Périgueux

We arrived in Périgueux to clear blue sky and bright sunshine. The view of the cathedral up on the hill was stunning. We parked and walked up to the cathedral gardens and found another Saturday market. We treated ourselves to three local artisan cheeses for supper and then sat in a bar in the sunshine. Next to us we’re and English couple who have a four bedroom house with pool halfway between Perigueux and Bergerac - we sat and chatted with them for a while, then headed off for a look around. It was just stunning, lots of little cobbled squares with exquisite boutique style shops, all linked together. Similar I suppose to The Lanes in Brighton but much, much more classy! We loved it. Stunning by day and must be romantic and beautiful at night!
Meandered back to the car and took the scenic route hone through as many villages as we could find, one very nice one was called Corgnac-sur-L’Isle. Back to the B&B - bread and cheese and a lazy evening in our room.
The name Périgueux comes from Petrocorii, a Latinization of Celtic words meaning "the four tribes" – the Gallic people that held the area before the Roman conquest. Périgueux was their capital city. In 200 BC, the Petrocorii came from the north and settled at Périgueux and established an encampment at La Boissière. After the Roman invasion, they left this post and established themselves on the plain of L'Isle, and the town of Vesunna was created. This Roman city was eventually embellished with amenities such as temples, baths, amphitheatres, and a forum. At the end of the third century AD, the Roman city was surrounded by ramparts, and the town took the name of Civitas Petrocoriorum.
In the 10th century, Le Puy-Saint-Front was constructed around an abbey next to the old Gallo-Roman city. It was organised into a municipality around 1182.
During the year 1940, many Jews from Alsace and Alsatians were evacuated to Périgueux.Read more