Places to Visit
Brantome : 14km
Brantome is an idyllic village located to the north of Perigueux on the banks of the River Dronne.
The town is known locally as the Venice of Perigord - wooded cliffs loom up behind the beautiful Benedictine abbey and the river Dronne runs through the village in front of a Benedictine Abbey. There is a small weir and a lovely and unusual right-angled stone bridge to add to the beauty of the scene.
Parks and gardens surround much of the village, where traditional Perigord houses are built of the local stone with tiled roofs. Added to this there is a fabulous troglodyte cave with scenes of the Last Judgement carved in the stone and nearby is the Dolmen of « Pierre Levée".
The town also boasts a selection of good restaurants including the Michelin starred Moulin de l’Abbeye.
The Abbey in Brantome has its origins in the 8th century. A Benedictine abbey it was founded by Charlemagne allegedly donated relics of Saint Sicarius one of the children massacred by Herod.
The original abbey was destroyed by Vikings and then rebuilt in the tenth century and again in the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. It was then radically restored in 1850 by the architect Paul Abadie, a student of Viollet-le-Duc.
The bell tower which dates officially to the 11th century but may be even older is one of the oldest in France.
Inside the abbey there is an elegant staircase and you can visit the monks dormitory with its roof in the shape of an upturned boat. There is also a permanent exhibition of ‘dessins mediumniques’ by Fernand Desmoulin (drawings done when apparently under the influence of a spiritual experience).
Behind the abbey at the foot of the cliff are the troglodyte dwellings used by the original monks and in here is the cave with the remarkable sculpture of ‘The Last Judgement’.
During a walk around the village of Brantome you can see examples of Medieval and Renaissance architecture.
Canoeing through Brantome gives you a different perspective on the town and is always popular.
Market day is Friday in Brantome
Nearby
One of the popular attractions near to Brantome is the Grotte de villars, one of the most impressive cave systems in the Perigord region - and the only to have both prehistoric paintings and rock formations.