Perigueux - La Source (1980)  
   
Rue Forquenot, opposite the SNCF Railway Works, Perigueux.
   
   
Hidden from the main streets, a narrow stepped street in the old quarter descends in the direction of the river Isle, Perigueux.
   
   

   
   
<p>Rue Chancelier de l '>
   
  
      
26/07/2008   
      


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26/06/2008


25/06/2008


24/06/2008


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21/06/2008
The Voie Vert - greenway - that permits cyclists, roller bladers, joggers and walkers travel the length of the city without being bothered by cars, along the banks of the river Isle and its canal in the centre. Here, we are beside Perigueux Golf Course.

20/06/2008
The Gouffre de Proumeyssac. Before being explored and subsequently opened up to visitors, this huge cave was the dumping ground where highwaymen would dispose of their victims, dropping them through the opening at the top, very near the surface. A tunnel has been added to facilitate visits, so that it is now no longer necessary to descend in a basket through the original opening. The visit is quite quick, but it is an impressive sight.

19/06/2008
The balcony section of the Musee Gallo Romain de Vesunna in Perigueux. Built over the Domus, it is a very interesting museum for anyone with a passion for Roman history.

18/06/2008
The new AquaCap swimming pool. Somewhat more expensive than the municipal pools because it is viewed as a leisure facility, with several pools, slides, sauna etc. The floor tiles seem quite slippy once out of the water, but perhaps that was just our experience. The new pool is on the old Paris road. Leave the centre by going up the hill at the Tourny roundabout and continuing straight on for about 2km past the Hospital, Elephant Bleue car wash and Intermarche (all on your right) until you reach the edge of town at Intermarche. Straight on for another few hundred meters, its on your left at the roundabout.

17/06/2008
Place Bugeaud in central Perigueux. Its raining again and nearly summer - or so they say!

16/06/2008
The bottom of Avenue Georges Pompidou as we come into central Perigueux from the old Limoges/Paris road.

15/06/2008
Les Mouches de Dragon playing on rue du Serment in the old quarter during the Saturday market.

14/06/2008
Rue Philippe Parrot in the Le Toulon quarter of Perigueux. Philippe Parrot was a painter born in Saint Medard dExcideuil in 1831. He lived in Excideuil, a market town about 35 km east of Perigueux. He died in 1894.

13/06/2008
Rue Taillfer (coming down around the bend on the left) meets with Rue de la Clarte at Place Daumesnil just in front of the entrance to the cathedrale saint Front. The cathedral curious for its byantine style domes is open to visitors.

12/06/2008
At a bus stop outside the Sans Reserve rock venue in the quartier La Monzie, the Dounaiers (customs officers) arrest two men travelling west out of the city on rue Pierre Semard and search their car with the assistance of the pompiers (fire brigade).

11/06/2008
Rue Eugène Le Roy, in central Perigueux.

10/06/2008
At the junction of Cours Tourny and rue Saint Front in central Perigueux, with the Palais de Justice in the background. Despite blue skies in the morning, this afternoon has turned to thundery weather again, though at least its a little warmer than of late - about 24°C.

09/06/2008
Park Briand, in the centre of Perigueux. Situated between rue Charles Mangold and Boulevard Lakanal, this is one of five small parks near the city centre. The municipal indoor swimming pool is situated next to the park (the municipal outdoor pool is in Marsac, on the western outskirts).

08/06/2008
Bertrand de Born school, on rue Charles Mangold.

07/06/2008
Boulevard Bertrand de Born, just past the Gendarmerie, in central Perigueux. If we continue along the boulevard about 300 meters, we arrive at the Tour de Vesonne and Gallo Roman Museum.

06/06/2008
In front of the eglise Saint Etienne de la Cite in central Perigueux, which like the cathedrale saint front also sports a byzantine style dome, we look across Rue de la Cite. Just to the right, we can walk in a minute or two to the public park that is the remains of the ancient Roman Amphitheatre called the 'Jardin Public des Arenes'. To the right, we are no more than a few leisurely minutes walk from the Tour de Vesonne and the Gallo Roman museum.

05/06/2008
The 'Hotel La Beauronne' near the Perigueux Golf Course at the western end of town is situated on the roundabout, between the road to Brantome / Angouleme (to the right of the hotel) and the road to Chancelade, Saint Astier, Riberac and to Bordeaux via the A89 motorway. it has been taken over by new management this year (2008).

04/06/2008
A Detail from a reconstructed tiled floor from the Roman house who's remains are displayed within the Gallo Roman museum of Perigueux. A large section of perhaps 4 * 2 meters is hanging on a wall shortly after you begin your visit. What caught my eye here was the ancient swastika like symbol. This was widely used around the world from neolithic times but is of course shunned now in the western world due to its (relatively recent) association with nazism. Many cultures around the world have used and continue to use the symbol.

03/06/2008

Rue Chancelier de l'Hôpital in the old quarter of Perigueux. For nights out, La Régence nightclub is situated at 16 rue des Chancelier-de-l'Hôpital.



02/06/2008
The Isle is in flood again, after more persistent rain, which this weekend caused a train to be derailed in Libourne on the track from Perigueux to Bordeaux adding to the trouble on the line following a fire over two weeks ago at Coutras station. Since then passangers have been obliged to change trains at Coutras to continue their travel. The river begins in the Massif Central, 375m above sea level, in the Haute Vienne. It is about 255km in length and flows east to west through the Dordogne, joining the Dordogne river near Libourne (not far from Bordeaux), in the Gironde. In Perigueux, the river has a canal (built in the 1850s) running parallel to it for a distance of about 2km through the city centre which did at one time have a port. In an average year the river would already be well on its way to reducing its volume to summertime levels, but this year is an exception!

01/06/2008
A detail from a Roman capstone. This capstone is one of many on display in the Gallo-Roman museum in Perigueux. We can see a sea-serpent and what apears to be the figure of a mans body who's legs have been replaced with the tail of a sea-serpent. The museum is built over the remains of a wealthy Roman's home and is noted for this. It is about 10 minutes walk from the Tourist Office (situated at the edge of the old quarter, in the city centre).

31/05/2008
The rue de Professeur Peyrot. On the left at the end of this street in central Perigueux, is the Jardin Public de Vésone. This is where the ancient Roman tower of vesuna, once the heart of a Roman church is situated and also where the Gallo-Roman museum is to be found.

30/05/2008
The Lyc�e Betrand de Born on rue Charles Mangold, opposite the Parc A. Briand and the municipal swimming pool in central Perigueux.

29/05/2008
Place L. Magne, in central Perigueux, is situated beween rue Gadaud and Thiers. A small park, it is overwhelmed by the number of cars parked all around it and the traffic passing by.

28/05/2008
Rue de l'Aqueduc.The CROUS University restaurant is at the end of the street. L'Institut Universitaire de Technologie Périgueux - Bordeaux IV was established in Perigueux in 2004 and provides courses in the tourism and medical sectors.

27/05/2008
The "Girls Club" Bar and club on rue de l'Union in the old quarter of Perigueux.

26/05/2008
The rains yesterday were particularly heavy and lasted most of the day. Here, near the village of Andrix a little to the south of Le Bugue, the torrents running down both sides of the road and from the road on the left flooded the road on reaching the flat ground of the valley. While cars took turns to traverse the intersection here and at the main road 30 meteres further on, a local man did his best to open channels by to allow the water to evacuate into the fields adjacent.

25/05/2008
JMF Motoculture in Chancelade was burnt down in a fire on Saturday morning, following what was reported as a fault with an electrical switch box. Fire units were at the scene until well into the afternoon. Units from nearby towns like Saint Astier were called to fight the large blaze which destroyed the interior of this shop selling and repairing gardening equipment. None of the staff, who are now in a state of chomage technique were reported to have been hurt in the blaze. Roads in front and behind the shop were closed for the morning and diversions caused some delays to those trying to leave Perigueux by the Saint Astier / Riberac roads.

24/05/2008
The rue Notre Dame in the old quarter of Perigueux. This part of the old quarter, near the cathedral Saint Front is quieter and much less commercially active than the streets to the north of rue Taillefer.

23/05/2008
The little square at one end of rue Judaique, in the old quarter of Perigueux. The Star Inn, a British pub, is a little to the right of here.

22/05/2008
Looking down towards the Cathedral Saint Front from rue de Plantier in the old quarter.

21/05/2008
The rue du Clos Chassaing near the centre of Perigueux. The local primary school is one of a number of schools selected nationwide to pilot new educational methods.

20/05/2008
This detail in the corner of a little lane of Avenue Daumesnil in the Old Quarter of Perigueux caught my eye. Nearby is the Cathedral Saint Front and the river Isle. There are many quiet little corners to explore in the Old Quarter and in the summer the narrow streets provide more shade than the wider axes.

19/05/2008
The large square between the Prefecture on Alle Tourny and the Musee de Perigord on Cours Tourny is in part used a a car part (at the Boulevard de Montaigne end) and has an open space (shown here) at the river end. I am guessing that the de Tourny in question is Louis Urbain Aubert, Marquis de Tourny, who came to Bordeaux in 1743 and played a large part in shaping the city. He is reputed to have said that he would make of Bordeaux 'the most beautfiul city in the kingdom'. He placed gates resembling the Arc de Triomphe at the entrances to the city and was responsible for a number of major streets and squares including the Allees de Tourny, Place Tourny, Place Gambetta and the public gardens.

18/05/2008
The Agora cultural 'space' is situated in the same building as the Boulazac Mairie. It was developed to create a new heart for the town of Boulazac, which 20 years ago was separated into three distinct areas - the old village, the highly active and successful commercial zone and modern but underserviced housing estates. The modern centre, created a dynamic new space for cultural and sporting activity (including the recent construction of a new home for the Pro B Boulazac basketball team) where the town Mairie (town hall) is now situated. While it lacks any of the charm of the older town centres of France, it has adressed the way the town was developing in an into an unco-ordinated suburb of Perigueux. The main hall can seat 500.

17/05/2008
Notre Dame is a religious reference to 'our lady'. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that there is a place of pilgrimage in Perigueux known as 'Notre-Dame du Grand Pouvoir', dating back to 1673.

16/05/2008
Todays weather has been miserable, again, so its not being shown! In fact its been quite on and off all week... so here is a photo of a riverside map on the Isle. The banks of the Isle river have been substantially developed over recent years and this map near the Quartier Saint George is a little out of date. The dashed marks at the western end of the city shown the paths extension westward as far as Marsac and a spur through the golf course to Chancelade have already been completed.

15/05/2008
The Boulazac basketball team finished their season last night with a match in Boulazac at 15th out of 18 in the Pro B basketball division, with 14 wins and 20 losses. Unfortunately I wasn't there for the match and this is a stock photo... better than nothing? Sorry guys!

14/05/2008
Vesunna, the museum of Gallo-Roman Perigueux.
This on-site museum, unique in Aquitaine, is situated in the heart of the ancient city of Vesunna. The permanent exhibition presents the town from during the period from the first to the third century. Begining with a model displaying the extent of the Roman town (which had a population of about 10,000) the visit takes you along two balconies before descending to the main hall. The balconies have displays of sculptures, capstones, piping and smaller ornaments. In the main hall, the centre piece is the restored remains of a Roman home, in-situ. Between the central exhibit and the glass walls on three sides of the museum are many artefacts from ordinary Roman day to day life.

13/05/2008
The Mairie of Champcevinel, part of the CAP - the Communaute de lAgglomoration Perigourdine - the metropolitan area centered around Perigueux. It is in effect a quiet, quasi rural suburb of Perigueux. The town has a population of 2,650 and an area of 1,830 hectares (18.3 sq kilometres). If you are visiting the Perigueux area and have young children to entertain, there is a stable in the modest old chateau where you can take a little pony out for a walk (one adult per pony and child) along an unmarked circuit that takes you along a country road, through a small section of forest and finaly back down to the stables past the municipal tennis courts and playing fields. The town is situated on the hills to the north of Perigueux, between the Roman road and the old Paris road.

12/05/2008
Early morning in Perigueux. France Telecom on the corner of rue Chancelier de l'Hopital with rue Taillefer and opposite is Firmin, Patisseries and Sandwiches.

11/05/2008
Rue Lagrange Chancal in the Toulon quartier. It runs parallel to rue Pierre Semard and rue Victor Hugo, the principal route west out of the city centre. It can occasionally be useful to get ahead of heavy drivetime traffic.

10/05/2008
Looking over the Toulon quarter and part of the SNCF railway works towards Coulouniex Chamiers, from the Chemin de Puyferrat on the hill at the line between Perigueux and Chancelade.

09/05/2008
The pumping station on the river Isle. The river now has a path that extends from Trellisac in the east, right through the city centre past the golf course to Marsac at the western end. It is a favourite with joggers, cyclists and walkers, especially on Sunday. Near the stadium, there are parking places along the road and the footbridge and railway bridge provide access to the Coulouniex Chamiers side and make a loop possible. Further into town, at the end of ru Paul Bert, another little bridge crosses the canal to a long, artificial island created between the canal and the river, where a artificial slopes and ramps have been installed for roller blading and skateboarding enthusiasts.

08/05/2008
The pumping station on the river Isle. The river now has a path that extends from Trellisac in the east, right through the city centre past the golf course to Marsac at the western end. It is a favourite with joggers, cyclists and walkers, especially on Sunday. Near the stadium, there are parking places along the road and the footbridge and railway bridge provide access to the Coulouniex Chamiers side and make a loop possible. Further into town, at the end of ru Paul Bert, another little bridge crosses the canal to a long, artificial island created between the canal and the river, where a artificial slopes and ramps have been installed for roller blading and skateboarding enthusiasts.

07/05/2008
The roundabout at the top of Boulevard Montaigne in central Perigueux. Michel de Montaigne was a writer during the Renaissance period. He lived from Feb 28 1533 to Sept. 13 1592. A conservative catholic, he was nonetheless quite a free thinker, not fond of dogma. His essays influenced many writers who followed and he is famous for remarking 'Que sais je?' - what do I know?

06/05/2008
The Bar de La Truffe, in central Perigueux. This little square, is transformed on Wednesday and Saturday mornings into a lively and colourful display of all the best local produce, being sold to by the people who toiled the land and cared for the birds and animals they sell. All kinds of vegetables, cheeses, meats, nut oils and foie gras can be had.

05/05/2008
A crash at the roundabout at the western edge of Perigueux, next to the city golf course. Unfortunately, driving styles here in the Dordogne, while not on a par with the Mediteranean coastal regions, is not as good as it might be. Though I don't know exactly what happened here, I have recently witnessed a female driver calmy take a left turn on a roundabout (at the Lions roundabout on rue Wilson) without bothering to go around the rotary... in full view of a city police car. Needless to say she was pursued and questioned by the police... Before christmas I saw the same happen at this roundabout and I couldn't count the number of times I've witnessed cars parked on roundabouts... Beware!

04/05/2008
The rue de Terme Saint Sicaire, with Clos Chasaing school on the left. Saint Sicaire is supposed to have been one of the infant martyrs killed by Herod. Brantôme church is also dedicated to Saint Sicaire.

03/05/2008
The railway station in Périgueux is about half a kilometer from the city centre. The station has regular services to Bordeaux (west), Limoges (north), Brive (east) and Agen (south). The nearest TGV connection is at Libourne, on the Bordeaux line. Travellers to an from Paris should note however that though the direct service has been cut for a coulpe of years, it is still, in our experience, faster to travel via Limoges where connections are quick. The trains from Limoges Benedictine station to Paris arrive at Paris Austerlitz station. As a bonus, the fares on these regular intercity trains are a little cheaper than standard TGV fares.

02/05/2008
The tourist office in Perigueux, Dordogne. Rue Littre, in the centre of Perigueux (underground parking just oposite).

01/05/2008
Boulevard de Vesone, near the Clinique Francheville private hospital in central Perigueux.

30/04/2008
The park in the Roman Amphitheatre.

29/04/2008
The narrow streets of the old quarter afford the people of Perigueux cooling shadows to escape the sun.

28/04/2008
The tiny rue des Augustines in the old quarter of Perigueux. You can touch the buildings on either side with ease and walk its length in seconds.

27/04/2008
Interesting patterns at a junction on rue Barbicane in the old quarter.

26/04/2008
The reception area in the Boulazac Mairie.



design, text and photographs © ROB