The main hub of the city's contemporary life is the tree-shaded boulevard Montaigne, which marks the western edge of the vieille ville. At its southern end, a short walk along rue Taillefer brings you to the domed and coned Cathédrale St-Front (daily: July & Aug 8am–7.30pm; Sept–June 8am–12.30pm & 2.30–6.30pm), its square, pineapple-capped belfry surging far above the roofs of the surrounding medieval houses. Unfortunately, it's no beauty, having suffered from the zealous attentions of the purist nineteenth-century restorer Abadie, best known for the white elephant of the Sacré-Coeur in Paris. The result is too white, too new, too regular, and the roof is spiked all over with ill-proportioned nipple-like projections serving no obvious purpose; "a supreme example of how not to restore", Freda White tartly observed in her classic travelogue, Three Rivers of France. It's a pity, since when it was rebuilt in 1173 following a fire, it was one of the most distinctive Byzantine churches undertaken in France, modelled on St Mark's in Venice and the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. Nevertheless, the Byzantine influence is still evident in the interior in the Greek-cross plan – unusual in France – and in the massive clean curves of the domes and their supporting arches. The big Baroque altarpiece, carved in walnut wood, in the gloomy east bay, is worth a look, too, depicting the Assumption of the Virgin, with a humorous little detail in the illustrative scenes from her life of a puppy tugging the infant Jesus' sheets from his bed with its teeth.At the west end of the cathedral in place de la Clautre beneath the blank facade of the original eleventh-century building, there's a fresh produce market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. From the terrace below you look across to the wooded hills beyond the River Isle, while crowded north and south of the square are the renovated buildings of the medieval old town. The longest and finest street is the narrow rue Limogeanne, lined with Renaissance mansions, now turned into boutiques and delicatessens, intermingled with fast-food outlets. The surrounding streets are also scattered with fine Renaissance houses: particularly handsome are the Logis St Front, 7 rue de la Constitution, and the more sedate Hôtel de Crenoux at no. 3. Another curious one is at 17 rue de l'Éguillerie, on the corner of the attractive place St-Louis, where a turreted watchtower leans out over the street. There are other old houses down along the river by the Pont des Barris, notably the fifteenth-century Maison des Consuls. At the northern end of rue Limogeanne, out on the broad tree-lined cours Tourny, is the city's museum, the Musée du Périgord (April–Sept Mon & Wed–Fri 11am–6pm, Sat & Sun 1–6pm; Oct–March Mon & Wed–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat & Sun 1–6pm; €4), with an extensive and important prehistoric collection, some very beautiful Gallo-Roman mosaics and exquisite Limoges enamels near the exit, especially the portraits of the twelve Caesars. Of less general interest is the Musée Militaire, near the cathedral at 32 rue des Farges (Jan–March Wed & Sat 2–6pm; April–Sept Mon–Sat 1–6pm; Oct–Dec Mon–Sat 2–6pm; €3.50), which contains some unusual exhibits particularly relating to the French colonial wars in Vietnam.
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