Be there, Be square

Touring Europe is admittedly a dream come true, but let’s be honest--- after more than a thousand small villages, they start to look the same. When we first arrived in the Dordogne, we noticed a square checkerboard symbol below certain village names, and there was revived excitement at discovering something new. These marquees told us we were entering a bastide, or medieval fortified town, and while these villages also started to look the same, we realized it was in their conformity that they became unique. These fortified towns, unlike most villages, are laid out in symmetrical (checkerboard) grids around a market square. They exist elsewhere in Europe, but not in such density as found in Southwestern France. The bastides of the Dordogne are living monuments to the medieval strife that plagued the region, as well as a glimpse at early urban planning.

In the Périgord, approximately 25 bastides were built but only 18 were completed. Join us in Monpazier, considered to be the 'perfect' bastide, and meet Arjan and Mirije, a couple who has broken into this deeply guarded community to become successful restaurateurs, and who have become part of the new history of Monpazier. Read their entertaining story of local rituals and friendly neighbors, and of life as a foreigner in one of the most historic villages of France.