HERE is a guide to places to visit, restaurants to drop in on, as well as handy information on local shops and the history of Villefranche-du-Périgord.
Places to stay in Villefranche-du-Périgord
– La Bastide hotel and restaurant
– La Petite Auberge
– Eden Auberge
Supermarkets and shops
Villefranche-du-Périgord is home to a range of shops offering you the chance to stock up the kitchen shelves, buy gifts and local produce, as well as pick up something to read or a bite to eat.
Supermarkets and food shops
- Vival – found at the western end of Rue Notre Dame offering food, wine, cheese and regular packaged goods. Also small gifts and DIY items.
- Proxi – found at the eastern end of Rue Notre Dame, again providing food and wine, locally produced delicacies and fruit and vegetables.
- Boucherie De La Halle – found in the main square, Place de la Liberté, providing cuts of meat, sausages, prepared meals.
Boulangerie and cakes
There are two bakeries in the village, both found on Rue Notre Dame offering freshly made bread and cakes, as well as an ordering service.
Other shops and services
- Foyer Rural – the village hall is found in the Place de la Liberté and often has film shows, small exhibitions and hosts annual events.
- Brocante La Corniere – antiques and more found in the main square, Place de la Liberté, under the arcades, close to the church.
- Duo Coiffure – hairdressers found in the main square, Place de la Liberté.
- Bien par Nature – found on the Rue Notre Dame, almost opposite Vival, offers the chance to buy jewellery, pottery items and natural remedies.
- CBP and Sallery immobilier – estate agents for the local area, found opposite the Maison de la Châtaigne.
- Le Papier Bavard – a small second hand bookshop found on the Rue Notre Dame, also offers a chance to have a coffee.
- Credit Agricole – bank with cash machine (open 24/7) halfway along the Rue Notre Dame.
- Malroux – found at the eastern end of the Rue Notre Dame, offers electrician services but also a shop with electric items and ordering service.
- Villefranche-du-Perigord marie is found at the eastern end of the village.
- La Poste – found close to the mairie at the eastern end of the village.
Opening hours for la Poste :
Tuesday 10h to 12h15 and 14h to 16h30.
Wednesday 9h30 to 12h15 and 14h to 16h30.
Thursday and Friday 9h30 to 12h15.
Saturday 9h to 12h.
In the parking area in front you will find the electric car charging point. - Tabac Presse – found just along from La Poste, providing books, magazines, cards, a passport photo booth, payment of bills.
- Garage Orgibet – just round the corner from the tabac on the main Route de Cahors out of the village.
- Sodepacc – provides agricultural products, but also things for the garden, outdoor work clothing, cooking gas bottles and is found on the western edge of the village on the D660 just before the gendarmerie.
- Petrol station – found on the western side of the village along the D660.
- Railway station – found a few kilometres outside the village.
The market in Villefranche-du-Périgord takes place every Saturday morning, where you can pick up local fruit and vegetable.
There are also larger markets that usually fill the main square and run all the way along the main Rue Notre Dame on 8 May and 11 November.
There are also hunters that operate on Sundays during the autumn and winter months, with the season normally running from mid-September to the end of February.
And if you are local to the area I’ve gathered together some information on the public services around this corner of the Dordogne.
Restaurants, cafés and bars
If you want a bite to eat, a light snack or just a coffee or something a little stronger, then there are a few options available in Villefranche-du-Périgord.
- Aux Multiples Saveurs – found in the main square offering traditional meals and drinks, with the chance to sit under the old arcades.
- Le Goûter de Charlotte – offers lighter meals and snacks, often with a vegetarian option or two, and is found on the main Rue Notre Dame.
- Ô Faim Goût’R Mets – local specials, with ingredients from locally sourced suppliers, with fine wines and a selection of beers, and is found on Rue Notre Dame.
- Café De La Poste – local bar found at the eastern end of Rue Notre Dame, close to the Proxi supermarket. Also home to a pool table!
- La Bastide – contemporary meals produced from locally sourced suppliers, with a fish dish offered every day. Found near La Poste and the mairie.
- Camping la Bastide – often offers vegetarian options and is found just 300 metres outside the village on the eastern edge of Villefranche-du-Périgord, Route de Cahors.
- La Petite Auberge – found around 600 meters outside the village, take the road by the mairie and offers a calm, secluded garden with local produce and vegetarian options.
Health, gendarmerie and veterinary services
At the western end of the village, just beyond the main square you will find the Pharmacie des Châtaigniers, which provides medical services and advice.
There is parking alongside and the staff speak English and are very knowledgeable if you have health worries or concerns.
In the village there is also a health centre, found on the northern side of the D660, near the area for camping cars and the small lake, where a doctor’s appointment can be made, although you will likely have to call to arrange a time.
If you head out of the village to the west you will find the gendarmerie building on the D660 should you need to call on local law enforcement.
And if you carry on down the D660 for a little less than a kilometre, you will find the Clinique Vétérinaire La Fougère, which offers vet services, for example, if you need pet passport assistance.
Toilets in Villefranche-du-Périgord
There are public toilet facilities found at the western end of the village, just off the Place de la Liberté, opposite the car park that serves the Pharmacie des Châtaigniers.
Download a guide to Villefranche-du-Périgord
The guide provides both visitors and locals a snap-shot of what is available around the village, with contact details for shops, restaurants and cafes, as well as gites and places to stay.
There is also a quick guide to some of the buildings and streets you can see, with a little on their history which in many cases stretches back to the Hundreds Year War.
A handy little map is also featured in the guide to ensure you don’t get lost when exploring the medieval village of Villefranche-du-Périgord.
The guide has been produced and overseen by Salvatore Orlando, of the art gallery located on rue Notre-Dame
Download the .pdf guide to Villefranche-du-Périgord
Places to visit in Villefranche-du-Périgord
You can just take a stroll around the village itself to enjoy the arcades, stonework and hidden alleyways that are perfect for photographers.
But there is also the Maison de la Châtaigne, that is home to the village tourist office, and provides a range of information on places to visit just a short drive away.
The Maison de la Châtaigne itself offers you a chance to learn more about the chestnut trees and woods that surround the hillsides, highlighting the importance of this crop in the past to the local community, although even now the chestnut is a valuable resource to many.
In the village square you will find the Église Notre-Dame de l’Assomption, that you can visit and sometimes host choir concerts, but also church services and at Christmas a mass.
Although a church has existed here since 1261, there was very little left of it after the Hundred Years War and the Wars of Religion.
The current building was designed by architect, Paul Abadie, and consecrated in 1869, and the facade of the famous Sacré-Cœur in Paris is based upon it. Paul Abadie also worked on the Cathédrale Saint-Front in Périgueux.
And staying in the square, you will see la Halle with its strong, sturdy columns holding up the wonderful wooden beams and roof.
Built in 1818 it still plays host to the Saturday market, as well as many other events throughout the year, including the famous cèpes fair and in the corner you will see the old measuring containers used for local produce.
History of Villefranche-du-Périgord
Founded in 1261 by Alphonse de Poitiers, Villefranche-du-Périgord is a classic bastide town, the oldest in Périgord, with the roads at right angles and a large covered market.
The name Villefranche signified that the village enjoyed special trade and administrative advantages, that were the same for the poorest local farmers and the wealthiest landowners.
The French held it during the Hundred Years War, while the English held the town of Monpazier about 20 km away, and many of the chateaux and churches in the surrounding villages can be traced back to these times – it was ‘border country’.
The Wars of Religion also saw much of the village ransacked and burnt to the ground, but there are parts of the village that go back to the 15th and 16th Century, and in some corners even further.
Today Villefranche-du-Périgord is overseen by the administration of the préfecture in Périgueux, with its sous-préfecture being Sarlat, although the mairie still plays a key role in providing local services and advice, and that is found near La Poste at the eastern end of the village.
Places to stay in Villefranche-du-Périgord
– La Bastide hotel and restaurant
– La Petite Auberge
– Eden Auberge
