May 8, 2024:
Today is market day at Sarlat-la-Canéda and we hope all is well in La Roque-Gagaec (due to the recent high water and cresting of the Dordogne River). We were going to take a canoe trip on the Dordogne River today, but that’s out of the question with the current high water levels of the Dordogne. Instead we’re going to enjoy the Sarlat market and take walking tours of Sarlat-la-Canéda and La Roque-Gagaec.
We started the day by making our way from our accommodation in Domme to Sarlat-la-Canéda. Due to today being a National Holiday in France and also a market day, we arrived in Sarlat-la-Canéda to find that all the car parks were full, but lucked out and were able to park close to the market when someone left their choice street parking spot (we paid for the parking spot, then later found out at the Sarlat Office de Tourisme that parking is free on French National Holidays).
Market Day – Sarlat-la-Canéda
After fighting the crowds during the market, we found an isolated epicurie/restaurant on the Rue de la Boëtie, just west of Rue de la République for an excellent and quiet lunch – Le Comptoir Authentique, open Monday-Saturday, 9:30 am – 7 pm, closed Sunday.
Lunch at Le Comptoir Authentique
Now that the market was closing up, we took a brief tour of Sarlat-la-Canéda. We started the tour at the Cathedral of Saint-Sacerdos, checking out the Bishop’s Palace adjoining the cathedral, and the House of Etienne Boëtie across the Place du Peyrou. The old Bishop’s Palace, built right into the cathedral (on the right, with its top-floor Florentine-style loggia), recalls Sarlat’s Italian connection. The Italian bishop was the boyfriend of Catherine de’ Medici (queen of France)—a relationship that landed him this fine residence. After a short stint here, he split to Paris with loads of local money. And though his departure scandalized the town, it left Sarlat with a heritage of Italian architecture, like the House of Etienne Boëtie. This house was a typical 16th-century merchant’s home—family upstairs and open ground floor (its stone arch now filled in) with big, fat sills to display retail goods. Pan up, scanning the crude-but-still-Renaissance carved reliefs.
Cathedral of St Sacerdos and the Bishop’s Palace
House of Etienne de la Boetie – Sarlat
Then we circled around the back of the cathedral to see the Ancient Cemetery, the Cour de Chanoines, the Cour de Fountaines, the Chapelle St-Benoît/Penitents Bleu, and the Lanterne des Morts memorial.
Map of Area behind the Cathedral of Saint-Sacerdos
Walking behind the Cathedral
Apse of the Cathedral of Saint-Sacerdos/Ancient Cemetery
The Cour des Fontaines (Court of the Fountains) marks the spot where a pure spring here attracted the monks who founded Sarlat’s first abbey in the 9th century.
(Cour des Fontaines) Court of the Fountains – Sarlat
The Chapelle St-Benoît, aka Chapelle des Pénitents Bleus, is a 12th-century Romanesque chapel and the oldest remnant of Sarlat’s abbey. It was closed, but we could take a picture through the grated entrance.
Chapel of Saint Benedict, Blue Penitents
Lauzes roof – Chapel of Saint Benedict, said of the Blue Penitents
The Lantern of the Dead (Lanterne des Morts) – Dating from 1147, this is the oldest monument in town. In four horrible days, a quarter of Sarlat’s population (1,000 out of 4,000) died in a plague. People prayed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux for help. He blessed their bread—and instituted hygiene standards while he was at it, stopping the disease. This lantern was built in gratitude and as a marker for the cemetery that was located behind it.
Lanterne des Morts
From the Lanterne des Morts, we took the path around to the right, walking past the “house with the little tower” to reach Rue Salamander (Salamander Street), with symbols of Sarlat’s mascot, the salamander.
House with the little tower
Arch of the Rue de Salamander – Wikimedia – Père Igor
Salamander Symbol – Photo: photoleraclaudinha.com
Exiting the Rue de Salamander, we reached the main square where the market was held, and viewed Old St. Mary’s Church (now the Covered Market), the Town Hall, and the “Boy of Sarlat” statue.
Place de la Liberté (Liberty Square) – market closing up…
Covered Market – Old St Mary’s Church
Town Hall – Sarlat
“Boy of Sarlat” statue
From here we walked to the Place du Marché aux Oies (Square of the Market with Geese). Feathers fly when geese are traded on market days from November-March.
Place du Marché aux Oies (Square of the Market with Geese)
Our tour of Sarlat-la-Canéda is over.
We made our way to our car and headed off to tour the beautiful village of La Roque-Gagaec, along the Dordogne River. Called by most simply “La Roque” (“The Rock”), this town is a strong contender for the “prettiest towns in France” lists.
At the upstream end of town, we found lots of pay parking and the glassy Office of Tourisme built into the cliffs.
Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) sign by our parking
Office de Tourisme – La Roque-Gagaec
Above the Office de Tourisme, built into the cliffs, we saw stonework (on the far right) that used to be home to the town’s earliest inhabitants in the 10th century. High above (about center), 12th century cave dwellers built a settlement during the era of Norman (Viking) river raids. Long after the Vikings were tamed, French soldiers used this lofty perch as a barracks while fighting against England in the Hundred Years’ War.
10th Century Fortress
We started our tour by climbing steps behind the Office of Tourisme (TI) to reach the walkway above the town. We were immediately struck by all the lush vegetation, including bamboo trees, in the “Exotic Garden” (Jardin de Exotique) above the TI. Thanks to the large natural solarium of exposed cliffs facing south, Gérard Dorin (1935-2014), a passionate resident, succeeded in creating in 1970 a magnificent garden with lush Mediterranean vegetation: palm trees, bougainvillea, passion flowers, banana trees, orange trees, pomegranate trees, lemon trees, olive trees, oleanders, cacti…
Exotic Garden (Le Jardin Exotique)
A few more steps led us to a fountain on the right – note the Fleur de Lys at the top…
Fountain (La Fontaine)
Soon after we came to the L’Église Notre Dame (Church of Our Lady) aka L’Église au Clocher-Mur (The Church with the Bell Tower). Formerly the parish church was located outside the walls, in Saint-Donat (1km east of the village). Destroyed during the Wars of Religion, it had to be replaced. This is how the medieval chapel of the old hospital of La Roque-Gageac was converted into a parish church.
L’Église Notre Dame (Church of Our Lady) aka L’Église au Clocher-Mur (The Church with the Bell Tower)
Interior of the church
Next on the path above the village we saw the former possession of the bishops of Sarlat, the Tarde Manor (Le Manoir de Tarde), which stands proudly in the center of the city. It is composed of a round tower containing a stone staircase, typical of the Renaissance in Périgord, and a house with mullioned windows. It still belongs to the Tarde family who gave us two illustrious people: Jean Tarde, born around 1561, canon, king’s chaplain, geographer, astronomer, historian, who brought back to Périgord the first astronomical telescope that he received from his friend Galileo during a Journey to Italy. More recently Gabriel Tarde, born in 1843, was a well-known philosopher and criminologist.
Le Manor de Tarde (Le Manoir de Tarde)
After climbing to see this manor, we enjoyed the view over the town and cresting river…
View of Le Roque-Gagaec and the Dordogne River
To our right, above us up in the cliffs, we next saw from a distance (we didn’t climb up and go in), Le Fort Trolodytique (The Trolodytic Fort) – Located 40m high in the cliff, it was built in the 12th century, probably at the request of the monastery of Sarlat of which it was the possession. From the 14th century, it was an integral part of a defensive system desired by the bishops of Sarlat, also including a castle at its foot, of which only a few rare vestiges remain. With its ramparts, its fortified gates, a castle and a troglodyte fort, the city of La Roque-Gageac was able to resist the various conflicts which agitated the Périgord.
Le Fort Troglodytique (The Troglodytic Fort) – Photo: OliversTravels
Next, we passed an area where houses were destroyed (and three people killed). On January 17, 1957, at 10 am, a section of the cliff on the west side fell on part of the village, destroying several houses and resulting in three victims. Near the landslide, traces of houses unreconstructed visible today bear witness to the purging of the cliff which had to be done subsequently to avoid further collapse. There was a memorial nearby dedicated to those who lost their lives.
Memorial plaque for destroyed houses – Photo: fogtravel.blog
English translation for the memorial:
On January 7, 1957, at 10 am, part of the cliff which overlooks the village collapsed, demolishing many houses. Three dead were found under the tons of rocks and rubble. The national road was closed for two years.
It was then feared that the village would not revive La Roque-Gageac, where President Poincare exclaimed “Here is the most beautiful village in France”, has risen again.
In tribute to the victims: Marguerite Ribe, widow Armand Louise Delroc, widow Valette Henri Lajoinie.
Our walk continues
Finally, we came upon two oratories (upper and lower), and we used their adjacent steps to descend to the main street and the Dordogne River. According to tradition, these oratories were erected by a naval surgeon, named La Reynie, who, caught in a storm in 1649, is said to have made the wish to raise an oratory to the Virgin if his life was saved.
Oratories and stairways down to the river
Once on the main street of La Roque-Gagaec, we got a closer look at the picture-perfect Le Château de la Malartrie (The Castle of the Malartrie) at the end of La Roque-Gagaec.
Le Château de la Malartrie (The Castle of the Malartrie)
We did a little shopping on the main street and saw at La Petite Galerie, at 237 Promenade de la Batellerie, 24250 La Roque-Gageac (a couple of buildings downriver from the Hôtel la Belle Etoile) high-water marks engraved on the wall (inondation means “flood”) – the dates and water heights engraved in stone during La Roque-Gagaec’s spectacular floods.
Shopping in La Roque-Gagaec
Les Hauteurs D’Inondations (the Flood Heights)
Lastly, to end our tour of La Roque-Gagaec, we crossed the main street for a look at the “Port of La Roque-Gagaec” with its wooden boats. These wooden boats are modeled after gabarres, originally built here to take prized oak barrels filled with local wine down to Bordeaux. Unable to return against the current, the boats were routinely taken apart for their lumber.
Wooden Boats in the “Port of La Roque-Gagaec”
From this vantage point, we then took our mandatory pictures of the view of the “beautiful village” of La Roque-Gagaec along the Dordogne River and cliffs.
“Beautiful Village” of La Roque-Gagaec
We headed to our car to return to our accommodation in Domme, hoping to find a supermarket on the way there. We passed over the river and saw briefly the beautiful Château de Castelnaud (we didn’t stop for the tour).
Château de Castelnaud
We didn’t initially find a market (closed due to the French Holiday), but still enjoyed the rest of our afternoon, relaxing on the outdoor patio and bar at our Domme accommodation, La Perle de Domme.
Relaxing on the outdoor patio by the wine bar at La Perle le Domme