PÉRIGUEUX AND CYCLING
The people of Périgord welcomed three time trials to their town, which had already linked them to Bergerac in 1961, 1994 and 2014. The first ended in the city and saw Jacques Anquetil confirm his undisputed dominance in that edition. Winning in the rain at an average speed of 43.6 km/h, the Norman rider succeeded in his bid to wear the Yellow Jersey from the first to the last day of the race. Without a puncture, Maître Jacques would undoubtedly have overtaken his closest rival, Charly Gaul, who, spurred on by this threat, put in an excellent time trial performance to finish in second place, almost three minutes behind the Frenchman. This fine performance enabled the Luxembourger to snatch second place overall from Italy's Guido Carlesi. In 1994, Miguel Indurain was equally impressive over the 64-km course, leaving his main rival, Tony Rominger, exactly two minutes adrift. In 2014, the tradition continued with Tony Martin's victory over a 54-km course from Bergerac, where he left Tom Dumoulin to trailing by 1:39. But this year's stage is likely to resemble the last finish in town in 2017, which ended in a bunch sprint won by Marcel Kittel. It was the German's 13th and penultimate stage victory in the Tour, and he went on to win his fifth stage of the race the following day in Pau. Saturated with cycling, this cycling gentleman finished the 2018 edition outside the time limit and without a victory before ending his career prematurely. Périgueux is also the birthplace of Didier Virvaleix, who competed in the 1991 Tour before embarking on a second career in running.
PÉRIGUEUX
Vesunna Museum Site
History: In 1959, archaeological excavations revealed a domus (Roman villa) richly decorated with murals and mosaics.
Characteristics: Protected by a scenographic and architectural project by Jean Nouvel, the museum presents collections on the ancient city and its inhabitants (1st–3rd centuries AD).
Label: Musée de France since 19 November 2009.
Listed as: Historic Monument (1963).
Website
Tour de Vésone
Construction: 1st–2nd century
History: 24-metre-high circular tower, part of one of the largest Roman temples in Gaul. Represents the cultural fusion of Celtic fanum and Roman temple architecture.
Listed as: Historic Monument (1846).
Amphitheatre of Périgueux
Construction: 1st century
History: Seats 18,000; initially built during the reign of Tiberius. Later reused in the Middle Ages for fortifications and in 17th century for convent construction. Stones partially destroyed and covered in the 19th century to create Jardin des Arènes.
Listed as: Historic Monument (1840).
Jardin des Arènes
Characteristics: Public garden surrounding the remains of the Roman amphitheatre. Features centuries-old trees, ponds, play areas, and visible vomitoria, stairwells, and vaults.
Périgord Museum of Art and Archaeology (MAAP)
Established: 1835
Characteristics: Major 19th-century museum tracing visual arts from prehistory to present. Prehistory collection is the fourth largest in France with 18,500 items.
Label: Musée de France.
Protected Area
Characteristics: 21.5 hectares encompassing medieval and Renaissance town. Features half-timbered houses, Romanesque civil architecture, and Renaissance mansions. Mataguerre Tower, the last rampart tower, is open to visitors (listed 1840). Quais houses include Salleton mansion (1938), Consuls’ house, and Lambert house (1889).
Saint-Front Cathedral
Construction: 12th–19th century
Style: Byzantine Romanesque
History: First church built by Bishop Chronope (500–536). Rebuilt in the 12th century with domes inspired by St Mark’s Basilica. Enlarged until the 16th century, destroyed by Huguenots, rebuilt and became a cathedral in 1669. Restored in the 18th century.
Characteristics: 12th-century Romanesque-Byzantine style. North porch (25 m) with terrace and five bays; crypts under north and south domes; bell tower 62 m high.
Listed as: Historic Monument (1840, 1889). UNESCO World Heritage Site (Routes of Santiago de Compostela).
Saint-Étienne de la Cité Church
Construction: 11th–12th centuries
Style: Romanesque
History: First cathedral of Périgueux until 1669. Restored in the early 19th century and again 2010–2021.
Characteristics: Retains one original Romanesque bay and two of four domes (one 15 m in diameter).
Listed as: Historic Monument (1840).
