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.

The region is marked by rich, luxuriant valleys through which flow clear-water rivers, such as the Dordogne, Isle, Dronne, Vézére, and the Lot. Separating the valleys are rugged plateaus of granite and limestone, sharp outcroppings of rock, and steep, sheer cliffs. Happily, the 10-km (6-mi) stretch of the Dordogne River from Montfort to Beynac is easily accessible by car, bike, canoe, or on foot, and shouldn't be missed, especially when fields of sunflowers line the banks in season. Offering a nice contrast to the region's rugged physiognomy and nature sauvage (wilderness) are medieval châteaux perched high above valleys and hyper-picturesque villages, such as La Roque-Gageac, wedged between rocky cliffs and the Dordogne River. The region is centered around Sarlat, whose impeccably restored medieval buildings make it a great place to use as a base. Even better, the area around Sarlat is honeycombed with dozens of grottes (caves) filled with Paleolithic drawings, etchings, and carvings. Just north of Sarlat is Lascaux, the "Louvre" of Cro-Magnon man and perhaps the most notable sight ever created by the Flintstone clan.

Fast-forward 30,000 years. The modern era dawns as the region comes under Merovingian rule in the 9th century. Divided up later by the dukes of Aquitaine, the region later went to England and then around 1370 was returned to the French crown. The crown complicated matters further by giving the area to the house of Bourbon in 1574, which meant Henry of Navarre inherited it. But Henry became Henry IV, king of France, in 1589, so the region returned to the crown again. Well, history is repeating itself, at least from an English perspective, as over the last several decades the British have moved back here in droves. They see the Dordogne as the quintessential French escape—and now the rest of the world is following in their footsteps.

Less »