Stand in the middle of Place des Cornières or walk its surrounding streets, and you will clearly hear and see the echoes of bygone centuries. It was an early form of urban planning, with prescribed standards and guidelines on church placement, space between houses, and the width of streets. These were unfortified 'new towns' in the 13th century, built according to a strict grid pattern, with the primary feature being the large open central square bordered by an arcade. Monpazier, alongside its ‘plus beaux’ distinction, is also revered due to being the best preserved example of a ' bastide' in the Dordogne. It's for this reason that this French village was founded by an English king in 1284. Due to this union, he added much of western France to his Angevin Empire, and this land was fought over and traded between the crowns of England and France for much of the medieval period (sowing the seeds of the Hundred Years' War). When Eleanor of Aquitaine married Henry Plantagenet (King Henry II of England), the latter also became Duke of Aquitaine. The number of ex-pats who have 'escaped to the chateau' in the Dordogne is only the continuation of an age-old English involvement in the region. These are our favourite Dordogne villages & towns to visit! Share with us in the comments your own suggestions and favourites places or experiences in the region so that we can get inspiration & ideas from you too. So, this is a blog post which will evolve with us as we travel deeper into folds of the Dordogne valley we'd love for it to evolve with your own travels there too. This first time enough to convince us both that somewhere this beautiful simply has to be visited a few more times, and we're already making plans to return come spring or summer. You're hard pushed to find a Dordogne village or town which isn't breathtaking.Ģ. We did however realise two crucial things in our three days:ġ. It did not take long to understand why this part of France has seduced so many British people over the centuries.Īlas, we were unable to visit and fall for all ten of the Dordogne's most beautiful villages, but we made a decent first attempt in the time available. Picking up our rental car from the teeny tiny aéroport Bergerac, we were instantly seduced by the bucolic scenes which unfolded before us under the honey light typical of a mid-October afternoon in southwest France: golden fields, vineyard rows, picturesque farmhouses screaming 'abandon your life and move here to rear chickens, drink wine, and let seven rescue dogs run free'. It was therefore the ideal place to start our travels through the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The Dordogne, where a soft mist rises from the terroir each morning and the river and the valley share the same name, has the joint-most villages in this exclusive club, with ten enjoying the ' Les Plus Beaux Villages de France' seal of approval. Back in 1982, an independent association was established to designate the most beautiful villages in France.Ĭriteria for selection included being under 2,000 inhabitants, a commitment to cultural heritage, paying a small membership fee, and being absolutely stunning.
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