Dordogne

Château de Beynac

I've never heard of Dordogne before I started my planning for this holiday. And it took me a long time to decide if I should visit the region in winter. Would everything be closed? This place is known for its wonderful cuisine but will any restautants be open? The Gabares will not be operating along the river and it would be too cold to kayak. Not a wine enthusiast and it would be way past the grapes harvesting season. But the research that I did suggested that Dordogne is a bit like the Cotswolds in England, beautiful in any season.

It was an 8 hour drive from Mont-Saint Michel to Sarlat-la-Canéda. I didn't want to be searching for our accommodation in the dark when we arrive, so we decided to start off at 7am. Driving through French villages in the dark on the left hand side of the road was quite an experience. My two sons were excellent navigators throughout this holiday and thank God for journey mercies. I would probably stay the night in Loire Valley if I do the same drive again in the future. We managed to arrive in Dordogne Valley when the sun was still up and the autumn colours of the region were amazing. Felt excited about spending the next few days here.

Medieval town Sarlat-la-Canéda

We stayed in the heart of the medieval town. The orange-yellow hues of the limestone buildings and small lanes were quaint. Many shops were closed during this time of the year but we didn't have too many issues finding food. We had an exquisite dinner at Hotel La Couleuvrine on the first night. Sarlat makes a good base for people exploring the Dordogne Valley, because it has a lot of amenities including large supermarkets and, ahem, McDonalds just a few minutes drive out of the medieval part of town.

The next morning, we drove 30 minutes to Font-de-Gaume. This is the only remaining cave in France containing pre-historic polychrome wall paintings that is still open to the public. Less than a hundred tickets are available each day and they have stopped taking advanced booking since the beginning of this year. Everyone who wishes to visit have to be personally present to buy the ticket. I read that in summer, visitors line up as early as 7am even though the office only opens at 9.30am. We arrived at 9am and were first in the queue - the advantages of visiting in winter. Thibaut, our English speaking guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. It was surreal to stand just inches away from something that was painted more than 17,000 years ago. Don't miss this when you visit Dordogne. Later we drove by La Roque Saint Christophe, a pre-historic human settlement in the face of the limestone cliffs. We also came across one of the many goose farms in the region where the famed Perigord foie gras comes from.

Lino, our truffle hunter

We visited Château de Beynac after lunch. Purged on a cliff next to the Dordogne river, it used to be home to Richard I, King of England. The castle is not as well maintained as those in Loire Valley, but it offer a stunning view of the Valley.  We did a truffle tour in St-Cyprien the next morning. The tour was hosted by Edouard who gave us an excellent introduction to the fungi. My daughter loved playing with Lino, the truffle hunter. With his help, me managed to gather close to 400g of Perigold black truffles which sells at the current market price of about EUR750/kg. The tour was lots of fun for the kids and helped all of us appreciate the wonders of God's creation, including those well hidden under the ground. 

Brantôme

We spent the rest of the day driving around the region and ended up in Brantôme. The town is encircled by the La Dronne river and is known as “Venise du Perigord Vert”.

I am so thankful that I chanced upon charming Dordogne when researching on the holiday. Next stop, Lyon.