Périgueux

Périgueux Capital of Périgord Blanc

Périgueux Périgueux's history goes back more than two thousand years, a never-ending story that the Périgourdins continue to weave to make this city a capital of Périgord, rooted in the rich hours of its past and open to the great winds of life. Past-present: the back-and-forth of history in motion traces the contours of the city of tomorrow, and the urban development undertaken as part of Périgueux 2010 aims to redefine the city in a spirit of continuity.

The Périgueux of today and yesteryear can be read - and linked - as you pass through its neighborhoods, along its streets and walls. In this way, you can move simultaneously through time and space.

After a visit to the Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum, which testifies to the city's ancient past as well as its modernity thanks to the architecture of Jean Nouvel, the walker guides his footsteps towards the medieval city to stroll through the cool lanes and alleyways of Puy-Saint-Front, at the foot of the cathedral listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site as part of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route. Around rue Limogeanne, you'll find a rich Renaissance heritage, the golden age of Périgueux. The Périgord Museum showcases its many treasures: prehistory, ethnography, fine arts...

As a City of Art and History, Périgueux is a great place to visit. These journeys through time, day and night, help us to understand the city, but are not enough to get to know it: for that, you need to meet the people, discover the fragrant and colorful markets, take a walk along the Isle river and treat yourself to a gastronomic journey through the land of fine dining .... So many little pleasures to discover and, above all, love this city.

The heart of the city: rue Limogeanne

In the Middle Ages, this street ran through the Limogeanne (one of the districts of Puy saint Front delimited for the distribution and collection of the taille tax), and led to the ramparts and the Limogeanne gateway opening towards Limoges. Devoid of craftsmen and merchants, it was one of the few residential streets in the medieval town, consisting mainly of wooden and mud houses. From the early 16th century onwards, numerous bourgeois families, enriched by trading and often allied with the aristocracy, built luxurious stone mansions, most with a store on the first floor. Renaissance art flourished in the heart of the town, followed by the more sober classicism of the following century. The Hôtel d'Estignard and the Hôtel de Mèredieu bear witness to the power of these bourgeois citizens, who had taken on the title of "noble citizens" of Périgueux and held most of the city's offices. In the heart of the protected district, rue Limogeanne today offers, in a harmoniously restored setting, the picturesque and gourmet spectacle of its stores, in the image of the old courtly house.

City life

Traditional market: the Périgueux market is held every morning on Place du Coderc, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays it moves to Place de la Clautre, Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville and Place Saint-Silain.

Monuments of Périgueux

• Saint Front Cathedral
  Perched in the heart of Périgueux on the banks of the Isle river, this building with its unique architecture represents the image of the city:  Discover the history and architecture of Saint Front Cathedral here
• The Vésunna Gallo-Roman museum site
  The Vesunna Museum is a museum of art and archaeology in Périgueux. The Gallo-Roman remains on which it was built are protected as historic monuments. Discover the Vesunna Museum
• The Périgueux amphitheatre
  The Périgueux amphitheater is a Roman amphitheater built in Vesunna (the southern district of Périgueux today) in the 1st century.
• The Vesone tower
  The Tour de Vésone is the remains of a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Vesunna, the patron goddess of the Petrucores.
• Hotel de Fayolle
  The Hôtel de Fayolle (also known as the Hôtel de Cablanc) is a listed French town house at 14 rue Barbecane.
• L'Eschif lookout post
  A true architectural curiosity, L'Eschif is a lookout post that was used in the Middle Ages to keep watch over the Tournepiche bridge. Built in 1347 on the ramparts of Puy-Saint-Front, it is located at 9 boulevard Georges-Saumande.
• Mataguerre Tower
  The Tour Mataguerre is a listed 13th-century fortification tower, located opposite the town's tourist office. It is the last vestige of the medieval rampart that protected the "Puy Saint-Front", the urban core that was to become Périgueux town center.