Villefranche-du-Périgord (6 km drive away) is a small pretty town in the Dordogne. It is a fortified, medieval “bastide”, with colonnaded shops, bars and restaurants. Along the shady streets you can find a newspaper shop selling UK papers, a post office, a bank with an ATM machine, a pharmacy, two small supermarkets, a good butcher and two bakeries selling a wide variety of breads and pastries. The church in the market square is interesting to visit on Market Day.
Peyrelevade itself is actually located across the Dordogne border in the Lot-et-Garonne. It is a 10 minute drive away from the village of Sauveterre-la-Lémance. Sauveterre is smaller than Villefranche, but it still has a good choice of shops, bar including a bakery, a pharmacy, a post office and a museum of local pre-history in the Town Hall. Sauveterre also has a weekly open-air meal in the village centre which is always fun!
History
Villefranche-du-Perigord: An ancient fortified village (bastide) founded in 1261 by Alphonse de Poitiers under the name Villefranche-de-Belvès.
Architecture: Marketplace with stone pillars situated opposite houses built in the XIIth & XIVth century; a church designed by Abadie in 1865 and based upon his masterpiece the Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre in Paris.
Sites : Ecomusée “Maison du châtaignier, marrons et champignons”(chestnut trees, sweet chestnuts and mushrooms); Chestnut Tree Nature Trail. Resources & production: Chestnuts; walnuts; cèpe & girolle mushrooms.
