Cathedral de Saint Sacerdos, which was founded in the 14th century, is next to the TI. Rick Steves has a nice walking tour of the town and it starts at the Cathedral.
It's a medieval village with atmospheric arches.
The bullet shaped building is known as the Lantern of the Dead. It dates from 1147 and was built in gratitude to St. Bernard de Clairvaux who taught hygiene standards which saved the town from further deaths from the Plague. It had already claimed 1000 of the 4000 citizens in 4 days.
Other than the main street (Rue de la Republique) that cuts north to south, many of the streets in town are narrow and pedestrian.
Sarlat's mascot is the salamander, an animal unfazed by fire or water.
The Church of Sainte Marie now serves as the covered market. It's open Friday to Wednesday.
The market has the largest doors I have ever seen.
Inside, there are stalls selling food, fruit (fresh & dried) and crafts.
The dark stone roofs on many of the roofs in Sarlat are called lauzes and are typical of the region. The flat limestone rocks were initially gathered by farmers clearing their fields and used for roofing material. The roofs last up to 300 years. The small windows in the roof provide air circulation, which allows lichen to grow and seal gaps between the stone, making it waterproof.
View of Place de la Liberte from the statue "Boy of Sarlat."
See the statue of geese. It's an homage to the geese that are traded on market days from Nov to March.
We didn't spend the night but next time, we'll do that. Sarlat is the only town in France that is lit by gas lamps.
2018 05 25
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