Southern France has about 300 bastides or walled cities the French and English kings built in the 13th and 14th centuries for defense and economic purpose by
Month: February 2015
Beaumont du Perigord – Bastide – Dordogne
Beaumont du Perigord, a bastide now located in Perigord Pourpre and founded in 1272 by King Edouard I of England on the boundary of the County of Toulouse
Villefranche du Perigord – Bastide – Dordogne
Villefranche du Perigord, the oldest of the 18 bastides of Perigord, founded in 1261 by Alphonse de Poitiers, Comte de Toulouse and King St. Louis’ brother
Eymet – French Bastide – Dordogne-Perigord
The bastide of Eymet was founded in 1279 to protect Perigord from the English who occupied the Duchy of Aquitaine since Eleanor’s marriage to Henry II
Monpazier – Bastide in Dordogne-Perigord
The bastide of Monpazier in Perigord, built in 1285 by Edward I of England, ranked among the most beautiful villages in France and as a Grand National Site
Abbaye de Cadouin – Holy Shroud – Dordogne
The Holy Shroud, brought back from the Crusades in the 11th century, turned the Abbaye de Cadouin into a major place of pilgrimage in the Christendom
Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat in Limousin
Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat grew around the abbey built on St-Leonard’s tomb and along the Voie Lemovicensis, the pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela
Perigord-Limousin Regional Nature Park
Perigord-Limousin Regional Nature Park, one of two regional nature parks in Limousin, created in 1998 to protect and promote the regions’ natural heritage
Bugnes – French Fritters Recipe – Mardi Gras
Recipe for French Bugnes, the fritters that used to be prepared on Mardi Gras with all the leftovers of fat that couldn’t be consumed during Lent
Loire Valley Vineyard – Wine Appellations
Loire Valley Vineyard, the largest of the 13 French wine-making regions, includes the Anjou-Saumur, Auvergne, Centre-Loire, Pays Nantais, Touraine vineyards
Auvergne Vineyard – Appellations – Loire
The Auvergne Vineyard is one of the five wine-making regions that constitute the Loire Valley Vineyard, and one of the oldest vineyards of France
Pierres Jaumatres stone clusters – Limousin
Pierres Jaumatres, clusters of eccentric rocks formations located west of Montluçon and produced by ice and rain erosion during the Quaternary Period