The Périgord Region
In case you are not yet familiar with the Périgord, here is a short summary of the region: Located in southwest France, 100 km northeast of Bordeaux and 500 km south of Paris, the old county around the River Dordogne formerly belonged to the Roman province of Aquitaine and was in the possession of the English Crown from the 12th to the 15th century.
The Périgord also boasts more medieval and Renaissance castles than even the Loire valley, and more porcini mushrooms and truffles can be found than anywhere else. Here you will still find the small, typical French grocery stores, bakeries, butcher shops and bistros, the small restaurants with their opulent menus and the weekly farmers’ markets on the picturesque market squares.
The Périgord Vert
Re-discovered by English artists years ago, the Périgord vert is hilly, idyllic and picturesque. A conglomeration of woodlands, vineyards, meadows and wheat, tobacco and sunflower fields makes for ideal walking and cycling. Practically on the doorstep you can hire horses, go kayaking or canoeing on the streams and rivers, fish in various lakes or bathe in the nearby river Dronne, alternatively you can play golf or tennis in the neighbouring villages. It is only a 120 km drive to the miles of sandy beach on the Atlantic coast. Also within easy reach are the world-famous prehistoric Lascaux and Les Eyzies caves, the wine cellars of the Bordelais and the historic towns of Périgueux, Bergerac, Saint Emilion, Brantome, Aubeterre, Cognac and Sarlat.
Our country homes are located in the Périgord vert, in villages untouched by mass tourism:
Lusignac
One of the smallest villages in the Dordogne département, Lusignac lies 8 km from the market town of Ribérac, a culinary centre for “foie gras” and “confit de canard”. Believed by art historians to be the most beautiful of the Périgord villages, Lusignac is just a cluster of quaint old houses and a bistro, set around the focal points of a medieval castle and a 13th Century Roman fortified church. You can find Lusignac on this map.
Petit Bersac
Petit Bersac is located southwest of Lusignac in the landscape of riverside meadows of the Dronne, close to the historic town of Aubeterre, with its ancient underground monolithic church, carved entirely out of rock. Petit Bersac’s history takes us back 2,000 years to the days of a Gallo-Roman settlement. The archaeological museum next to the 11th century Roman church houses precious Roman findings. Petit Bersac is a sleepy village with a bakery, a restaurant, a post-office and the Renaissance castle “le Mas de Montet”. Take a look on the map.
Lusignac and Petit Bersac are listed under a preservation order of the Ministère de la Culture in Paris.
