SARLAT-LA-CANÉDA , capital of Périgord Noir, is held in a hollow between hills 10km or so back from the Dordogne valley. You hardly notice the modern town, as it is the mainly fifteenth- and sixteenth-century houses of the vieille ville in mellow, honey-coloured stone that draw the attention.

The vieille ville is an excellent example of medieval organic urban growth, violated only by the straight swath of the rue de... [More]