Maquis de Durestal Cendrieux Maquis Memorial Circuit in the heart of Périgord

This walking tour through the woods allows, with the help of information panels and some reconstructions, to get an idea of what life was like in the Périgord maquis in the years 1943-44.

André Malraux, among others, stayed in this maquis for two days at the end of May 1944. He was impressed by the number of resistance fighters present, to the point of describing it as "a sort of town in the woods". The "Ancel" group was also born here, the future "Strasbourg" battalion of the Alsace-Lorraine brigade, which André Malraux had the honour of commanding.

This "Memory Trail" was inaugurated in 2013, after 3 years of meticulous reconstruction work carried out by the Departmental Center for Memory of the Dordogne and its president Jean-Paul Bedoin, assisted by the Association "The Memory of Our Fathers", the general council, the municipality of Cendrieux, and the former community of communes of Pays Vernois. It owes much to the work of Rémy Bousquet and Fernand Sabouret, who knew the site of the liberation and invested themselves wholeheartedly in the project.

It includes a memory trail, marked with information panels and, at the very place of its origin, a heart of the maquis reconstructed according to historical testimonies: huts made of metal : dormitory, kitchen, ammunition store and even prison. Authentic, the graves dug for the traitors shot on the spot give the whole a striking reality.

Greater Périgueux Tourist Office:
204 rue Laure Gatet - Niversac
24 430 Boulazac Isle Manoire
Tel: 05 53 53 10 63

Schedules & Prices:

• Guided tours of the Maquis on Thursdays at 3 p.m. from July 11 to August 22. Guided tours at €4 for ages 12 and up.

• Theatrical tours Saturday, July 20 and Friday, August 9 from €3 to €8. Visit differently by participating in a theatrical tour of the Durestal maquis in Cendrieux. For the occasion, the Durestal maquis is transformed into an open-air theater with the actors of the Sur Saut company. In total immersion in the heart of the daily life of two young maquisards, follow Fifi and André. Information: 05 53 53 10 63. Reservations: www.tourisme-grandperigueux.fr

• Audio guide rental for adults in French and English, as well as for children under 12 (€2). Reception at the Sainte-Alvère tourist information office. Rentals are available until 4:15 p.m. T 05 53 61 76 89

• Group tours : all year round for adults and schools. Information at 05 53 53 41 05.