Musée de la Dordogne batelière

About the museum

The museum was born from the commitment of local historian Jacques Reix and the Association des Gabariers, which launched the project in 1986. The following year, the descendants of the last Sainte-Foy boatman entrusted their equipment and archives, which formed the first core of the collections. The town bought an 18th-century wine store on the site of the former port, on the banks of the Dordogne, and the museum opened to the public on June 2, 1996.

The route tells the story of navigation on the Dordogne from antiquity to the arrival of the railway. The river was used to carry timber, wine, brandy and grain downstream to Libourne and Bordeaux, while other goods were hauled upstream by towpath. Model boats, dioramas of the port and of the Lalinde lock, a miniature shipyard, fishing and winegrowing tools, a reconstructed cooperage and stuffed birds of the riverbanks illustrate the life of the gabarriers.

In front of the building stand the mast and winch of the gabare Diabolo, along with a section of gabare hull reconstructed since 2018. Since 2007, a charter with local winegrowers’ unions has made the museum one of the components of the Maison du Fleuve et des Vins du Pays Foyen. Temporary exhibitions are held each year, and the site also serves as an educational resource for schools.

Highlights

• Models of Dordogne boats (courpets, coureaux, gabares)
• Dioramas of the port of Port-Sainte-Foy and the Lalinde lock
• Reconstructed cooperage workshop
• Mast and winch of the gabare Diabolo in front of the museum
• Stuffed birds of the Dordogne riverbanks

Founded

1996

Admission & discounts

Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

The museum is on the Dordogne quays, rue Notre-Dame, in the former port quarter.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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