Our Region and our town

Having provided the reader with some details on our home and our experiences here in France, it is now time to start looking at where we live. The towns and sites of our particular region of France carry a strong history and culture that is often not seen in the big cities like Paris. We will now provide a background on our region starting with the towns and site within it.

To begin, we live in Port Sainte Foy et Ponchapt (the full and correct name), which is a small town based on the north side of the Dordogne River. Sainte Foy la Grande is the main town and it lies on the southern side of the river about 200 metres from our house.

Sainte Foy (pronounced “fwa”) is in the Department of the Gironde while Port Ste Foy is in the Dordogne Department. Both Departments are part of the Aquitaine region of France based in the South West with its capital being Bordeaux.

The general region with Ste Foy to the right of the marked circle

Sainte Foy is located on the D936 Road around 1 hour due East of Bordeaux and about 25 minutes west of Bergerac. If you look at Google Maps, you can see exactly where Ste Foy and Port Ste Foy are located.

The Departments of Aquitaine - The Gironde is bright yellow and the Dordogne is palest yellow to the right

The Dordogne (very popular with “les Anglais”) is a varied department which encompasses, some wine area, but is more predominantly agricultural. It also includes the famed Vezere Valley where there remains a host of pre-historic sites including the Lascaux caves. The department has a diverse architectural style ranging from basic single story “Charentais style” houses in the west to more “Perigourdian” structures in the East of the Department. Perigourdian reflect the Departmental capital of Perigueux and is represented by more than one level and with a steep sloping roof to allow for the snow not to build up too much on the roof. The Dordogne takes in towns such as Perigueux, Bergerac, Brantome, Riberac, Chalais, Montignac and Sarlat. 

The Gironde on the other hand is a department of rolling hills and “Bastide” towns that played a vital role during the “100 Years war” between France and England. Most of the Gironde and other parts of Aquitaine were considered more a part of England than France in medieval times with English kings (such as Henry II who married Eleanor of Aquitaine and inherited much of the region and his son Richard I or Richard the Lionheart). The department today is predominantly a wine producing area and includes Bordeaux and the fine vineyards of the Medoc region. A Bastide town was effectively a “structured and defensive town built around a church and a market square. Often grid style but sometimes circular, these towns were the places that many locals would head to whenever there was a fear of a major conflict during the 100 years war. Many bastides were built on hilltops to provide them with a strategic advantage of being easier to defend, but also in a strong position to see approaching enemy forces.

So that is just a little about the overall region. Let’s now look a bit more specifically at some of the towns and sites, starting with our home town of Sainte Foy la Grande.

Sainte Foy la Grande was founded in 1255 by Alphonse of Poitiers and is a rectangular grid-style walled bastide and typical of many bastide towns. The walls are no longer standing although some of the original buildings are. Ste Foy was a strategic centre and known as the gateway to the Perigord. Being based on the river, it was a prominent port town supplying wine and tobacco downstream to Bordeaux, from where much of the produce found its ways to England as the famed “Claret” favoured by English aristocracy. The actual port for the town was what is now known as Port Ste Foy as it is on the deep water side of the river.

Our Coat of Arms

As a result of the walls, the town survived much of the 100 Years War without any great concerns and actually prospered by its river trade as mentioned earlier. The town was somewhat disrupted during the advent of “Protestantism” during the 16^th Century and the “Wars of Religion”. Even the effects of the Revolution left the town relatively untouched.

Sainte Foy and the main Square

Ste Foy was regarded as a centre of education and learning and as a result carried some influence during the late middle ages.

Some typical architecture

Today one can wander through the narrow streets of Ste Foy and find half-timbered homes, the remains of an old “Templar” church as well as the protestant temple. The old covered market remains today, although it is no longer in the centre of town. The local Tourism Office occupies an old building with a lovely “towered” dovecote which adds to the medieval appearance.

While the town no longer prospers or exerts any great influence, it is highly regarded as having one of the best marches or markets in all of France. On a Saturday morning particularly during spring and summer, the town is very much alive with fresh food, music and the vibrant feel of a market town. Today a number of shops have closed down due to a significant retail development with a large hypermarket and other shops just out of town and this has eroded the retail trade to some extent for the town itself. None the less, there is still a significant presence of café’s and other retail shops.

From the air with Ste Foy on the right and Port Ste Foy on the left

Sainte Foy is a sound base for exploring the Gironde or the Dordogne and many towns can be found within a 60 minute drive for the town. Hope to see you soon.