DORDOGNE - Belvès

Belvès was another of the villages on my ‘must see’ list, and I wasn’t disappointed! I arrived just before lunchtime, and made a quick tour of the village before finding myself on the Place d’Armes where the tourist information office is.



I’d seen a sign for a guided visit to the troglodyte dwellings in the caves below the village, so I was hoping there would still be a place for the midday tour. The lady behind the desk asked if preferred English or French, so I said English, and she said there were not enough people as they needed 4 minimum. Thinking quickly I said the French tour would suit me just as well, and she replied that there weren’t enough for the French tour either – why bother asking! She did give me a photocopied map of the town with all the main sights marked, so I set off again on foot.



The Castrum was definitely worth a visit with its ancient sandstone houses and narrow cobbled streets which lead to the little castle. The street here is very slightly terraced and another visitor – a French lady of 80 years old – unexpectedly threw herself at my feet. We were just in front of the old hospital at the time, but they weren’t accepting any new patients. Fortunately, nothing was broken, so after settling her on the wall to get her breath back, I carried on.

I came across the Hotel Bontemps by pure chance as my town plan had blown away while the old lady was telling me repeatedly how old she was. The building itself dates back to the 12th century but the Renaissance façade which is absolutely beautiful even in it’s current state of age and disrepair was added later in 1520. It is named after Bontemps, a French Captain who fought for the King of England during the hundred year war.



Using my common sense and following the rue du Château, I managed to find the brightly coloured château. It must be something to do with the colour of the rocks/sand in the area as all the medieval houses were the same orangey/pink colour. The château itself was quite striking, but looked like it’d been built by a child; I’ll just add this bit here, and this bit here, and then this can go over here, and I’ve got a bit that doesn’t match but that can go there…