Other Places of Interest

La Roque Gageac is a beautiful riverside village, where the solid houses cling to the vertical bank of the valley of the river, with access up staircase streets.

Also worth a visit is the quiet little village of Lanquais, close to the impressive Chateau de Lanquais with its' narrow medieval dwellings next to large farmhouses.

Founded in 1115, the Abbey in the village of Cadouin near to the bastide of Beaumont, has stone traceries of the vaulted ceiling inside the cloister which are a true panorama of the Gothic and Rennassance scultptor's art. Pilgrims flocked here to venerate the Holy Shroud, brought back from Antioch up until 1930 when experts showed the cloth to date from the 12th century.

The small town of Issigeac is criss-crossed by its' drainage ditches which have been converted into gardens with tiny streams in modern times. The Bishops' Palace, Chateau des Eveques, guards the entrance to the town with its imposing 16th century buildings flanked by twin turrets.

In the 13th century a fortified rampart connected the little town of Belves to the fortress, belonging to the Archbishop of Bordeaux, that overlooked it. The solid walls still enclose the old town, with its narrow streets leading to the fortress, lined with 16th century houses, blending with the 19th century neo-Classical buildings.

For more information on the Dordogne and the Auqitaine in general please take a look at French At A Touch.com and the information in their pages about the region.