Périgueux et la Cathédrale Saint Front

You discover Périgueux like leafing through a history book. Come and wind back the time machine and set off to discover our history.

Many prehistoric testimonies displayed in the Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie du Périgord take you back to the origins of humanity. The town's heritage also takes you back to the sumptuous era of the Roman Empire with its many remains and its Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum, which let you judge the wealth of the ancient city of Vesunna. Vesunna, a city but also a goddess, who surprises us with her proud and majestic temple. Your journey into history is only beginning.

Around a medieval lane or strolling from square to square, you meet half-timbered houses, dwellings with towers, signs of the wealth of Périgueux merchants. In this vast historic quarter, the cathedral of Saint-Front sits enthroned at the top of the puy (hill). This building, of which Périgord people are proud, has a part forming a Greek cross, topped with domes, of Byzantine inspiration.

These various restorations make it an original building. Built on the Routes of Saint James of Compostela (World Heritage since 1998), Saint-Front cathedral remains a major stage for pilgrims. During your walk through the centuries, you also discover finely carved and decorated Renaissance mansions.

The great book of Périgueux's history is not finished! The town's major urbanisation works left a rectilinear layout of streets, wide boulevards, with perfect alignment of façades: large bays, balconies, apartment buildings... a slightly Haussmannian air that lets you imagine the atmosphere of the nineteenth century and the Belle Époque.

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