Saint Genies, Dordogne; an attractive village

Visit Saint Genies

Saint Genies is a lovely little village between Montignac and Sarlat. At the centre of the village is a beautiful ensemble consisting of the chuch of Notre Dame de l'Assomption and a chateau. The village counts itself amongst the most beautiful in the Perigord Noir region.

Explore Saint Genies

Saint Genies is dominated by the beautiful castle and church at the centre of the village. The church was built in the 12th century and has a fortified bell-tower dating from the 16th century. It was partially destroyed in the 16th century and renovated and enlarged following this.

The castle started life in the 13th century as two parallel knight's houses originally seperated by a street but linked in the 16th century. The castle has a square tower with a spiral staircase and an oval tower. The chateau is home now to a restaurant which looks very nice and you can eat in the beautiful interiour courtyard with its pond and an original paved medieval pathway.

There is also the ruined donjon of another older castle in the village. Someone has taken the trouble to create a very pretty, colourful garden around the ruined castle making it another lovely feature of the village. On a small hill in the village is a small Gothic chapel, the chapel of Cheylard, which has some wonderful 14th century frescoes inside.

With their lovely stone (lauze) roofs and golden stone walls this architectural ensemble is fabulous. Add to this the attractive buildings surrounding these, many with beautiful deep perigordine roofs and all constructed in the same golden stone and the village is a delight.

In the centre of the village is a tall tree which was planted by the inhabitants on the evening of the 8th May 1945 to celebrate the surrender of the Germans in the Second World War. The tree is called the 'arbre de la liberté' or tree of liberty. Some newspaper cuttings and a photo also mark the occasion.

Every Sunday morning there is a market in the main square of Saint Genies with lots of local products for sale. In July and August there is also an evening market on Wednesdays when tables are laid out in the square and you can go from stall to stall choosing starter, main course and desert from the surrounding stalls, and of course a bottle of local wine to drink with your meal.

If you haven't tried one of these evening markets in the Dordogne department make sure you do - they are lots of fun and very good value.

There is also a truffle market in the village from December to February on a Sunday morning in the meeting room of the mairie.

The lauze roofs of Saint Genies are very much a feature in the village. The limestone they are made from is local. It is the local rock up to about one meter in depth and under this is the rock used for construction of the walls. The stone tiles are between 2 and 6 cm thick and weigh between 500 and 800 kilograms per square meter of tile.

Because they are so heavy they are becoming rare in the area and so it is nice to see so many lauze roofs in Saint Genies.

Places to visit near to Saint Genies

At the edge of the village you can see the ruins of the Chateau de Pelvezy.

The small village of La Cassagne is nearby with its musée Sem housed in an ancient barn and containing portraits from the Belle Epoque period by the famous caricaturist.

North of St Genies is the romantic chateau de la Grande Filolie from the 14th century. It is private but from the road you can see its lauze roofs and square towers.

Not too far away are the Lascaux caves which are one of the main sights to see in the Dordogne. These magnificent caves have some incredible prehistoric paintings. They are a copy but so life like you would not know!

The Jardins' d'Eyrignac are another great attraction to visit. The gardens are full of magnificent topiaries and are very beautiful.