The local lord, Henry of Navarre, was a Protestant who finally ended the religious wars by converting to Catholicism as the price of becoming Henry IV. “Paris is worth a mass,” he famously said, and was crowned at Chartres Cathedral in 1594, but in the Périgord they prefer to recall that he also said that, with its great food and wine, the region is “paradise on earth.” The old center of the city has houses that date back to the twelfth century, such as the Maison des Dames de la Foy on the Rue des Fargues, which was the home of the English governor in the fourteenth century and also a Templar headquarters.
One can return to Bordeaux by the new autoroute, with a stop in the old wine town of Libourne, and if you are that close, then continue on about a mile to Pomerol, home of my own favorite wine, Château Pétrus (see the second Bruno novel, The Dark Vineyard). I was able to afford it only once, and was charmed to find, on a pilgrimage to the château, that it is a very modest manor house, although it does boast a fine statue of St. Peter on the wall.
While still paying final homage to Pomerol, I prefer the old road from Bergerac to Bordeaux, through the wine country via St. Foy and Castillon, scene of the great battle in 1453, when the French finally ejected the English from the region. The locals are so proud of this achievement, they stage triumphant reenactments each summer from mid-July to mid-August. www.batailledecastillon.com
Market Days
Monday: St. Alvère, Hautefort (first Monday of month only)
Tuesday: Le Bugue, Gourdon, Thenon, Trémolat
Wednesday: Sarlat, Bergerac, Montignac, Périgueux, Siorac, Hautefort
Thursday: Domme, Lalinde, Monpazier, Terrasson
Friday: Le Buisson, La Roque-Gageac (June to September), Souillac
Saturday: Sarlat, Belvès, Bergerac, Le Bugue, Montignac, Périgueux
Sunday: St. Cyprien
My friend Stephane, who makes the Tomme d’Audrix cheese and the garlic-flavored aillou that feature in the Bruno novels, runs Le P’tit Jean de Mai stall in the markets of Le Bugue, Le Buisson, and St. Cyprien and has a small shop and fromagerie about 1,500 yards outside Audrix, on the road to Le Bugue.
If It Rains
Caves and castle tours are good in wet weather, but Le Bugue seems to have cornered the market for rainy days with children. It boasts a surprisingly large aquarium, with 300 yards of viewing glass and more than 6,000 species in the tanks. It also offers the interesting and engaging Le Bournat, a re-creation of a French village of the late nineteenth century, with windmill and blacksmith, baker and barrel-maker, church and schoolhouse and traditional fun fair. Locals dress up to play the parts. Just three miles from Le Bugue is the magnificent cave known as the Gouffre du Proumeyssac, a vast cavern where jazz concerts are sometimes held, which inspired the fifth Bruno novel, The Devil’s Cave.
Swimming
Most gîtes and hotels have pools, and Audrix has a splendid municipal pool. Personally, I like swimming in rivers. The beach at Limeuil may be all pebbles, but the water is lovely and the current strong enough to make swimming against it a real workout. Underneath Pont de Vic, where the road from Le Bugue to Le Buisson crosses the river, is great swimming and very safe. Children love the Étangs du Bos, a waterpark with pools and slides and waves and lots of fun. Take the Audrix road from Le Bugue and go beyond Audrix for about three miles and it is signposted on the right. www.le-bos.com/fr/presentation.htm
Horses
For pony treks and serious riding lessons, the Ferme Équestre de Belle Oreille in St. Avit-de-Vialard charges 40 euros for a half day, 65 euros for a whole day. www.belleoreille.com
For more serious rides, three-and-five day trips around the region with accommodations included, or even longer jaunts around France, the Ferme Équestre La Haute Yerle has a good reputation. www.rando-equestre-hauteyerle.com
The Poney-Club Arc–en-Ciel in Campagne, on the road to Audrix, offers five days of riding lessons for 160 euros. www.arcencielponeyclub.be
Restaurants
The region is famous for its food, but the restaurants can become boring with their endless offerings of the local classics that tourists are assumed to crave. One can tire of foie gras, followed by confit or cuisses de canard and tarte aux noix, all slammed into a menu touristique for 12 to 16 euros. So the following are all restaurants where one can enjoy these traditional local dishes, as well as other local foods such as game and fish. The house wine, sold by the liter or half liter, is almost always from the Bergerac, and decent enough.
Here are my favorites, with suggestions in every price range. I have added links where available, but many of these restaurants are too small (or too local) to advertise on the Web.
The best restaurant in the area (my daughter insists I add “the world”) is Le Vieux Logis in Trémolat. It’s where I take my wife on her birthday. Their menu du marché is the best value I know. In the main square is an offshoot of the Vieux Logis, rather cheaper and simpler, called Le Bistro d’en Face.
Le Vieux Logis • 24510 Trémolat • Tel: +33 5 53 22 80 06 • Fax: +33 5 53 22 84 89 • [email protected]
Le Bistrot d’en Face • 24510 Trémolat • Tel: +33 5 53 22 80 69 • www.vieuxlogis.com/uk/carte-du-bistrot.php
In La Roque-Gageac, I am torn between La Plume d’Oie and La Belle Etoile, but to dine on the Etoile’s terrace is a delight.
Auberge la Plume d’Oie • 24250 La Roque-Gageac • Tel: +33 5 53 29 57 05 • www.aubergelaplumedoie.com
La Belle Etoile • 24250 La Roque-Gageac • Tel: +33 5 53 29 51 44 • Fax: +33 5 53 29 45 63 • [email protected] • www.hotel-belle-etoiledordogne.fr
In Le Bugue, the locals lunch at Oscar’s, the tourists flock to the open-air terrace and the very good pizzas at La Pergola and both find honest French fare at Le Cygne, a pretty hotel beside the fire station. Just outside Le Bugue on the road to Limeuil is Le Parc, at a lovely spot by a small lake, with very good value buffets. I am not a fan of the Vietnamese place called Le Pha, but its location on the river is pretty. There is a charming wine bar, Chai Monique, where the main street, rue de Paris, runs into the square of the mairie. The croissants at Patisserie Cauet are excellent.
Hôtel-Restaurant Le Cygne • 2, rue du Cingle, 24260 Le Bugue • Tel: +33 5 53 06 01 16 • Fax: +33 5 53 06 81 01 • www.lecygne-perigord.com
L’Abreuvoir • 31, Grande Rue, Vieux Bugue, 24260 Le Bugue • Tel: +33 5 53 03 45 45
Brasserie Oscar • 5 Rue de la République, 24260 Le Bugue • Tel: +33 5 53 07 21 29
La Pergola • 16 Avenue Libération, 24260 Le Bugue • Tel: +33 5 53 54 18 05 • lapergola.e-monsite.com
Patisserie Cauet • 3, rue République, 24260 Le Bugue • Tel: +33 5 53 07 22 46 • www.patisserie-cauet.com
In Limeuil, at the top of the hill, is a charming place called Garden Party, with adventurous food for 25 euros. Garden Party • Place des Fossés, 24510 Limeuil • Tel: +33 5 53 73 36 65 • [email protected] • limeuil-en-perigord.com/en/ot/restaurants
In Paunat, Chez Julien, just behind the abbey, is run by a veteran of Le Bistro d’en Face, and offers an ambitious menu in a marvelous setting.
Chez Julien • 24510 Paunat • Tel: +33 5 53 63 21 08 • www.leslavandes.com/julien.htm
In Le Buisson, the Auberge le Roussel is a real find. Reasonably priced, with simple but excellent food (the vegetable and salad greens are grown in the garden behind the inn), it also offers five modestly priced rooms. 24480 Le Buisson de Cadouin • Tel: +33 5 53 22 04 26 • [email protected] • www.dordogne-perigord.com/leroussel
There is good food, reasonably priced, and the extra pleasure of an enchanting shaded terrace, in the shadow of an ancient church at la Vieille Auberge up the hill from Le Bugue in Audrix. I recommend the kidney stew, and their soups are so good you’ll be glad they leave the tureen on the table. La Terrasse de la Vielle Treille/Auberge Médiévale • Le Bourg 24260 Audrix • Tel: +33 5 53 07 24 02 • Fax: +33 5 53 04 99 78 • [email protected] • www.auberge-m
edievale.fr/Auberge.htm#terrasse
Between Le Bugue and Les Eyzies is Campagne, home to a good place called Couleurs that even manages to overcome my distaste for food served on slices of slate rather than old-fashioned plates. Couleurs • Le Moulin du Porteil, 24260 Campagne • Tel: +33 5 53 54 48 73 • www.cuisine-francaise.com/ficherestaurant-couleurs-cafe-campagne.htm
In Montignac, I like dining in the garden at La Roseraie. La Roseraie • 11 Place Armes, 24290 Montignac • Tel: +33 5 53 50 53 92 • [email protected] • www.laroseraie-hotel.com
For the largest number of restaurants to choose from, the best towns are Bergerac, Sarlat, and Les Eyzies.
BERGERAC
Le Saint Jacques (lovely old rooms in a fourteenth-century building) • 30, rue Saint James, 24100 Bergerac • Tel: +33 5 53 23 38 08 • [email protected] • www.lesaintjacques.info
La Table du Marché (tapas meets modern bistro meets good Périgord food) • 21, place Louis-de-la-Bardonnie, 24100 Bergerac • Tel: +33 5 53 22 49 46 • [email protected] • www.table-du-marche.fr
L’Imparfait (in the heart of the old town, great value and low mark-ups on wine; do not miss the Thai-Viet spring rolls with tuna) • 8, rue des Fontaines, 24100 Bergerac • Tel: +33 5 53 57 47 92 • [email protected] • www.imparfait.com
Bastide de Monpazier
SARLAT
Le Grand Bleu (almost as good as Le Vieux Logis) • 43, avenue de la Gare, 24200 Sarlat • Tel: +33 5 53 31 08 48 • [email protected] • www.legrandbleu.eu
Le Bistro de l’Octroi (best value) • 111 Avenue Selves, 24200 Sarlat-la-Caneda • Tel: +33 5 53 30 83 40 • [email protected] • lebistrodeloctroi.com
Auberge de Mirandol (a glorious fifteenth-century building) • 7, rue Consuls 24200 Sarlat La Caneda • Tel: +33 5 53 29 53 89 • Fax: +33 5 53 28 94 42 • [email protected] • www.restaurantauberge-mirandol-sarlat.fr
LES EYZIES
Hostellerie du Passeur (very central, food somewhat predictable) • Place de la mairie, 24620 Les Eyzies de Tayac • Tel: +33 5 53 06 97 13 • Fax: +33 5 53 06 91 63 • [email protected] • www.hostellerie-du-passeur.com
Le Cro-Magnon (old-fashioned food, old-fashioned ambience, none the worse for either) • 54, avenue de la Préhistoire, 24620 Les Eyzies de Tayac • Tel: +33 5 53 06 97 06 • Fax: +33 5 53 06 95 45 • [email protected] • www.hostellerie-cromagnon.com
Les Glycines (both building and menu have been well and newly modernized) • 24620 Les Eyzies de Tayac • Tel: +33 5 53 06 97 07 • Fax: +33 5 53 06 92 19 • [email protected] • www.les-glycines-dordogne.com
Le Vieux Moulin (very good food in a pretty spot) • 2, rue du Moulin Bas, 24620 Les Eyzies-de-Tayac • Tel: +33 5 53 06 94 33 • Fax: +33 5 53 06 98 06 • [email protected] • moulindelabeune.com
Le Metairie (an excellent tarte aux oignons) • Millac, 24150 Mauzac • Tel: +33 5 53 22 50 47 • Fax: +33 5 53 22 52 93 50 • [email protected] • www.la-metairie.com
You might have heard of Les Eyzies’s Le Centenaire, which used to be a Michelin-starred wonder, but it is no longer what it was. The locals all lunch at the restaurant of Laugerie-Basse, nestled into the cliffs. This is plain food, well cooked in simple surroundings, and we all like the cozy, steamed-up atmosphere in winter and the terrace in summer.
Laugerie Basse • 24620 Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil • Tel: +33 5 53 06 97 91 • [email protected] • www.laugerie-basse.com
MARCHÉ NOCTURNES
In July and August, one can eat almost every night at a marché nocturne. Tables and benches are placed in the town square and stalls are erected to offer varied dishes, including sausages, lamb, steaks, foie gras, snails, pizzas, salads, bowls of strawberries, and wine. Some places offer vast barbecues of pork and lamb and even Indian and Indonesian food and many offer music of varying quality. The popularity of these events may be peaking. Cadouin used to have one of the best, but the locals stopped it because of the noise and the litter. My favorites are Montignac on Monday, Le Bugue on Tuesday, Belvès on Wednesday, Sarlat on Thursday, Le Buisson on Friday, and Audrix on Saturday.
Be warned: One of my police pals says they can make up the annual quota of drunk driving convictions at these marché nocturne events. One glass of wine is okay; two and you are at risk of a hefty fine.
SOME OTHER FAVORITE DESTINATIONS:
Château de Commarque, Les Eyzies www.northofthedordogne.com/chateaucommarque.php
Château de Hautefort, Hautefort www.northofthedordogne.com/chateauhautefort.php
Château de Losse, near Montignac www.northofthedordogne.com/chateau-de-losse.php
Château de Montréal, Issac, near Mussidan www.northofthedordogne.com/chateaudemontreal.php
Château de Bourdeilles, Brantôme www.northofthedordogne.com/chateaubourdeilles.php
Château de Fénelon, Sainte-Mondane (between Sarlat and Souillac) www.northofthedordogne.com/chateaufenelon.php
Château de Jumilhac, Thiviers www.northofthedordogne.com/chateaujumilhac.php
Château de Puyguilhem, Villars www.northofthedordogne.com/chateaupuyguilhem.php
Maison Forte de Reignac, Tursac, near Les Eyzies (home of a man known as the billy goat, who took the jus primae noctis, the feudal right to take the virginity of any bride from his lands, so far that he inspired a revolt in the fourteenth century). www.maison-forte-reignac.com
SOME LOVELY GARDENS:
The formal gardens of Marqueyssac www.marqueyssac.com
Les Jardins de l’Imaginaire at Terrason www.jardins-imaginaire.com
The charming gardens of Sardy www.french-gardens.com/gardens/lesjardinsdesardy
And then there is the wonderful Renaissance Château of Montaigne, with the tower of the famous philosopher, perhaps the wisest Frenchman and most civilized man and greatest essayist who ever lived. (The Bordeaux wine from the vineyard is rather ordinary, alas.) www.chateau-montaigne.com
“This guide—and your visit—could be ten times as long, which makes for an excellent excuse to come back.”
—Martin Walker
More information can be found on my website: brunochiefofpolice.com
MARTIN WALKER is senior director of the Global Business Policy Council, a private think tank for CEOs of major corporations, based in Washington, D.C. He is also editor-in-chief emeritus and an international affairs columnist at United Press International. His five novels in the Bruno series are Bruno, Chief of Police; The Dark Vineyard; Black Diamond; The Crowded Grave, and The Devil’s Cave. He lives in Washington, D.C., and the Dordogne.
Published by Alfred A. Knopf • aaknopf.com • www.brunochiefofpolice.com
© The Bastian Schweitzer Diogenes Verlag AG Zurich
ALSO BY MARTIN WALKER
BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE
Meet Benoît Courrèges, aka Bruno, a policeman in a small village in the South of France. He’s a former soldier who has embraced the pleasures and slow rhythms of country life. He lives in a restored shepherd’s cottage, shops at the local market, and distills his own vin de noix. He has a gun but never wears it; he has the power to arrest but never uses it. Most of his policework involves helping local farmers—his friends and neighbors—to avoid paying E.U. inspectors’ fines. But then the murder of an elderly North African who fought in the French army changes all that. Now Bruno must balance his beloved routines with an investigation that opens wounds from the dark years of Nazi occupation, and he soon discovers that even his seemingly perfect corner of la belle France is not exempt from his country’s past.
Fiction
THE DARK VINEYARD
When a bevy of winemakers descend on St. Denis, competing for its land and spurring resentment among the villagers, the idyllic town—where Benoît “Bruno” Courrèges is the town’s only policeman— finds itself the center of an intense drama, with suspicious fires at the agricultural research station that is working on genetically modified crops. Two young men—Max,
an environmentalist who hopes to make organic wine, and Fernando, the heir to an American wine fortune—become rivals for the affections of Jacqueline, a flirtatious, newly arrived Québécoise student of wine. Events grow ever darker, culminating in two suspicious deaths, and Bruno finds that the problems of the present are never far from those of the past.
Fiction
BLACK DIAMOND
Something dangerous is afoot in St. Denis; in the space of a few weeks, the normally sleepy village sees attacks on Vietnamese vendors, arson at a local Asian restaurant, and subpar truffles from China smuggled into outgoing shipments at a nearby market. All of it threatens the Dordogne’s truffle trade, worth millions of dollars each year, and all of it spells trouble for Benoît “Bruno” Courrèges, master chef, devoted oenophile, and—most important—beloved chief of police. When one of his hunting partners, a noted truffle expert, is murdered, Bruno’s investigation into the murky events unfolding around St. Denis becomes infinitely more complicated. Because his friend wasn’t just a connoisseur of French delicacies, he was a former high-profile intelligence agent—and someone wanted him dead.
Bruno, Chief of Police Page 25