Visit to Dordogne

Bergerac - Castelnaud - Marqueyssac - La Roque Gageac - Domme - Sarlat - Beynac - Belves - Monpazier - Biron

The next places of these holidays are located a little far from the Dordogne valley. First we went to Belves, situated at the top of a rocky hill, something that is very common in many fortresses and villages due to the bellicose history of this region.
The city was set around 250 B.C. by a Celt people, the Belovacs (this is the reason for the name of the village). During the Middle Ages it was fortified (with the Castrum) and the village was taken and recovered by the English in 7 occasions, from 1242 to 1442, at the end of the Hundred Years war.

During the Renaissance, in the 15th century the village was restored thanks to the Benedictine prior and the Dominic convent. Afterwards it suffered again the consequences of the war, this time the Religion wars.
There are several Gothic and Renaissance buildings, and 7 church towers. The most authentic square is the Weapons Square , with a covered street market from 15th century, which conserves a chain attached to a pillar where thieves and criminals were tied.

Other interesting spots are the Dominic convent and its octagonal tower (14th century), the castrum (11th), the fortified church that previously was part of a Benedictine monastery (14th), the hospital (17th), the castle (14th) and below the street market there are troglodyte rooms, that were inhabited caves during Prehistory and afterwards during Middle Ages. In the caves there is an exposition of customs and way of life during the Middle Ages.
There are numerous shops and restaurants in the old buildings of the streets surrounding the square.