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Dordogne The Dordogne region - aka Perigord - is beautiful rolling countryside of fields and forests, famous for its walnuts and paté de foie gras. People have lived in and managed the landscape for tens of thousands of years, and here are some of the world's premier prehistoric sites - the famous paintings of Lascaux and the caves at Les Eyzies. Perigord - divided now into Green. White, Purple and Black Perigords - is named for the pre-Roman Gaulish tribe the Petracorii, centred on Perigueux. The departement of the Dordogne, slightly smaller than the traditional Perigord, and named after the river, was created during Napoleonic times. There are more than a thousand chateaus in the Dordogne, some of them spectacular cliff-top castles such as Beynac and Castelnaud and there are over three hundred of the 13thC market-centred "new towns" known as bastides, such as Domme, which offers a tremendous view over the Dordogne river. Other places to visit include the cliff-hugging village of Rocamadour or the river-hugging village of Roque-Gageac. Other key places not too far from La Borderie include Brive, Terrasson, Perigueux, Brantôme and Bourdeilles, Sarlat, and last (and furthest) but not least, Bordeaux. Périgueux Périgueux is the capital of Dordogne Department and a vibrant modern town with a long history. Originally a Gallic settlement, the city passed to the Romans, whose remains include the Tour de Vésone, built in the first century AD. The church of la Cité and the Saint-Front cathedral are 12th century; constructed in the shape of a Greek cross, the domed cathedral was a rendezvous point for pilgrims on the long road to the tomb of the Apostle Saint James of Compostela in Santiago. The city was held by the English during most of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), and in the 16th century it was a stronghold of Protestantism. Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde, a major rail junction and small industrial centre, is a good base for exploring some of the most spectacular countryside in Limousin. There are picturesque towns and villages such as Turenne and Collonges-la-Rouge nearby, and easy access to the Dordogne valley, the Haute-Correze forests and the plunging waterfalls at Gimel-les-Cascades. As well as its rugby team the town is known for the restored church of St-Martin with the 13th century turreted houses that surround it. Terrasson-Lavilledieu Terrasson is a small town, with some very beautiful 12th-century and Renaissance houses, perched on a hill on the Vézère river. Formerly a Gallo-Roman city, it had its first Benedictine Abbey built as soon as at the end of the 6th century. Its strategic location and accessibility led it to being a popular site for battles, such as during the 100-year War and the French Wars of Religion. It is near some major tourist sites in the area: the Jardins de l'Imaginaire, the gardens "à la française" of Eyrignac, Lascaux II, and Hautefort. Today, Terrasson is the capital of a district that includes 6,500 inhabitants; it is industrially dynamic, tourism-oriented, and warm-welcoming. Brantôme and Bourdeilles Nestled under steep hills in a loop of Dronne 27km from Périgueux, Brantôme is a small town often called "the Venice of the Périgord" because of its waterways. Its Benedictine abbey dates to the late 8thC. Charlemagne is said to have donated to the brand new monastery relics of Saint Sicaire. The 60 metre tall Brantôme belfry is the oldest belfry in France. With several restaurants, some carved out of the cliffs, its riverfront bars and hotels and many 17thC buildings, Brantôme, once a stop on the Compostela pilgrimages, is a popular tourist destination. Not far away to the south west is Bourdeilles, also on the Dronne, with its fine castle. Sarlat "The City of Art" and capital of Black Périgord, "the Frenchman's paradise," as Henry Miller called it, Sarlat is an astonishingly well-preserved medieval town. Sarlat's honey-coloured stone buildings set in narrow winding streets is the greatest concentration of medieval, Renaissance and 17th-century façades of any town in Europe, though naturally it also has its share of tourist tat too. Several period films have been shot here, including Les Miserables, Ever After, the recent reworking of Cinderella with Drew Barrymore, and Ridley Scott's first film, The Duellists. Bordeaux and the Wine Areas Bordeaux has the busiest airport in the south west of France and so for many people is the gateway to the Dordogne; it is, though, more than two hours' drive from La Borderie. With nine public museums, the Grand Theatre, the Bordeaux Aquitaine National Orchestra, a large public library, some fine architecture and its famous shopping street, the Rue Ste Catherine, the city has plenty to offer in its own right. The Bordeaux Tourist Office has guides to what to do and where to go, including wine tasting and wine tours. Bordeaux is of course one of the Great Wine Capitals - Bordeaux, Medoc, Sauternes, Pomerol, St-Emilion, Graves, Margaux and more come from the immediate area. The Romans settled what is now St Emilion and grew vines, but it was in the mid-12th century that the local wine first became internationally renowned, when Henry II of England married Eleanor of Aquitaine, heralding 300 (or possibly 900) years of dispute, trade and war over the English territories in France. Bordeaux - claret - benefited from tax concessions that made it the cheapest imported wine in England, and thence achieved a level of popularity with the English that has lasted to the present day, when the region produces more fine wine than any other in the world and around one-quarter of France's total appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) wine. As a historical footnote, Bordeaux has - temporarily - been capital of France three times in the last 150 years, on each occasion during war with Prussia/Germany, the last time for two weeks in 1940 just before the Vichy government was proclaimed. Some Market days in the region * Bergerac : Wednesday, Saturday
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