Sarlat Attractions

Sarlat (pop. 10,423), a heart-shaped little town lying to the north of the river Dordogne, was once the chief town of Périgord Noir, and has preserved from that period numbers of elegant burghers' houses. In the south of the old town is the church of St-Sacerdos, rebuilt in its present form in the 16th C.; the tower on the west front is Romanesque. On its south side is the former Bishop's Palace, with a Renaissance facade. Behind the choir of the church is a lanterne des morts ("dead man's lantern"), a round tower with a conical roof of volcanic stone (12th C.). To the north of the church is the birthplace of the 16th C. writer Etienne de La Boëtie, a friend of Montaigne's. In Rue de la Liberté (on left) is the Hôtel de Maleville (16th C.). A little way east, in Rue Salamandre, is the Hôtel de Grezel (15th C.). In the north of the old town (Rue des Consuls) is the Hôtel Plamon (15th- 17th C.), with a handsome facade.