Black truffles stand as one of France's most prized delicacies and rank as the world's most expensive mushrooms. To discern whether these subterranean gems merit their lofty price tag, venture to the recently opened truffle museum in the renowned Périgord province of southwestern France, celebrated for its black truffles.

Housed in a renovated town palace in Sarlat, the museum teaches you all you need to know about the region's "black diamonds" – and also lets you try them, according to French tourism agency Atout France.

After learning about the origins of Perigord truffles as well as cultivation and cooking techniques, visitors get to sample the delicacy at the end.

It's one of a number of museums in southern Europe catering to die-hard truffle fans. Others are La Maison de la Truffe et du Tricastin in the southern French municipality of Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux, Italy's Museo del Tartufo in Tuscany, and Museo de la Trufa in the northern Spanish region of Navarra.