This "free city" (Ville Franche) is the Southern gate to the Perigord, and borders the Agenais and Quercy regions; it was founded in 1261 by Alphonse de Poitiers, a brother of French King Louis IX (Saint Louis). The bastide of Villefranche is located in the Valley of the Lémance, between the valleys of the Lot and Dordogne rivers; it has always known how to preserve its genuineness since the 13th century, and still retains very beautiful medieval buildings, and several houses built on arcades dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries.

True to a tradition of friendly welcome (hotels, self-catering accomodations, bed and breakfasts, camping sites), Villefranche is organized around a main street that crosses the central square, and offers a wide variety of shops and services. The town itself and its surroundings are rich in wonders : the covered areas, the covered market place and its stone pillars, the corn measures, the noble houses, and a few architectural jewels, not forgetting the sometimes small, but remarkable numerous churches, the Museum of Perigord Traditions and Collections (prehistoric elements, old tools, daily tools used at the end of the 19th century, dolls..., accessible to disabled persons).

Villefranche du Périgord is also the starting point to numerous sites to be visited, such as: the fortress of Bonaguil, château de Biron, the dry-stone houses and "Bories" in Campagnac les Quercy, Sarlat (44 km), Monpazier (20 km), Belvès (23 km), Issigeac (40 km), and so many more sites to be discovered in this wonderful region.

Thanks to a rich associative life, Villefranche offers activities all year round, of which the main can be found if you click here above: do not miss the Fête de la Châtaigne (chestnuts) taking place every 3rd Sunday in October, an opportunity to challenge the World Record of Chestnut spitting...
Market every Saturday morning.
Producers' market, in Loubéjac, every Thursday night in July and August.

Villefranche and its surroundings are an ideal place to relax, enjoy a preserved nature, the quietness of crystal-clear brooks, and a world-famous gastronomy: confit, cepes, foie-gras, chestnuts...