Nine kilometres east of Montignac, the village of ST-AMAND-DE-COLY boasts a superbly beautiful fortified Romanesque church , a magical venue for concerts in the summer. Despite its bristling military architecture, the twelfth-century church manages to combine great delicacy and spirituality. With its purity of line and simple decoration, it is at its most evocative in the low sun of late afternoon or early evening. Its defences left nothing to chance: the walls are 4m thick, a ditch runs all the way around, and a passage once skirted the eaves, with numerous positions for archers to rain down arrows, and blind stairways to mislead attackers. Near the church, the small Hôtel Gardette (tel 05.53.51.68.50; €24-34; restaurant from €10.67, closed Oct-Easter) makes it possible to stay overnight in this tiny, idyllic place.

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