Our Postcard from the Dordogne

Often referred to as France’s ‘Little England’, the Dordogne is a culturally rich and historically interesting corner of France. Our Postcard comes from Périgueux, which is the capital of this department. Set in the Southwest of France, the Dordogne is officially part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and is situated between the Loire Valley and the Pyrénées.

The Four Périgords

Named after the river that runs through it, Dordogne was initially inhabited by the Gauls and played host to four tribes of Gaul. From this origin, it became known in Gaulish as Petrocore, a name that developed into Périgord. To this day, this notion of “four” still holds true, with the four Périgords that exist even today. They are: green, white, purple and black.

The colours of these areas reflect the characteristics of the department’s corners. Green represents the countryside, full of valleys, rivers and streams; white, its infamous limestone buildings; purple, the wine region; and black, the part where woods and forests abound. Each of these colour-coded areas has its own town attraction: Périgueux, Eymet, Bergerac, and Sarlat, respectively. As you can imagine, each is visually very different, but the cultural similarities are apparent.

Exploring Périgueux

So here we are in Périgueux. Summer is just around the corner, so the Marché au gras isn’t on because it’s already too hot, so we’ll have to make do with buying our foie gras at the market this time. Because it’s Thursday, we’re at the market on Place du Coderc today to buy fresh fruit and veg for our evening meal.

Yesterday, we were at the Grand Marché outside l’Hôtel de Ville, where we bought lots of cheese and some charcuterie, so we’re well stocked up. There’s a market every day in Périgueux, which is one of the things that makes it such a charming place to be. The other, of course, is the restaurant choices that abound here.

Culinary Delights

Like much of the Southwest, duck and goose take pride in their place here. Foie gras, confit de canard, magret and all the trimmings are to be found wherever you turn. However, when you add the abundance of fresh fruits and black truffles to the equation, the cuisine in this neck of the woods really does reach serious highs.

Earlier in the week, we decided to plump for the restaurant Un Parfum de Gourmandise, which is highly rated on TripAdvisor. Described as contemporary, local cuisine with a medium-range price tag, our expectations were running high, and we weren’t disappointed. The atmosphere was cosy; we were made to feel we were the only diners in the restaurant, even though it was packed the night we were there.

Property and Investment

When it comes to property in the Dordogne, there’s an abundance of châteaux and mansions to be found, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t ‘do Dordogne’ on a budget. In fact, there are some opportunities to be found and no matter whether you’re looking for something really basic where you can turn up and enjoy a few weeks away from the hustle and bustle of real life, or you’re looking to move lock, stock and barrel for a completely new life, you won’t need to explode your budget to get something great. Have a browse at our properties for sale in the Dordogne.