Office de tourisme Périgord Nontronnais - Bureau de Varaignes Tourist Offices in Varaignes

What is Périgord Nontronnais?

The Community of Communes of Périgord Nontronnais (CCPN) was created on January 1 2017, following the merger of the Community of Communes of Périgord Vert Nontronnais and the Community of Communes of Haut Périgord.

It groups together 28 communes, with a total surface area of 56,561 ha and over 15,000 inhabitants.

Why come there?

In the heart of the Périgord Nontronnais and the Périgord-Limousin Regional Natural Park, Nontron , a small cutlery town, is built on a hill overlooking the Bandiat valley.

Nontron is famous for its knife "le Nontron" whose tradition dates back to the 17th century. It was in 1653 that the first cutler craftsman settled in Nontron.

Even today each cutler makes his knives in a traditional way. While modernizing, this artisanal know-how has stood the test of time and more industrial competition. The "Nontronnais" is not the only knife made in Nontron.

More recent, around twenty years ago, the "Périgord" has made a name for itself with its elegance and quality. Today made at the Moulin de Lapeyre in Saint-Estèphe, cutlery "Périgord" is also an official partner of the French rugby team the XV of France.

Périgord Nontronnais has unparalleled ancestral know-how . Many professional artisans have settled in this territory rich in raw materials, allowing them to develop their activity in good conditions.

The Experimental Pole of Crafts of Nontron and Périgord Limousin, created in 1999, promotes and participates in the development of fine crafts in Nontron, in Périgord Vert and in the territory of the Périgord-Limousin Regional Natural Park : 5 exhibitions per year, meetings, courses, internships, organization of a “Rue des Métiers d'Art” fair, designers residence, support and partnership with the various art professions, public awareness of art professions...

The Périgord Nontronnais has seen the development, over time, of large industrial sectors : Nontron, the felt capital at the end of the 19th century, the Adidas factory and today Hermès, the CWD saddlery that equips great champions, shoes tailor-made Chamberland…

Even today, the tourist actors of Périgord Nontronnais strive to perpetuate these know-how and these traditions with its workshop-museums : the Coutellerie Nontronnaise in which we can see the artisans working, the Moulin de Lapeyre in Saint-Estèphe with demonstrations of making flour, walnut oil, bread, its exhibition of old tools and its workshops for the manufacture of the "Périgord" knife, the workshop-museum of Weavers and Charentaise in Varaignes… And through its events such as the Marché des Tisserands, the Foire des Dindons, the ceramic market in Bussière-Badil, the Fête du Couteau, the Festival Feu Fer Forges, its Country Producers markets and its markets weekly throughout the year including that of Piégut-Pluviers on Wednesday mornings, unmissable event and the most important market in the area...

The Périgord Nontronnais also offers its visitors, family or couple, many outdoor activities : walks through the 582 km of hiking trails and natural sites such as Roc Branlant in St Estèphe, Saut du Chalard in Cha mps Romain, Trou du Philippou and Arboretum de Montagnac in St Saud Lacoussière, Golf du Genêt in St Barthélémy de Bussière and Golf Nature in Champs Romain, supervised swimming ponds in St Saud Lacoussière, St Estèphe and Busserolles, the acrobatic course in the trees of Périgord Vert Aventures at the Etang des Nouailles in Nontron, horse or pony rides with the various equestrian centers , the Périgord Karting Circuit in Teyjat…

Each summer the Tourist Office organizes a program of outdoor sports activities “ Active Summer ” in partnership with the Departmental Council of the Dordogne offering activities accessible to all at low cost.

Finally, Le Périgord Nontronnais has a very active community life all year round.

Opening hours of the Tourist Office in Varaignes :

From September to March 6: Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
From March 7 to June 30: Monday and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
July and August: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.