Sarlat-la-Canéda

Sarlat-la-Canéda (French pronunciation: [saʁla la kaneda] ; Occitan: Sarlat e La Canedat), commonly known as Sarlat, is a commune in the southwestern French department of Dordogne, a part of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Sarlat and La Canéda were distinct towns until merged into one commune in 1965.^[3]

Sarlat-la-Canéda

France

Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Dordogne

Sarlat-la-Canéda

Sarlat-Périgord Noir

Jean-Jacques De Peretti^[1]

47.13 km² (18.20 sq mi)

8,812

190/km² (480/sq mi)

Sarladais, Sarladaises

UTC+01:00 (CET)

UTC+02:00 (CEST)

24520 /24200

102–319 m (335–1,047 ft)
(avg. 189 m or 620 ft)

www.sarlat.fr

Geography[edit]

The town of Sarlat is in a region known in France as Périgord Noir. It lies in the southeastern part of the Dordogne department, 7 km north of the river Dordogne.

Sarlat railway station offers train services to Bergerac, Bordeaux and Périgueux.

The commune is also served by Brive Vallée de la Dordogne airport (50 km), Bergerac Roumanière airport (70 km) and two bus lines.^[4]^[5]

Place du Peyrou

Market in the centre

Town hall of Sarlat

Palais de Justice

: Agriculture has long been of importance in the Dordogne area around Sarlat. Tobacco has been grown around Sarlat since 1857 and has historically been a major commodity for the area, although it is on the wane. Other agricultural commodities include corn, hay, walnuts, walnut oil, cheeses, wine, cèpes (a species of wild mushroom) and truffles.

Agriculture

: Numerous visitors—especially from northern Europe (the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, etc.)—come on holiday to Sarlat and the region surrounding it and some have settled there permanently. The months of July and August are traditionally the haute saison (high season) for visitors, as is true in much of France outside Paris.

Tourism

: There are several large foie gras factories including Rougié, and many small producers of foie gras in the area;^[9] other farms raise geese and ducks to produce products (confits, pâté, etc.) from these birds. The commune holds an annual three day festival, "Fest'oie", in honour of this significant part of its economy which also attracts numerous tourists.^[11]

Foie gras

A film festival has been held in the commune every November since 1991. Other events include the Truffle Festival, Christmas Market and Fest’oie in winter, the Ringueta of traditional games, and the Theatre Games Festival.^[4]

(1530–1563), judge and humanist poet remembered as the friend of the Renaissance philosopher Michel de Montaigne

Étienne de La Boétie

(1773–1827), French general of the Napoleonic Wars

François Fournier-Sarlovèze

(c.1610–1663), novelist and dramatist

Gauthier de Costes, seigneur de la Calprenède

judge and sociologist (1843–1904)

Gabriel Tarde

(1901–1976), a square and a gallery of paintings bear the name of the former Minister of Culture. This is explained by the fact that he is considered by many Sarladais as the saviour of the historical district of the city. While visiting Sarlat, he realised that the city was in danger of ruins in certain neighbourhoods and that some monuments were being destroyed. The Saved Areas Act was drafted to save the city.

André Malraux

(1917–2007), ichthyologist, died in Sarlat

Jacques Géry

(born 1945), architect, spent his childhood in Sarlat and transformed the ancient church of Sainte Marie into a covered market with monumental doors.

Jean Nouvel

(born 1946), mayor of the city since 1989.

Jean-Jacques de Peretti

(1998) by Andy Tennant

Ever After: a Cinderella Story

(2001) by Peter Hyams

The Musketeer

(2007) by Laurent Boutonnat

Jacquou le Croquant

(1999) by Luc Besson

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

The town and region have featured in two major Hollywood films: Ridley Scott's The Duellists (1978), based on Joseph Conrad's Napoleonic tale; and more recently Timeline (2003), adapted from Michael Crichton's time-travel novel, and set in 14th-century France.

In the cemetery of Sarlat one can admire the pyramid tomb of François Fournier-Sarlovèze, who inspired the story behind The Duellists.

Other movies partly shot in Sarlat include:

The city also appears in the first instalments of French author Robert Merle's saga Fortune de France, which tells the story of a fictitious Huguenot, Pierre de Siorac, during the 16th and 17th centuries in France.

Sarlat-la-Canéda