The best-preserved medieval town in France — foie gras, walnut oil, and truffles in the Dordogne
Sarlat-la-Canéda is the finest medieval town in France — an extraordinary concentration of golden limestone buildings from the 11th to 17th centuries, preserved almost intact in a hollow of the Dordogne valley. The Saturday market in the Place de la Liberté, where black truffles, foie gras, walnuts, and Périgord strawberries are sold, is one of the great market experiences of France. Prehistoric cave art sites — Lascaux, Font-de-Gaume, Les Eyzies — are within 30 minutes' drive.
Sarlat grew around a Carolingian abbey founded in the 9th century and became a prosperous market town in the medieval period. It survived the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion largely intact, then — by lucky accident — was neglected during the industrial revolution when the railway bypassed it, leaving the medieval fabric untouched. A 1962 French heritage law (the Malraux Act) designated Sarlat as its pilot project for urban conservation and funded the restoration of the entire old town. La Boétie, the philosopher and close friend of Montaigne, was born here in 1530.