Périgueux

For anyone tired of bucolic delights, even a short visit to the region’s capital can provide a restorative urban fix. Since Périgueux is the commercial center of the Périgord, the shops here are stylish and sophisticated—some consider them the best reason for visiting this thriving little city. Specialty-food purveyors proliferate (pâtés are the chief export), as do fashionable clothing boutiques—and don't forget Périgueux’s appetite-inducing open-air markets.