Village troglodytique et co-seigneurie de Belvès

Belvès

A village of seven bell towers governed in the Middle Ages by seven legendary co-lords, Belvès also bears the nickname of "the pope's town": in 1304, the future Pope Clement V, then merely Archbishop of Bordeaux under the name Bertrand de Goth, stopped here to receive the homage of his vassals, the year before his election as head of the Church and his later installation in Avignon. But the village's most spectacular discovery lies buried beneath its 15th-century market hall with its 23 pillars: in 1907, eight fitted-out underground chambers came to light by chance, occupied without interruption from the 13th to the 18th century by anonymous artisans and refugees — fireplaces and staircases cut straight into the rock, six metres beneath the feet of today's passers-by. In 2010, restoration works at the neighbouring château brought to light a second treasure hidden for six centuries: wall paintings depicting the Nine Worthies, unique in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Getting there : Admission charge for the underground chambers

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

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