Rick Steves Best of France by Rick Steves & Steve Smith

Author:Rick Steves & Steve Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avalon Publishing
Published: 2018-12-09T16:00:00+00:00

After a week in the Dordogne, I leave feeling a strong need for foie gras detox.

• Walk right, to the “upper” end of the square. The bulky Church of Ste. Marie, right across from you, today serves as Sarlat’s...

Covered Market and Panoramic Elevator: Once a parish church dedicated to St. Marie, with a massive lauzes roof and a soaring bell tower, this building was converted into a gunpowder factory and then a post office before becoming today’s indoor market (daily 8:30-13:00). Marvel at its tall, strangely modern, seven-ton doors, and imagine the effort it took to deliver and install them in the center of this tight-laned town.

On the opposite side of this building (walk through if it’s open, or around if it’s closed), you’ll find the entrance to a modern, glass-sided panoramic elevator, which whisks tourists up through the center of the ancient church’s bell tower for bird’s-eye views over the rooftops. Your elevator operator doubles as a guide, who gives a quick but effective history of Sarlat at the top. If they gather enough English-speakers, the spiel is in English; otherwise, it’ll be in French and you’ll use the good English handout (feel free to ask questions). Because the elevator is open-air, it doesn’t run in the rain (€5, pay using chip credit card—otherwise buy tickets with cash at TI; 5/hour, visit lasts 12 minutes, erratic hours—generally daily in summer 10:00-14:00 & 17:00-21:00, in spring and fall 10:00-13:00 & 14:00-18:00, shorter hours off-season).

• When you’ve returned to earth, double back into Place de la Liberté and climb the small lane opposite the market’s big doors to meet the “Boy of Sarlat”—a statue marking the best view over Place de la Liberté. Notice the cathedral’s tower, with a salamander swinging happily from its spire. Just below you on the stairs are several shops.

Foie Gras and Beyond: Tourist-pleasing stores like La Boutique du Badaud line the streets of Sarlat and are filled with the finest local products. This quiet shop sells it all, from truffles to foie gras to walnut wine to truffle liqueur. They also offer tastings (dégustations) of local liquors.

• Turn left behind the boy statue and trickle like medieval rainwater down the ramp into an inviting square. Here you’ll find a little gaggle of geese.

Place des Oies: Feathers fly when geese are traded on this “Square of the Geese” on market days (Nov-March). Birds have been serious business here since the Middle Ages. Even today, a typical Sarlat menu reads, “duck, duck, goose.” Trophy homes surround this cute little square on all sides.

Check out the wealthy merchant’s home to the right as you enter the square—the Manoir de Gisson—with a tower built big enough to match his ego. The owner was the town counsel, a position that arose as cities like Sarlat outgrew the Middle Ages. Town counsels replaced priests in resolving civil conflicts and performing other civic duties. Touring the interior of the manor shows you how the wealthy lived in Sarlat (study the big poster next to the entry).

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