Monpazier, Medieval bastide town in Dordogne, France.
Monpazier is a medieval bastide town in Dordogne built on a grid street layout with a central marketplace as its defining feature. This 70-meter square is enclosed by 23 stone houses with covered arcades that served historically as market halls and residences combined.
King Edward I of England founded Monpazier in 1284 as a fortified settlement to establish strategic military control during territorial conflicts with France. The bastide form was a specialized settlement method of the era, where relocated inhabitants received tax incentives to populate new towns.
The Thursday market held in the central square maintains centuries-old trading customs, where local vendors display regional cheese, produce, and handcrafted goods under the open arcades. Residents and visitors naturally gather beneath these covered galleries, creating a social hub that shapes daily community life.
The town is easily explored on foot, with all routes organized from the central plaza toward the Saint-Dominique church and two surviving medieval gates at the town edges. Visitors should allow time to walk the quieter side streets and observe the individual house structures up close.
House plots follow a strict geometric scheme with uniform rectangular parcels, revealing a mathematical planning concept rarely implemented at that time. This precision in town design remains visible today and sets Monpazier apart from organically developed medieval settlements.
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Throughout France's regions lie villages that seem frozen in time. These places are built from stone, wood, and light, where history is written across facades and paved streets. Some nestle in valleys, others cling to cliffs or look out over vineyards. You find old houses, squares with arcades,...
Église Saint-Dominique de Monpazier
56 m
Halle centrale de Monpazier
98 m
Remparts de Monpazier
178 m
Maison du Chapître
26 m
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107 m
Maison d'angle à couvert, 23 rue Saint-Jacques, 3 rue de la Justice
101 m
Maison à couvert, 31-33 rue Saint-Jacques
72 m
Maison à couvert, 30 rue Notre-Dame
80 m
Maison d'angle à couvert, 1 place des Cornières
55 m
Maison à couvert, 3 place des Cornières
51 m
Maison à couvert, 5 place des Cornières
49 m
Maison à couvert, 7 place des Cornières
48 m
Maison d'angle à couvert, 9 place des Cornières, 20-22 rue Saint-Jacques
50 m
Maison à couvert, 10 place des Cornières
115 m
Maison à couvert, 8 place des Cornières
113 m
Maison à couvert, 6 place des Cornières
107 m
Maison à couvert, 4 place des Cornières
108 m
Porte de ville
144 m
Maison, 28 rue Notre-Dame, Place des Cornières
90 m
Maison à couvert, 25 rue Saint-Jacques
93 m
Maison à couvert, 27-29 rue Saint-Jacques
84 m
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98 m
Maison à couvert, 35 rue Saint-Jacques
65 m
Porte de ville
136 m
Porte de ville
248 m
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58 m
Maison à couvert, 32 rue Notre-Dame
71 m
Maison d'angle à couvert, 24bis rue Notre-Dame
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