When we make longer trips by train, we often have to (or choose to) stay overnight in a city along the way. Such was the case when we went to Greece and stopped in Italy and to Ireland with a hotel night in Cherbourg near the ferry port. Even when traveling within France, since Paris is truly a rail hub, the capital is a likely spot to make a connection and thus a prime breaking point for the journey. In all of these cases, the cities where we’ve spent a night or two were not the final destination but were certainly not a waste of time. In fact, just the opposite, and we’ve even returned to some of these in-between cities to spend more time there to see what they have to offer. For us, that’s a bonus, which is exactly what we found in Périgueux. 

Earlier this year we were sleeping in a castle about 30 minutes south of Périgueux so after checking out of the château we spent the weekend in this capital city of the Périgord region. Travel website, “The Crazy Tourist”, suggested dividing our exploration in two, starting with the older Cité District. It’s here that the Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum spotlights the well-preserved ground floor ruins of a Roman villa left from the 1st century AD. Sharing the museum grounds is the Tour de Vésone, the remains of a Roman temple to the goddess Vesunna that dates to the turn of the 2nd century. This 25 meter (82 feet) high tower was the sacred inner chamber of the temple, reserved for priests and the deity’s statue.

Even if you didn’t understand our next stop’s French name, Jardin des Arènes, you would likely recognize the elliptical shape as being where a Roman amphitheater once stood. Standing with the trees such as chestnut and spruce are a few stone pillars and arches that reveal its ancient history.

Advancing several centuries, we crossed over into the Saint-Front quarter, where the medieval character is clearly evident at L’Eschif. This oak-framed building, constructed with wattle and daub in 1347, served as a toll house for the adjacent but now destroyed Tournepiche bridge. From here we could see just the top of our next site to visit that reminded me of Sacré-Cœur in Paris. Although Périgueux’s Cathédrale Saint-Front dates from the 12th century, it was extensively restored in the 19th century by architect Paul Abadie who went on to design the Sacré-Cœur Basilica that was completed in 1914 in the nation’s capital.

We went behind the cathedral, first right, then left, to discover two more points of interest. The street rue Limogeanne had been recommended as a shopping street, “to appreciate the lovely stone-built Renaissance architecture that closes in from both sides.” We then finished off our walking tour by seeing the Tour Mataguerre, a defensive tower that beginning in the 1200s joined with a wall, a dozen gates and two dozen other towers to safely encircle the town.

We started with describing how Périgueux was a bonus and now we can finish with one as well. With a weekend of sightseeing complete there was still time to meet up for lunch with blog reader Gary, who lives in the area. That was indeed a bonus!

Photo notes: The featured photo across the top of today’s post is the cathedral as seen from the bridge, “Pont des Barris” and that’s the market in the first paragraph.