We spent some time this fall in later September in the dordogne. It was fabulous. The weather was good, the crowds much snaller.

We took a train from Paris to Brive to rent a car. The train took a little more than 4 hours. We needed to get to Brive before 5 to get to Avis before it closed. Worked out fine.

We stayed close to La Roque Gageac, which is close to Sarlat and Domme. We happened to discover a B &B called La Belle demeure in a very small town known as St. Cybranet, which is about 5 miles from La Roque. This is a wonderful place to stay. [www.labelledemeure.com] It is run by two men (richard and Philippe) who are extremely welcoming hosts. It is affordable (I think the basic charge was 110 euro or so per night), including breakfast. They were extremely helpful with touring ideas. They are both fluent in french and english. Another plus is that Richard is a fabulous cook, and generally (with Philippe's help) cooks a fabulous dinner about every other night (for an additional fee) if that is what you want.
There is a nice family restaurant a few hundred yards away for the nights richard does not cook.

We had a navigation system in English in our car, which was a greart help getting around.

We took a boat ride out of La Roque, but the river was too low to go all the way to look at the fortresses, so we just motored around La Roque. Disappointing.

There are balloon rides from La Roque. Not our thing, but we could see the balloons ascending in late afternoon. Canoes are another rental option to go up and down the river.

There are some famous restaurants in the area. One in La Roque is "La Belle Etoile." We had lunch there. It was wonderful. They were quite welcoming and gracious (make a reservation). They have 2 different prix fix menus. They offered a variety of amuse bouches in addition to what is on the menu. The service was gracious and the food very tasty. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

One thing to see around La Roque, in addition to the historic fortresses, are the Marquassac Gardens. They are on the top of a hill just outside of La Roque. The gardens are well manicured. there is also an outdoor cafe with a marvelous view across the valley to one of the historic fortresses. It's best to go on a nice day ,have lunch, and enjoy the view. Which we did.

Another place close to La Roque is "Les Malines," a chateau that was once owned by Josephine Baker. The main chateau, which is quite striking, is devoted to the career of Ms. Baker. She managed to navigate herself from a very difficult childhood into a very successful career. She eventually became a French citizen and was in the resistance during the war. There are other aspects to the visit. there is a lengthy and interesting trained "birds of prey" show. There also is a chapel, where we were fortunate to meet the current manager of the property, who is the daughter of the man who purchased and restored the chateau.

We also toured on another day the Eyrignac gardens, which were a bit farther away. The gardens are quite varied and beautiful. We stayed and had a nice lunch.

On another day we visited the Lascaux caves, which are about a 30 minute drive north of Sarlat. We visited Lascaux II. The Lascaux cave was discovered by some teenagers just before the second world War. It was opened shortly after the war ended. It was quickly discovered that human breathing damaged the cave drawings. Anyway, one of the teenage discoverers had the idea of creating a replica. Which they did, which is Lascaux 2., which I think was opened in the 1970s. We enjoyed our tour of Lascaux 2. The images are quite vivid.. And they are very large. It's hard to understand how they made the drawings. There is a more contemporary exhibit there as well, but we didn't go in.

The last thing we did was take a guided tour with a driver of Sarlat and Domme. I was nervous about driving and parking in those towns. Anyway, our guide was very informed and enthusiastic about telling us about the history of the area. The views from domme are amazing. Domme was a fortified town in which the residents could hide when bad guys approached.

Very nice, concise report. Thank you!
That is such a beautiful region, with wonderful food at every turn....
I've not been to France in ages and reading this makes me want to return, to the south. (Also never been to Lyon....)

Following, Bordeaux and the Dordogne have been on my wishlist since before Covid. Hope to make it there in 2026, thanks for taking the time to write about your experiences.

Thanks for taking us along to The Dordogne. We stayed in Sarlat for a week some years back and enjoyed returning with your report.

A great time to visit is the 3rd weekend in September which is Heritage Weekend in France and many activities are happening. For example at Eryignac Gardens the owner opens his house there for guests to tour and is on hand to greet you.
Candle lit streets in Sarlat with activities etc.
We did not know of this when we happened to book at that time and it was an added surprise.
Heritage Weekend is September 19-21 in 2025.

We were in the Dordogne a few years ago (our last pre-COVID trip). We went because my husband loves the Martin Walker Bruno series. We stayed in Sarlat and had a car to tour the surrounding areas. We drove to Sarlat from Bordeaux - a lovely ride - and then from the Dordogne drove to Lyon, where we dropped the car. Here are some pictures from that trip.


Moon over Sarlat. The view from our Air BnB window

Easter Eve in Sarlat. Again, from our window

Hiking in the Jardin de Marqueyssac.

Market day in Sarlat

Lascaux II caves

Le Picnic. Along our route