Sarlat, France is a fabulous historical place. What can you see in Sarlat and Dordogne area? Shoppers and traders have descended on Sarlat for the famous markets since the middle ages. There are a few to choose from, including the large Day Market in the city centre taking place on Saturdays selling everything under the sun. There are also food markets on Saturdays and Wednesdays in Place de la Liberte, a covered market on the square that runs every day and an Organic Night Market open between 18:00 and 20:00 on Place du 14 Juillet. So needless to say it’s a bit of a treasure trove for shoppers. especially if you’re tempted by regional delicacies like foie gras.
House-hunters to Sarlat should stroll along Rue des Consuls, which has a number of impressive mansion houses that are testament to Sarlat’s growth during the Middle Ages. From being a small community controlled by the church, it had, by the mid-1500s, evolved into a prosperous market town popular with wealthy merchants. Further on you’ll see elegant buildings including the 16th-century Hotel de Mirandol with its imposing doorway; the 14th-century Hotel Plamon with its mullion windows; and the 15th-century Hotel de Vassal with its double turret.
Perigueux: The old Roman town of Perigueux is deliciously small and provincial. Farmers flock into town on Saturdays and Wednesdays to sell their produce at the superb morning market. Wooden trestle tables crammed with fruit and veg vie for attention with the pearly-white domes of Perigueux’s Byzantine cathedral, evocative of St-Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Around the corner on place St-Louis, the November-to-March duck market sees gourmets and grandmothers furtively hand over cash in exchange for goose hearts, duck livers, every imaginable part of the duck – dried-blood pancakes called sanguettes included. Come December, the heady aroma of black truffles heightens the foodie excitement.
Looking for Sarlat accommodations? The origin of the abbey is lost in the legends. It exists since the ninth century, forming part of the six great abbeys of Perigord (Paunat, Belves, Saint Front de Perigueux, Brantome, Terrasson). The Carolingian Abbey of Sarlat is the only one that was saved from the Vikings, located away from the Dordogne River and its tributaries. It was able to remain independent and, in the year 1153, was put under the direct protection of the Holy See in Rome. In the year 1317, the abbey was the seat of the new bishopric created by Pope John XXII. The abbey church was transformed into the cathedral of the diocese of Sarlat. From there began the architectural transformation of the city with the construction of a parish church as well as numerous manors. From the fourteenth century on, bishops and consuls shared power until the Revolution. Sarlat played an important role during the Hundred Years’ War with its status as an episcopal city. The town became a reserve for men of arms, ammunition and provisions. The city was fortified, but it was also defended by the castles located in the surroundings, and it could lend aid to other cities besieged by the English: Belves, Domme, Montignac. However, Sarlat was taken by the English as a result of the Treaty of Bretigny in the year 1360. It joined the King of France again ten years later, when the Constable of Guesclin defeated the English. If the victory of Castillon put an end – in the year 1453 – to the Hundred Years’ War, the wars of religion caused additional damage a century later. The city played the same role as before, yet had to surrender twice and suffer the exactions of the captain of Vivans and Viscount Turenne. See extra info on https://sarlathotel.com/.