France 2024 – Day11 – Périgueux

As a proof of concept I decided to take the bus and go explore the other “capital” of the Périgord region, the old city of Périgueux. There is a sort of rivalry between Périgueux and Bergerac as to which city is the heart of the region, and since they have not been able to solve it the Perigord is now divided into quarts: Périgord Blanc to the west (main city Périgueux) and Périgord Noir to the east (main city Sarlat), which is where the main prehistoric sites are concentrated, Périgord Poupre to the south (main city Bergerac), which is where a lot of the agriculture happens, and Périgord Vert to the north, where there is nothing but beautiful forests. You could also divide the region as being in either the watershed of La Dordogne (Périgord Poupre and Périgord Noir), or in the watershed of La Vézère (Périgord Blanc and Périgord Vert). But enough of geography!

So I get to the train station at 8:30 am and there is the Route 330 bus, but I don’t see it has a bike rack on it. Hmm … I guess I could always leave my bike at the train station … but then the driver showed up, I asked, and he very kindly told me to just put in the cargo belly of the bus. No problem, but the cargo area is not very big so I need to make sure I arrive early enough so I am the first bike on la chenille (colloquial for queue in French, although it really means the caterpillar).

The drive to Périgueux took about an hour on a meandering road through beautiful hills covered with green forests, small vineyards, and lovely meadows. I am glad I didn’t try it with the bike, because there is not much of a shoulder and drivers go pretty fast.

Once in Périgueux I was in a half exploration mood. I wanted to identify the main worthy sights without really going into them, because I want to visit them first with Giulia, and then with Géraldine, Faby, DJ, and Ronnie … And when are the rest of you going to come and visit me?

The valley of La Dordogne and La Vézère have been occupied since the prehistory, and Périgueux itself has the remains of a fine Roman city, a Medieval city, and many Renaissance structures, so there will be plenty of things for us to do and see. As modern cities go, I like Bergerac more because it is not as bustling, but then again I might be a little biased in that regard. The hustle and bustle reminded me that I had to get a couple of things from a sports store (a water bottle and a bell for my bicycle) and thanks to Google Maps I found a Decathlon store and headed there along the banks of La Vézère. A narrower and gentler river than La Dordogne but with a perfect biking path with plenty of shade. There were a few fishermen there, although I didn’t see much action of any kind, a few dog walkers, and a goodly number of teenagers playing hooky and staring at their cell phones.

I took the bus back at 3 pm, was back home by 4 pm, and even managed to get a bit of shopping done before dinner time. I have fallen back in my regular American meals pattern, which I think is better suited to the life of an explorer. Why waste valuable tourist time sitting to a mid-day meal, when you can make due with a baguette sandwich and a beer sitting at one of the many plazas?