and animal bones, discovered in the caves and grounds of the Périgord region. Such as the paintings in the famous Cave of Lascaux, the “Sistine Chapel of pre-historic times”, or those found at Pech-Merle. Long and fastidious excavations have led to the reconstruction of the chronology and the way of life of men of the late stone age. It is often said that this land is an authentic open book on 500 centuries of civilization. Few regions are able to provide a richer cultural experience.

The Périgord region has chosen different colours to distinguish between its different territories : white (for Ribérac in Périgueux), black (Sarladais), green (Nontronnais) and purple (Bergeracois). White symbolizes the limestone which can be seen on hillsides and on the walls of buildings. Black for the lands covered in deep forests, where miserable peasants once revolted against their masters. Some prefer to see it as an allusion to the truffle, the “black diamond” mushroom which is the prince of the table ! Green calls to mind the lush meadows of a beautiful land of livestock farming and woods where, every Autumn, cep mushrooms bedeck the forest floors. Purple recalls the beautiful grapes growing in the vineyards, the local pride of the Bergerac region with its prestigious vintages, Monzabillac or Pécharmant.

The source of the beautiful, powerful river Lot is far upstream, crossing the entire Southern part of the Massif Central. The Lot valley is an enchantment. It plunges into the Causse region, flows past wooded slopes and picturesque villages perched on cliffs, then winds majestically through the widening valley, downstream from Cahors. To the North of this town, the Haut Quercy, a land of limestone plateaus, is shorn by gorges, canyons and spectacular chasms. To the South lies the white Quercy, a land of greenhouses furrowed by valleys and hillsides, hailing the Midi region. It supplies fare for the table, famed tannin wines (Cahors) and truffles…

Nature also provides underground treasures. The limestone plateaus contain many caves and stalactite grottoes. Among the most spectacular, Padirac and Lacave in the Quercy, Villars in the Périgord. These limestone plateaus are gashed by sunny valleys which, in the Périgord, have since early times played an essential role, between Limousin and Aquitania. Isle, Vézère, Dronne, Auvézère, each river has its zone of influence. For centuries, mills and forges lined their banks. The Dordogne river, flowing down from the top of the Massif Central, has the flattering reputation of being one of France’s most beautiful rivers due to the beauty of the landscapes it runs through and to the chateaux and villages built on its banks. Gabarres, flat-bottomed boats, were used at one time to drift up and down this river, carrying wood, paper and coal from the Massif Central towards Bordeaux and carrying wine barrels, salt, fish and sugar upstream. A thriving population of bargemen and fishermen lived along its banks.

The Dordogne is the river of fortified towns and castles that were at war with each other during the many different episodes of the interminable Hundred Years War, those on the right bank belonging to the King of France, those on the left to the King of England, lord of Aquitania. The Périgord was the line of defence of the Capetian monarchy against the attacks of the Plantagenet family. The region was spared no hardship. Once the war was over, others followed, especially the wars of religion, then terrifying epidemics and famines swept through it, culminating in the peasant’s revolt, led by impoverished, wretched serfs during the 19th century. In these provinces, during the Middle Ages, fortified free towns were built, according to carefully laid out plans, with ramparts pierced by gates and bristling with turrets, streets crossing each other at right angles, churches which were often fortified and covered markets leading to a central square. Built for political and economic reasons, they experienced rapid development in the 13th and 14th centuries. Today these former strongholds Villefranche-du-Périgord, Monpazier, Domme, Beaumont, Lalinde, Bretenoux, etc… have become picturesque towns highly appreciated by tourists.

Most popular celebrations and festivals are inspired by historical events, ancient traditions or local production : operettes, fat markets, truffle markets, gastronomic festivals, the duck, turkey, walnut, strawberry, dairy, farm cheese, knife, traditional crafts festivals, and so on. Discovery tours and thematic circuits are on offer : in the Périgord, a tour of pre-historic sites, of the decorated caves, of castles, gardens, abbeys and priories, windmills, the Middle Ages, Pre-historic times, wines, truffle museums…; in the Quercy : the Causses tour, the nature park, Roman chapels, etc…Périgord and Quercy have acquired an international reputation based on their quality agricultural produce, which quite naturally is accompanied by an exceptional tradition of cuisine. The great philosopher Montaigne, born in the Périgord, called it “the science of the mouth” ! It’s therefore hardly surprising that in France today, half of the products defined as refined cuisine come from this region. Nor is it surprising that gastronomy has become a religion here and that gourmet tours are at the heart of French traditions.
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