Brantome - The Venice of The Dordogne - Rosie and The Operator

Rosie and The Operator were out the door of the villa at 8.30 and driving towards Brantome, the Venice of the Dordogne, one and a half hours north of Sarlat. We have been there before 12 years or so ago and loved the beauty of this laid back wee town, we were keen to revisit.

This is an aerial shot of the town that I have taken from a postcard to give you some idea of the towns composition. Awesome, eh….but first we had to get there.

We were on the winding road via Perigeaux, the biggest town and capital of the Dordogne region driving alongside lush green fields of long grass, some bailed, some waiting to be.

Walnuts are a staple in this area and everyone seems to have an orchard of a couple of dozen trees in various sizes and age. Planted in beautiful elegant grids the shade underneath them looked so welcoming. We pass through small villages built on the roadside and up into the cliffs, this is the Neanderthal man area, many caves have been discovered in the cliffs with bones from stone age man and the tools they used plus their artwork. The cliffs overhang the road and birds soar overhead flying in and out of their nesting holes in the cliff faces.

This idyllic village started to develop on an island encircled by a sweep of the River Dronne next to the Benedictine Abbey of Brantome, which was founded in 769 by Charlemagne.

According to legend he donated relics (body parts) of Saint Sicarius, one of the children massacred by Herod . Those relics attracted pilgrims to the abbey, who also brought a certain affluence to Brantôme, but in spite of St. Sicaire’s protection, the abbey was wasted in 857 by Vikings. The abbey was rebuilt towards the end of the tenth century and again in 1480 after the end of the Hundred Years War. Its Bell Tower is a competitor for the title “oldest in France”dating to the 1100s. Even though it looks it, it is not connected to the Abbey but built on a rocky outcrop right next to it.

Wooded cliffs loom up behind the town and the river Dronne runs around the village in front of a Benedictine Abbey. There is a small weir and a lovely and unusual right-angled stone bridge to add to the beauty.

The sun was shining on the river, Rosie had a Monet moment and you could look right down into its brown depths and see the river weed and the fish floating with the current in the warm water, it was really surprising how much fish life there was in the water…I can see five in this photo.

Outside the Abbey was the information centre, we got a guide of the town and started to walk the points of interest that were noted. The sun was murderous at 1030am….especially reflecting off the white avenue of Charlemagne. This is the only town in France which has information boards outlining the historic attractions you are looking at in both French AND English….normally they are all in French, hence why you need to go to the information centre to get the English pamphlet, on which you get just a fraction of the length of the explanation…Bravo!

The village has 2,100 actual residents and the houses are made of the same regional stone but the shutters are colourful and the summer flowers are splendid, making the village look a little different from the typical French Village around here. In some areas it almost looks Mediterranean in style.

The houses back in the day of the 16th century when alot were built were prone to flooding by the river, so the ground floor was normally used to house animals or for storage, the main living areas were on the second and third floors.

Walking around the alleys some people are lucky to have back gardens, most have them planted as vege gardens and they are all so tidy.

The bridges, river, weres and waterwheels make for a picturesque location all right, Rosie and The Operator tried to reserve a shady table under the trees at this Restaurant we walked past by the waterwheel…it was booked solid for the next two weeks, Rosie didnt know it had a couple of Michelin awards….never mind probably saved us a pretty penny.

Lunch was still riverside, we wandered in early and got the perfect table with abit of riverside breeze….a little more low key and not quite so budget blowing…Rosie is still opting for her gizzard salads….and loving it, all part of our three course 19.50euro lunch menu.

The Operator had Whitebait with Tartare Sauce….not as we know it. But, like The Operator said, they certainly were the size of bait fish. There was nothing left on his plate when he had finished….personally Rosie would not have eaten the tails.

It was one thirty when we finished lunch, we meandered back to the car park and drove back home. Brantome delivered, we had a lovely day out today, it was and still is a lovely spot.

This afternoon we also went up the bell tower lift in Sarlat….yes, finally a lift, the only one in medieval Europe! To have a look at the rooftop panorama of the city. Rosie and The Operator were not disappointed….sneaky preview alert….will tell you all about it in my Sarlat posting.

After a very light dinner, we wandered back into the village for a coffee and crepe about 9.00pm, a small band was playing typical French music in the square, we sat and listened to that as the lights came on and three quarter moon rose behind the bell tower. Another end to a brilliant day.