www.brive-tourisme.com. A bustling commercial and transport centre on the River Corrèze, Brive makes a useful stop-over on the eastern border of Périgord. The old town radiates from the 12thC Collégiale de Saint-Martin, named after a 5thC Spanish martyr who introduced Christianity to the region. Arriving on the pagan feast of Saturnus, the tactless Martin destroyed a number of idols and was promptly dispatched by outraged local heathens.

There are several fine medieval and Renaissance houses, including the lovely Hôtel de Labenche, boulevard Jules-Ferry. Behind an arcaded courtyard, it now displays local archaeological finds and 17th-18thC tapestries. South-west of the ring boulevard, the Musée Edmond-Michelet, rue Champanatier (www.museemichelet.brive.fr), commemorates the exploits of the local Second World War Resistance leader and his comrades.