Sainte-Foy-la-Grande



Today I paid a visit to Ste-Foy-la-Grande, one of Aquitaine's original bastides. A bastide is a fortified medieval town built during the 13th and 14th centuries. I picked up a map from the Office de Tourisme and had a walk around the town, admiring its fine timbered medieval houses, the most grandiose of which was the Office de Tourisme itself with its stunning corner tower. Ste-Foy-la-Grande is a pilgrim stop on the route to Santiago de Compostella and indeed I came across a couple of these intrepid pilgrims when I called in at the local church, also called the Église Notre-Dame. This mid 17th century église has a beautifully proportioned pure Gothic interior. I took a photo of its compact organ, flanked on either side by tall, slender pillars reaching upwards to its fine rib-vaulted ceiling. I finished my visit with a stroll along the banks of the ubiquitous Dordogne.

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