Discover Périgueux's historical trove

An ancient structure overlooks the Isle River in Périgueux.

This post originally appeared on the Places & Faces blog for The Local Buzz.

The Mimos Festival was our excuse for our most recent trip to Périgueux. I've wanted to attend this festival for a long time, but as it turned out, it was HOT on the day of our visit, so we only saw a couple of mime-type acts. Instead, we found an ice cream shop and strolled the streets as we became reacquainted with this very pleasant city in the center of the Dordogne department.

Since 1993, Périgueux has been hosting a mime festival with the official name of Mimos: Festival International des Arts du Mime et Geste. Each day during the July event, a variety of shows with the themes of movement, swing, or liveliness are presented at venues scattered around the city. Many of the shows are free and all are non-verbal, featuring mimes, clowns, dancing, puppetry, or music.

'Nonna(s) Don't Cry" was performed at Mimos 2019 in Périgueux.

'Domovoi' was performed is performed at Mimos 2019 in Périgueux.

The last time I visited Périgueux was on a crystal clear winter day, but now the city is decked out for summer with colorful pennants and stages set up for evening concerts presented throughout the high season.

The dome of Cathédrale Saint-Front is seen from
Jardin de Touin in Périgueux. 

One of the highlights of any visit to Périgueux, especially if you're bringing kids, is Vesunna, Périgueux's window to the ancient world. This museum is built upon the remains of a large Gallo-Roman domas (urban village). With its large glass walls, the museum is striking and contemporary, an unlikely setting for the ancient world that it contains.

The Gallo-Roman museum Vesunna, designed by Jean Nouvel, allows
visitors to see the ancient domus buried beneath Périgueux.

A visit to Vesunna starts with a collection of limestone architectural features from the 4th century. Pieces of Italian pottery, which revealed to archaeologists that Roman Périgueux was a thriving commercial center, are also on display.

Models of the domus help visitors visualize what the layout of the rooms looked like 2,000 years ago. Murals adorned the walls — some painted in trompe l’œil style. A round pond surrounded by a patio is the centerpiece of the excavation site.

A piece of an ancient Roman tomb is on display at Vesunna in Périgueux.

Vibrant murals from the 1st century still adorn the walls of a room in the
Vesone domus at Vesunna in Périgueux.

Don't miss the short film about the Vesone domus that depicts its history through animation. The film is about 15-minutes long, and every other showing includes English sub-titles.

Built in the 1st or 2nd century, the Tour de Vésone in Périgueux
is dedicated to Vesunna, the tutelary goddess of Pétrocores.

Vesunna is surrounded by a shady park that contains la Tour de Vesone, a remnant of a Gallo-Roman temple. The museum is open every day during the summer, and there's plenty of parking.

Cathédrale Saint-Front in Périgueux has five domes and a bell tower.
Its bells are famous throughout Europe, according to the church’s guide.

The “new settlement” of Périgueux dates to the 13th century, and today vestiges of this era remain. Blocks of medieval structures have been preserved as a thriving city center where shops, cafés, and restaurants make this neighborhood attractive to locals and tourists.

The most recognizable feature of Périgueux’s skyline is Cathédrale Saint-Front. Set into a hillside, the church contains a large network of crypts and half-buried chapels. Above, five domes and a bell tower rise toward the sky.

Originally a lookout post, Eschif de Creyssac in Périgueux
was constructed in 1347 of wood and wattle-daub.

Along the Isle River, one can find Eschif de Creyssac, a look-out post dating from 1347 that is made of wood and wattle-daub.

If the weather urges you to be indoors during your visit to Périgueux, the city has two other museums: Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie (closed Tuesdays) and Musée Militaire (open 2-6 p.m. except Sundays).

A cannon in Jardin du Touin in Périgueux is aimed
across the Isle River.

Third time's a charm in Montpellier

Place Royal du Peyrou in Montpellier contains a statue of Louis XIV on horseback,
a water tower, and the Saint-Clément Aqueduct.

We rarely travel during the summer. Avoiding crowds is something of a hobby for me. However, the prospect of spending a couple of days with my sister and brother-in-law in Montpellier inspires us to hit the tracks for a short summertime getaway.

This is my third trip (Ken's second) to this vibrant university city, the capital of the Hérault department. Our previous trips had been site-centric and this one all about the company, so I'm not determined to see as much as I can while I'm here. Instead, there's time for leisurely strolls, relaxing meals, and long, pleasurable conversations with some of my favorite folks. Even the train trip from Marmande affords me time to begin reading a good novel and to gaze out the window as we speed southward to the Mediterranean Sea.

Place de la Comédie in Montpellier was once known as Place de l'Oeuf
(Egg Square) for its oval shape.

We are grateful that Q has met us at the Gare de Montpellier-Sud-de-France — the train station that is on the outskirts of the city. Had we decided to walk, it would have been a sweaty hour trek on stark, uninspiring streets. Instead, he ushers us onto a bus that takes us to Place d'Europe, a 15-minute walk from our apartment near Couvent des Ursulines. Sandy meets us along the way and we have time to stop for a beer in Place de la Comédie, one of Europe's largest pedestrian zones.

Cacti stand inside a greenhouse in Montpellier's Jardin des Plantes.  

After dropping off our luggage and making sure our WiFi is working, we set off for Jardin des Plantes, the oldest botanical garden in France. It was created by Pierre Richer de Belleval in 1593 for the study of medicinal plants. Close by is the Faculty of Medicine building, the oldest medical school in the Western World. It is still operating today.

Those with a wish may write it on a piece of paper and deposit in
a nook of this 400-year-old tree in Jardin des Plantes in Montpellier.

In 1181, an edict was signed by Lord Guilhem VIII that allowed medical
professors, regardless of religion or origin, the right to teach in Montpellier.
Thus, the Faculty of Medicine was created in 1220.

Originally a monastery and church, Saint-Pierre Cathedral
was built at the direction of Pope Urban V, a former student
in Montpellier.  

Montpellier's terraces offer fine views of the city.  

After the usual negotiations about what we should have for dinner, we all agree on La Coquille, a restaurant that offers seafood and a delicious chilled chardonnay to cap off the day.

This shell-shaped corner is appropriately located at
Rue de la Coquille in Montpellier.

I get the chance to indulge my craving for salmon tartare in Montpellier.

The next morning, Ken and I are up early and we set out to see a bit more of Montpellier before meeting Sandy and Q for lunch. We're surprised by a rain shower, but we watch it quickly pass from the shelter of an outdoor café. Since we're technically on vacation, we feel fine about indulging in a pain au chocolat to accompany our espressos.

Montpellier's aqueduct was inspired by the Pont du Gard. It allowed
drinking water to be supplied to Montpellier from the town of Saint-Clément.

Ken stands on the steps of the tower that contained Montpellier's
water reserves from the Saint-Clément Aqueduct. 

Imitating the famous arch in Paris, Montpellier's
Arc de Triomphe was built in honor of Louis XIV.

The sunshine has dried up the puddles even before we reach Place Royale du Peyrou where we check out the aqueduct and admire the views. Most of the shops haven't opened by the time we pass by the Arc de Triomphe and walk the length of Rue Foch, Montpellier's main street. But we've worked up an appetite for lunch. One more good meal and precious time with ma sœur et mon beau frère, before heading to Gare Saint-Roch. Our five-hour trip will take us through Béziers, Narbonne, Carcassonne, and Toulouse. And just like that, we're home, our rare summer trip behind us.

The spires of Cathédrale Saint-Pierre can be seen above Montpellier's rooftops.