Curious Traveler

It's the land of The Three Musketeers, medieval villages called bastides, and is famous for its (speaks French). Today, we visit the curious storybook villages of France. So, (speaks French) (string quartet music) Remember when you were a child, and all you asked was why, why, why? Well, I never quite outgrew that whole quest for knowledge phase.

In fact, I've made a career out of asking, who, what, where, why, and how, as an arts and travel journalist, for the past 20 years. So, if I have an insatiable curiosity about the exciting, inspiring, beautiful world of art, architecture, and hidden history all around us, I bet you do too. This isn't your typical what to do on a vacation travel show, oh no. This is your all-access pass to a deeper understanding of the world's great art and architecture, people and places, history, and how did they do thats.

So come along on our educational journey, our field trip for grownups who have never quite grown up, and learn, on Curious Traveler. (violin music) It's a land of chateaus and saints, bastides, and picturesque medieval towns, touched by the Sun King, and kissed by the sun gods, to help produce its famous wines. Beyond, the new (speaks French). While we will always have Paris, there is more to belle France than just the City of Light.

France is an incredibly curious country, filled with ancient history, Renaissance chateaux, mysterious underground labyrinths, and picture perfect fairytale villages. So here's what I'm curious about in France's storybook villages, why is there a church sticking out of this rock? Why are these streets so windy, and so wobbly? (drum beat) -

Heckler

Ah. -

Christine

Is this Diagon Alley? (chimes) Why is everyone driving through this church? How did this tower contribute to the Age of Enlightenment? Why is this giant wall here in this small village?

Why is this gate shaped like this? Why are there worms on this beautiful chateau? -

Heckler

Ew! -

Christine

Who, what, where, why and how? (piano music) We begin our curious journey into France's storybook villages in a place where a church rises out of a rock, overlooking quaint Saint Emilion. The village of Saint Emilion was named after a Benedictine monk that, let's just say, he was a bit of a loner. This is the bell tower behind me, that marks the center of town.

But the really interesting part is what's underneath the bell tower. There's not only catacombs and secret tunnels, but Saint Emilion's home. Like I said, he was a bit of a loner. Saint Emilion was an eighth century monk who fled the Benedictine order, and hid out in a cave near this spot.

He was said to have performed miracles, so he attracted a following, was later named the patron saint of this town, and this church was later built in his honor. But the church itself looks a bit like a miracle, too, right? This is a monolithic church, a UNESCO World Heritage site, carved directly out of the rock it stands on. -

Heckler

Wooh! -

Christine

And, it gets even more curious. There's a whole labyrinth of tunnels and catacombs, a beautiful little chapel, mysterious religious carvings, and a Saint Emilion's bed. -

Heckler

Huh? -

Christine

Yep, that's right. Legend has it that he slept right here, underground, in the hermitage, on this oh-so-snuggly rock, cozy. -

Heckler

(groans) -

Christine

Back above ground, the church became a stop along the legendary pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. And it's a rocky and windy pilgrimage, full of tertres, meaning earth mounds, with bumpy British cobblestones laid on top. -

Heckler

Hello! -

Christine

But why are these cobblestones British, instead of French, well, because of the wedding, and some wine. -

Heckler

Huh? -

Christine

It all goes back to the 1100s, when Eleanor, the Duchess of this region of France, the Aquataine, married the King of England. This union made the wine trade boom between the two countries, and around the world. English boats sailed here, weighted down with English stone. Once they arrived in Saint Emilion, they dumped the stones, and replaced them with French wine barrels to trade around the world.

-

Heckler

Ah. -

Christine

These are those very stones, turned into beautiful little fairytale streets. -

Heckler

Ta da! (piano music) -

Christine

Next, near Saint Emilion, is a stunning French Renaissance chateau, all decked out in those iconic gray roof tiles and round towers. But, there's one round tower that is not quite like the others. This is Chateau de Montaigne, the family home of Renaissance philosopher Michel de Montaigne. -

Heckler

Hello! -

Christine

Well actually, this is a newer version of the old home, this more modest remnant was part of the family's original dwelling. And it's a good thing this was the part of the building that was preserved, because this used to be the library. And in Montaigne's time, this is where he'd climb to the top to get a little peace and quiet. All that peace and quiet apparently worked, because this is where he wrote his famous essays, from 1571 to 1592.

What do I know, Montaigne famously asked, as a jumping point for new ideas in philosophy, politics, religion, and the human condition. He created a whole new literary form with the essays, and his works inspired everyone from Voltaire to Shakespeare. All that from this tiny little room. Perhaps his legendary musings were inspired by the sounds wafting up from his beautiful little private chapel on the first floor.

(choir singing) Next, we travel back in time to the place where Harry, Ron, and Hermione buy their wands. (chimes) Welcome to Diagon Alley, it's looking a little Harry Potter around here, isn't it? Well actually, this street leads down to the market square, or Place Plumereau, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites here in Tours. (magical music) This is Place Plumereau, looking like right out of the Beauty and the Beast.

These beautiful half-timbered houses were built in the 1300s and 1400. But why half-timbered, why not full-timbered? Well, this architectural style actually started back in Roman times, known as opus craticium, and was used simply because it was cheaper than cutting down a bunch of trees to build a log cabin. -

Heckler

Ah! -

Christine

The filling was everything, from mud, to hay, to stone, whatever was available and free. These fairy tale beauties popped up here in France from the High Middle Ages through the 19th century, when the beautiful bright white plaster was added. Eventually, these long poles became scarce, and hard to bring in through the windy streets of villages like Tours, and the fairy tale came to an end. (sad trombone) Fortunately, these storybook houses were spared, and can be enjoyed today.

(piano music) Next, just around the corner from Place Plumereau, there's a bunch of cars and bicycles driving right through the middle of a church. -

Heckler

Huh? -

Christine

All along Rue des Halles, you will see all kinds of light colored spots here along the sidewalk, like that guy, and this guy, why are they there? Well, it has a little something to do with that guy. Yep, this is a church, or, at least what's left of it. -

Heckler

Huh? -

Christine

The Basilica of Saint Martin was once one of the largest churches in all of Europe. But today, it's in three pieces, and it's been that way for quite some time. Why is the Basilica in three pieces? The Basilica was in the way, so they blew it up in the air.

-

Christine

Yep, Tours was in need of a new road, and this basilica was in a state of disrepair, you see? So the only logical conclusion was to make it a drive-through church. (sad trombone) And so as we're standing here, we have cars that are driving through the church, bicycles and cars going through the church. They are driving through.

It's insane, it's insane. They are driving through the nave, the main nave of the Basilica. They are driving through the nave, that's a speedy way to get to the altar, isn't it? Well, before you could drive through it, this was a beautiful basilica, dedicated to Saint Martin, a fourth century bishop with a heart of gold.

Saint Martin was chosen as the new Bishop of Tours in the year 371, and he stayed until 397. And he was known before that for making miracles, having built the first monastery in France, and he was known for giving everything he had, he possessed. And one day he met a beggar who had no clothes on. Martin had nothing left but his cloak.

So he cut it in two, and he gave it to the man, so from that time onwards, he became the symbol of charity. (choir singing) -

Christine

And a church was built in his honor here, but not this one. There were several churches of Saint Martin over the centuries that were either burned down, or destroyed during wars. So when this one was built in the 1800s, the builders had to be real careful about a certain treasure that was left behind from the original. -

Heckler

Huh? -

Christine

Here's where it gets really fascinating. Where I'm standing right now, this is where the street level was back in the 11th century. Up here, close to the windows, that's where the street level was in the mid-19th century, when they were rebuilding the basilica. The architects dug down, and they found the exact spot where Saint Martin's grave has been since the fourth century.

And fortunately, since they found it, that's still the exact same spot where his relics remain today. And there are hundreds of votive prayers dedicated to the saint who literally gave a poor man the clothes off his back. It has also been a stop for the pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela, just like Saint Emilion. (choir singing) (rooster crowing) Now on to a giant stone structure that has really stood the test of time, a medieval castle with a touch of Renaissance flair, and pretty pink curtains.

(chimes) Beautiful Roquetaillade Castle was built in 1306, and later refurbished in the 17th and 19th centuries. But, its history goes back a lot further than that. In fact, there is evidence that prehistoric man lived in the grottoes beneath this site. And that's also where we get the name Roquetaillade, which means carved out of rock.

Now I personally would rather live above ground, in the beautiful castle, but hey, to each their own. (baby giggling) Fast-forwarding from those prehistoric caves to the early Middle Ages, when Charlemagne built the first fortification here. A few ruins remain, but that's all. A later version is the castle you see today.

It's clearly medieval, or is it? -

Heckler

Huh? -

Christine

Lots of interesting architectural features to look at here. Right here, these stained glass windows are technically medieval windows, but there's a fascinating story behind them. The famous French architect Viollet-le-Duc was known for restoring medieval castles like this one. In fact, he also did Notre Dame in Paris, and was responsible for the internal structure of the Statue of Liberty, but he's interesting because, like a typical artist, he thought he would put his own spin on everything.

He hated the Italian Renaissance movement, said it was an invasion, and that the Gothic style was the only true art form. So windows like these aren't exactly like they were during medieval times, but hey, maybe they're even better with the Viollet-le-Duc touch. Before Viollet-le-Duc's renovation, the castle was built under English King Edward the First. Wait, the English King?

- Huh? This was an innovation from England, from the great castle builder, King Edward the First. Who also did the castles in Wales? This is the only Edward castle in France.

-

Christine

So we have a medieval English castle, built for defense, with some interesting Renaissance touches, and the most curious part? Roquetaillade has been in the same family for 700 years. And for 700 years, the family have been trying to make their fortress livable. How's the heating in there?

That, rather bad. - I guess. (laughs) And rather smoky, smoky wood fires, and very cold. In the modern age, since this is your home, have you ever had any use for the little openings that the bow and arrow's supposed to go through?

You ever needed to use it? (laughs) No, no, we certainly don't. (laughs) We don't need bows and arrows anymore. -

Christine

But a fairytale princess always needs her pink bedroom, and inside is where the beauty of Viollet-le-Duc shines. (chimes) It's the only private house he worked on. He thought it was worthy of his ambitions. -

Christine

And the adjacent Roquetaillade Chapel was decorated by Viollet-le-Duc, as well. Just look at those ceilings. (choir singing) (acoustic guitar music) Next, from a fairytale castle to a fairytale village. We now visit the picturesque town of Blaye.

The beautiful little village of Blaye dates back to Roman times, when its name was Via Belli, which means way to war. How could such a pretty little town have anything to do with war? Well actually, that name ended up being an omen, because many centuries later, in 1689, a guy named Marquis de Vauban built this giant citadel here along the river. Yeah, it's pretty big.

And today, it's a UNESCO World Heritage site. So who's this Vauban character, and what does the citadel have to do with the Sun King? Genius, Mr. Vauban was a real genius.

-

Christine

Marquis de Vauban was the most prominent military engineer of his time. He even advised the Sun King, Louis XIV, on how to fortify France's borders. Now, who advised them both on their fancy wardrobe is a matter for another time. (baby laughing) He built 160 fortresses on the French border, all around the country, in the mountains, close to the sea, in the plains in the north of France, between France and Belgium, everywhere around the country you find those fortresses.

-

Christine

And the Citadel of Blaye is one of the finest examples of his work. It was built to protect the port of nearby Bordeaux, and the wall actually wraps around the entire waterfront. -

Heckler

Wow! -

Christine

There's even two more forts across the river, just in case a little crossfire was needed. (slide whistle) And inside the citadel is the beautiful Chateau des Rudel, built in 1141, well, at least what's left of it. Now you might imagine that a medieval castle would crumble a little bit over the years, due to erosion. But this castle had a little help.

In the late 19th century, the French Army decided, well, the castle is a little bit too tall for our cannons to get through to get to the bad guys. So what did they do, they simply shot off the top. That is no way to treat a fairytale castle. -

Heckler

Indeed. -

Christine

But it's not all about battles here in belle Blaye. Today, of course, it is a peaceful little village, full of charming little fairytale cottages, and some charming old languages. -

Heckler

S'il vous plait. I was born in a village where my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and so on were born, and in that village, I was born in 1954. I learned French only when I went to school at six. We were all speaking the local language that we called patois, we would say, in the local language, (speaks local language), like that.

Means, I'm happy, I'm, and you know, my stomach is full. Yeah. So this is very local. (both practice the local language) Yes, great!

(laughs) Yeah, I'll fit right in, I'll fit right in. Merci Beaucoup, in the local language, thank you. (speaks local language), merci. (jazz guitar music) -

Christine

Just down from Blaye, along the Gironde estuary, is our next French storybook village, built high up on a hill, overlooking the river. Bourg was built during Roman times, developed during the Middle Ages, and today, feels beautifully stuck in time. What makes it so special nowadays, still, is it has been preserved in its pristine originality, because there is no train that comes to here. So if you want to come here, Ah, you have have to come by boat.

You have to come, to come by boat. Bourg is famous for its wines, and for the time that a famous king lived here, which led to the creation of a famous treat known as la Figue du Roy. -

Heckler

Uh huh. -

Christine

There's a wonderful legend that says that in 1650, when Louis XIV, the Sun King, was a child here in Bourg, he was too small to pluck a fig from a tree. So a monk lifted his royal shortness to reach it, but was then condemned for having dared to touch the King. -

Heckler

Ee-yikes. -

Christine

But there's a happy ending to this tale. The Queen Mother pardoned the monk, and a culinary specialty was born, called la Figue du Roy, or The King's Fig. -

Heckler

Ta-da. (guitar music) -

Christine

And speaking of royal tea, Bourg is separated into the haves, and the have nots. Here it's very clear, you have an uptown, and a downtown. Or, that is, up there is the administration, of course, all the very wealthy people who are also producing wines, it's the wine growers' domain. And down here, it's the realm of the sea people, the fishermen.

-

Christine

And up there, in the uptown section, there's a huge bridge, but why build a bridge when there's no water flowing underneath it? -

Heckler

Huh? Why was that bridge built, what was that for? When they extended the town at one point, because this was the gutter, actually. The gutter?

The gutter, so the best part is always (laughs) taken by the lord of the land, on one side, and on the other side, it's the rest of the people. -

Christine

So a massive bridge in the middle of town, to protect the precious little feet of the lord of the manor. -

Heckler

Indeed. -

Christine

But everyone in the town was protected by the original medieval wall here, with a few medieval gates. Only one remains, though, and its shape is a little curious. This is the Port de la Mer, otherwise known as the Fountain Gate. It dates back to the 13th century, during the time of the English occupation.

It's also the only gate here in town that dates back to the original fortification. Now, you may notice it looked a little crumbly towards the bottom, well, there's a reason for that. That's because it had to be widened throughout the centuries, first, for carts, and later, for cars. Now it's a good thing that European cars are still a little bit more narrow than American, because a monster SUV is not fitting through that.

(accordion music) And there's more curious spots to explore here. This humble little building was known as the Lavior. And lavior, in French, means to wash. So basically, this is the precursor to the washing machine.

And, no surprise in this town, like every other, the women were doing all the work. So the ladies would come here, and was their families' clothes, and hey, when you have to do something tedious, a little gossip helps the time go by. That gossip became so powerful, that citizens of the town, their reputation was either won or lost in this very room. That's why this building is also known as the Chamber of Deputies.

-

Heckler

Psst psst psst, did you see what she was wearing? -

Christine

Well, those washing deputies probably didn't have too much real power here in Bourg, but many years later, there was another curiosity built that definitely would have had their tongues wagging. There's all kinds of interesting architecture here in Bourg. Like in this spot, you will see typical French architecture on one side, right next to some Moorish architecture over here. Why is that there, well the man that lived here was a French civil servant, and worked in a French colony in North Africa for some time.

He simply fell in love with the Moorish art and architectural style, so when he retired here, he built his home as an homage to it. And here's where the story gets even better. Legend has it that there is another home, just like this, facing it, out over the horizon. (wistful piano music) Well, we didn't find the Moorish twin, but as we continue down the river, we did find another curious castle.

Well, it's really a Renaissance chateau, but it's also a medieval castle. -

Heckler

Huh? -

Christine

It's Chateau de Vayres, once owned by Henry IV. This is the side that faced the Dordogne river, so it had to be the protective side during the medieval period. That's why you can see those classic castle elements behind me. But later, during the time of Louis XIV, the Sun King, it was a time of parties, so they added the beautiful staircase and the balcony.

And then the really fun part happens after that. All these wonderful neoclassical elements were added, which is why you see a Greek pediment and Roman columns. Last but not least, if you look closely, on this side, you will see perfectly good windows and archways, but on this side, you may notice something different, a little trompe l'oeil going on here. That's right, to keep the symmetry, these fake windows and doors on the right were added to the already wonderfully kooky Chateau de Vayres.

But way before this curious chateau was here, there was a Gallo-Roman settlement here, called Varatedo, which is where we get the name Vayres today. -

Heckler

Ah. -

Christine

Archeologists have found remnants of ancient pottery and ovens here in the French garden. And then, in the 11th century, a medieval fortress was built atop this ancient site. (speaks French) The beginning is the Middle Ages. Yes.

(speaks French) And you see this in the Court of Honor, because it's so beautiful here, so later on, they opened for pleasure. -

Christine

And nobody reveled in pleasure as much as, (speaks French) So in, I understood that. -

All

Yay! (laughter) Everyone knows Louis Quatorze, Sun King (speaks French). Oui, the Sun King, Louis XIV. And they changed the facade, Ah, okay.

to the classic one during Louis XIV. (classical music) -

Christine

So from a saint that needed a little quiet time underground, (snoring) to a revolutionary philosopher who needed some quiet time high up in his tower, -

Heckler

Shhh! -

Christine

To a Harry Potter-esque village, next to a drive-through basilica, (singing) to a Beauty and the Beast storybook town protected by a beastly wall, (lion roaring) just down the river from another town, where the Sun King got his sun-kissed figs, -

Heckler

Uh huh! -

Christine

near a gossipy laundromat, to a defensive castle turned pleasure palace, the villages of France have so much to be curious about. Thank you for joining us on our educational journey, and hopefully now, you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, and how of the villages of France. As they say here in France, (speaks French). On the columns it looks like serpents.

(speaks French), it's called, in French. Vermiculae, as, means worms? Yes, yeah, ver is worm. Now you know, there's an Italian type of pasta called vermicelli, so you're eating worms?

(laughter) (classical music) -

Christine

Still curious? Go to curioustravelertv.com, and follow us on Facebook at CuriousTravelerTV, on Twitter, at CuriousTravTV, and on Instagram at CuriousTravelerTV. (jovial music)