48 hours in Périgueux

Nouvelle-Aquitaine/2024

Périgueux, such a rich city! This two-thousand-year-old city was known in Roman times as Vésone (Vesunna), in reference to a water goddess, but the site was occupied long before by the Gallic Pétrocores peoples, who made it their capital and gave their name to the present-day city and to the Périgord region.

Today, gourmets come for the sauce of the same name, the foie gras and the truffles, but the visitor is quickly seized by the architectural beauty of a town that bears witness to all eras, the superb Saint-Front cathedral that dominates the town, listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site (go up rue Taillefer, if the work is completed, to get the best view), the beautiful 15th and 16th century houses, some of them timber-framed and corbelled, that line the walk through the old town, around the most picturesque streets, such as rue Limogeanne, rue de la Sagesse, rue Saint-Louis, the medieval rue des Farges or rue Éguillerie. For city lovers, the Tour de Vésone and the Roman remains on which the Vesunna museum was built by architect Jean Nouvel; the Tour Mataguerre, a unique reminder of the ramparts that enclosed the city in the Middle Ages, and which can be climbed from its 15-metre-high belvedere to discover the beauty of the city with its tiled roofs; and the walk along the banks of the Isle, with its many summer events. There's plenty for the epicurean stroller to do. The hustle and bustle is concentrated around Place du Coderc, where you'll find the Halles, open in the mornings, and extends into Place de l'Ancien-Hôtel-de-Ville. The main food outlets are concentrated in a small area, with most of the city's fine restaurants located in the old town. Périgueux sauce, available in delicatessens and delicatessens, is a roux in which duck fat (or goose fat, which is rarer) is substituted for butter, shallots, reduced white wine and truffles, while foie gras, which is not in the original sauce, is often added. a rich complement. Another star is the Périgord walnut, found in many desserts, pastries and restaurants, as well as strawberries in season, which are the pride of Périgord producers, particularly around the strawberry capital, Vergt, in the center of the département, some 20 kilometers from Périgueux. If the season is right, you can visit the Place Saint-Louis, where the truffle market is held in winter, and the Maison de la Truffe in summer: in the beautiful setting of the Maison du Pâtissier, a summer event allows you to meet the truffle growers and learn more about the black diamond, a true regional emblem.

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