Discovering Brantome, Brantome, France

The historical province of Périgord, which roughly corresponds to the modern Dordogne department, is informally divided into 4 “colors”. Our base was in the southeastern Black Périgord, where the flow of the Dordogne river is the most picturesque, and the places like Sarlat, Beynac, La Roque-Gageac, Belvès, and others are located. The Vézère valley is also part of the Black Périgord, encroaching onto the larger central region called White. The latter is anchored by Périgueux. The southwestern part carries the name of Purple Périgord – we only skirted its edge, spending time in Monpazier and making a couple of other quick stops.

The northernmost Green Périgord has not featured on our itinerary until the last day in Dordogne. As we started our trek towards Paris, we stopped on the way in the wonderful village of Brantôme.

The defining topographical feature of Brantôme is that its core is located on an island formed by two branches of the river Dronne. The village grew outward in time, but its most picturesque perspectives remain along the island edges towards the local abbey. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).