The Dordogne

Want to smile happily ever after? Discover a picture-postcard fantasy of castles, cliff-top châteaux, geese flocks, storybook villages, and prehistoric wonders? Join the club. Since the 1990s the Dordogne region has become one of the hottest destinations in France. Formerly one of those off-the-beaten-path areas, it's now in danger of getting four-starred, boutiqued, and postcarded to death. But scratch the surface and you can find one of the most authentic and appealing regions of rural France (no need to take our word: busloads of people from northern France vacation here). What's more, and unlike the Loire Valley, for example, where attractions are often far apart, you can discover romantic riverside château after château with each kilometer traveled. Then factor in four troglodyte villages, numerous natural gouffres (chasms), the sky-kissing village of Rocamadour, and the most famous prehistoric sights in the world, and you can see why all these attractions have not gone unnoticed: in July and August even the smallest village is often packed with sightseers. More »