Sarlat-la-Caneda

Three-minute walk south down Rue de la Republique, then turn left at the second cross-street into the broad slanted square — the deconsecrated 14th-century church looms on the eastern flank. Jean Nouvel (the Pritzker-winning architect who grew up in Sarlat) installed a steel-and-glass panoramic elevator inside the old nave that rises silently 35 meters above the medieval rooftops. The 360-degree view is the only one in town: cathedral spire to the north, an ocean of terracotta tiles, and the Perigord hills rolling out to the horizon.

Tip: Go before 11:15 — by midday the covered market under the elevator empties out tour groups straight onto the lift queue. Buy your ticket from the elevator operator (not the tourist office) and ask to go up just before they close the basket — you'll get an extra minute alone at the top. Face north-east for the cathedral spire framed against rooftops; that's the shot.

Step straight out of the church onto Place de la Liberte — the broad, slanting market square that has been Sarlat's social heart for eight centuries; cafe awnings, stone arcades, and the Hotel de Maleville's Renaissance facade on the western flank. Walk one block east through a stone passage into the small Place du Marche aux Oies, where three life-size bronze geese by sculptor Francois-Xavier Lalanne stand in tribute to the city's foie gras trade, with the spired Manoir de Gisson (1525) rising behind them. This pocket-square is the icon shot of Sarlat — and far quieter than the main place a few meters away.

Tip: Crouch low next to the largest bronze goose and shoot upward — Manoir de Gisson's pepper-pot tower aligns perfectly behind the goose's beak between 11:30 and 12:30 when the sun is high. If it's Saturday, the market overruns the entire square with foie gras, walnut, and truffle stalls; arrive by 11:30 sharp before the lunchtime crush turns it into a slow shuffle.

Forty-meter walk back west across Place de la Liberte to the corner terrace facing the church — Le Glacier holds Sarlat's prime square seats and has done so for decades. This is the locals' lunch refuge: order the salade perigourdine (16 EUR), a single plate layered with duck gizzards, sliced magret, a sliver of foie gras, walnuts, and bitter greens dressed in walnut oil — lunch and Perigord identity on one plate. Service is brisk; you'll be done in 50 minutes and refueled for the afternoon.

Tip: Skip the front-row tables with the five-language menus and bus-tour herds — ask for the side terrace facing the Lalanne geese (same menu, half the noise, and you keep watching the square). If salade perigourdine doesn't tempt you, the magret de canard plat du jour (19 EUR) lands fast and comes with proper pommes sarladaises crisped in duck fat. No reservation needed at lunch; just arrive before 13:15.

From Le Glacier, walk 60 meters north into Rue des Consuls — the medieval merchants' street, a stone canyon of Gothic windows and ornate carved doorways including the 14th-century Hotel Plamon at no. 9 and Hotel de Vassal at no. 1. Then loop south through Place de la Liberte and into Rue Fenelon — the prettiest lane in Sarlat, sloping gently into the quieter southern half: Hotel de Maleville's Renaissance courtyard, the hidden flagstones of Rue Landry, the carved tympanum of Hotel de Vienne. Four hours of slow looking in afternoon light — every doorway is a small masterpiece, every turn opens onto a courtyard.

Tip: Hotel Plamon's Gothic windows photograph best at 16:00 — the sun rakes across the carved stone and the rosette tracery casts shadows you cannot get any other hour. From there cut south via Rue Fenelon: locals start closing shutters around 17:30, and the whole southern quarter empties out — you'll have 14th-century lanes entirely to yourself. Look up at every doorway; the carved hood-mouldings of Sarlat are unmatched anywhere in southwestern France.

Three-minute walk from Rue Landry to its junction with Rue Landry no. 6 — Le Presidial occupies the 17th-century royal courtroom of Perigord, with vaulted candlelit rooms inside and a walled garden under fig and chestnut trees for warm-weather dinners. The kitchen is unapologetically traditional Perigord: foie gras poele aux pommes (22 EUR), magret de canard aux cepes (32 EUR), pommes sarladaises crisped in duck fat. End with a glass of sweet Monbazillac and a slice of tarte aux noix — this is the dinner you tell people about.

Tip: Reserve a garden table 2-3 days ahead (the 17th-century courtyard IS the experience — indoors is fine, the garden is unforgettable). Pitfall warning: avoid the restaurants directly on Place de la Liberte with photo menus in five languages and 'foie gras 9 EUR' chalkboards — they serve industrial canned foie gras and heated-up confit at tourist prices. Sarlat's real kitchens (Le Presidial, Le Bistrot at Place du Peyrou, Chez le Gaulois) are tucked one street off the main square; if you can see the bronze geese from your table, you're probably paying double for half the quality.