The Dordogne (Le Périgord being the name of the old county #cultivatetoiaveceza) but also part of the neighboring Corrèze, are among the favorite French departments of our little family. After already two visits to our credit (in 2011 and 2015) in this beautiful region, we returned there on the Ascension Viaduct weekend. Under a blazing sun. It felt like August. Pure happiness.
Revise your geo with eza:The department of LA DORDOGNE
So I wanted to do a short article summarizing all the places visited in Dordogne and validated by our entire tribe. Attention, take out the pencils, notebooks, sharpen the copy-paste, crazy planning, good addresses and feedback, here we go:
How to get to Périgord?
A nice little Paris-Brives intercity , if you're lucky, you'll even have air conditioning in it when you get back! So, if, like us, you are used to the TGV (it's inOui), you should know that yes, you are well told that you will be going to a mobile restaurant, but in fact, despite 4h journey, you do not see the color. So be sure to plan snacks and water.
Then, rental car. At the foot of the station, there is a Sixt and a Europcar.
Where do you sleep in the Dordogne?
I have several good addresses, tested during our various stays. All kind of range levels.
2* campsite "cabin" version for slightly rootsy nights but with an original bedding. Swimming pool and trampolines for children. Jeanne's Cabins .
The perched huts and the swimming pool
Round huts version:
4* campsite "your choice" version:from the tent, to the 3-bedroom 2-bathroom bungalow (my favorite huh). The Fromengal estate in the town of Buisson de Cadouin . For all budgets. Top notch welcome, supervision for children and TEENS are not left out. We loved it. The owners are totally devoted to their campsite and the well-being of their holidaymakers. Local cuisine with harvest from the garden. Swimming pool. Slides. Trampolines. Games for children. Quiet, at the end of a road. The thing not found in fact if you do not know. We really loved our two nights there and I must admit that I really want to go back.
Yeah, not only was the weather rotten, but there was also a crazy world… #toohard
Small houses/gîtes 10 minutes on foot from the town center of Sarlat, surrounded by vegetation and with a gigantic chlorine-free swimming pool to share:Au pré de l’Arbre . Absolutely awesome. But bigger budget. We stayed there for 2 weeks in August 2015, the houses are so practical, absolutely perfect and not on top of each other. Lovely owners.
What to visit in the Dordogne?
Already, we breathe. We see green everywhere. We sniff nature, we take full eyes. That alone is magic. Immediate relaxing effect.
Then, I like this region because you can always find an activity that will please. Whether you are a sportsman, hiker, family, couple, passionate or not about history, prehistory, parietal art...
Here is the circuit of our last visit to Périgord. To give you an idea.
Isabelle, tour guide hello. A 4-day circuit idea. Thanks Google.
Thank you Semitour especially.
The Gardens of Eyrignac in Salignac
A garden yeah yeah but not at all that of anyone. We visit a place inhabited by the same family for 22 generations. Open to the public all year round, it employs a dozen gardeners to take care of this magnificent and immense "garden" (10 hectares) representative of Topiary art (old-fashioned pruning, by hand, chalk line and plumb line!). There are also 7 springs. The visit is free, but you can also benefit from a guide. For children:two games (one for the little ones, one for the older ones) are offered with riddles and a gift. Here it kept them busy while I took a cushy nap in the shade... oops.
As you can see the weather is damn awful… uh uh
Family pass rate (2 adults and up to 3 children/teenagers):€39
You can have lunch on site at the very pleasant restaurant "Côté Jardins". Remember to book in high season, however.
LASCAUX 4 in Montignac. Unavoidable. On reservation.
A bit of a childhood dream come true (I'm talking about myself) this visit... We had seen Lascaux 3 (the traveling version, currently in Japan by the way) in Paris in 2015.
We all 4 obviously (?) adored Lascaux 4:last reconstruction, inaugurated last December, of the famous cave completely closed to the public since 1963. This time, unlike Lascaux 2 located a few hundred meters in the woods therefore, of the original", Lascaux 4 is actually…in a modern building! I'll stop you right away, we still immerse ourselves completely in the atmosphere as it's so successful and the few explanations and re-examinations that precede entering the "cave" allow us to very quickly put ourselves in the context . Already, we are reminded that at the time, it was about 20 degrees cooler than today... and that the landscape we observe today has nothing to do with it. This amazed the children, especially.
I'm not going to give you a history lesson, nor improvise myself as a guide, in any case, if you're in the region:book a time slot online, especially in advance, and go for it, it's fabulous.
The photos come, not from the reconstituted cave (which is subject to the same rules as a real one, namely NO PHOTOS, even without flash) but from the second part of the visit, which presents to the public, with audioguides, elements of the cave to deepen the experience. (We spent a good hour there as there is so much to do…)
Leaving the cave, you arrive in the part where you can take pictures and learn even more about Lascaux.
Price:€16 per adult / €10.4 per child between 5 and 13 years old
You can have lunch on site at the restaurant (or cafeteria version possible too), it's very good.
SARLAT-LA-CANEDA
Sarlat is THE city of Dordogne where you find Parisian traffic jams!! Especially in August, there, in May, it was perfect.
Remember to absolutely check the website of the tourist office, there are always activities for the children to do:guided tour of the city, manual activities... the children in 2015 had spent 2 hours in a group in the streets of the city , they loved it. In the evening, the streets come alive, there are musicians and artists everywhere who dance, sing, paint, in short, a lively and so pretty city.
Note if you are staying in the area, at the exit of the city to the north, there is a "direct producer" store next to the Hotel Albizia, very nice for shopping!!
I also recommend the green corridor (50 km round trip) 100% safe to do by bike, starting at the very south of the city. You can rent bikes on site at the start with liberty-cycle.com
The Grand Roc cave in Laugerie Basse :stunning
The troglodyte site at Les Eyzies-de-Tayac:totally breathtaking Laugerie Basse
On site you can visit:the prehistoric shelter which was inhabited by our ancestors at several times and in particular Cro-Magnon 15,000 years ago;
and the Grand Roc cave which is extraordinary (the P'tit not convinced going up the stairs to go there exclaimed when entering "Wow":crystallizations, calcite flows, stalactites, stalagmites, columns, eccentrics, draperies, etc. She is casual listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
No guarantee that a teenager a little more puffy and older than mine won't giggle like a moron at the shapes... uh... oh that's fine huh
The Shelter
Note for the visit of the shelter:the tablets allowing to have a vision of the place in its period context. With some games for children to make the discovery of the place more pleasant and "concrete"
The Cloister of CADOUIN :a magnificent discovery this cloister! The audioguides were welcome, we stayed a good hour in this calm and cool place. A real happiness shared by the 4 of us. I recommend it. UNESCO heritage too. My history enthusiast discovered in particular the order of the Cistercians and their "rigor".
On leaving:mandatory snack at the delicatessen just on the Place du Cloître. Amazing organic ice cream!!!
Biron Castle :if you have a little time, because it is still more than 30 minutes from the cloister, in the very south of the department.
The castle is not furnished, it is often used as a filming location for films (we were told in particular about the kitchen in the Visitors - a reference cinematographic monument for children AH AH AH). In summer, there seem to be activities for children (and that's a good thing):creation of coats of arms, treasure hunts, coinage. In addition, the Château de Biron is hosting an art exhibition "La Fondation Maeght" from June 2 to November 5, 2017. And we found a brilliant host there to tell us about the weapons of the time! Exciting.
The Thot Park
The Parc du Thot offers a wide selection of participatory workshops for young and old :parietal art, archaeological excavation, raising awareness of flint knapping... his (free) visit to different spaces around the relationship between man and animal, complements the visit to Lascaux. I didn't have time to test them with children, I encourage you to read Papacube's opinion on them!
Nice walk and discovery of animals in Parc du Thot
The great novelty of this park is the arrival of wolves! So, quite honestly… we had a hard time… They had just arrived. So terrified by their new environment. In full "adaptation" of course... But... even... the barricade around them really reminds me of a very high security prison and that bothered me a lot.
But also … of course:
The Dordogne and the Vézère for a "sporty" ride (it all depends on the period and the water level...) in a canoe . I have wonderful memories of our "canoe rides", from fits of laughter to water fights, to inevitably crying because I don't want to paddle anymore or the water is cold.
Back then, we left with Canoé Sans Frontière which I can therefore recommend (south of Sarlat)
Beynac Castle. Castle of Castelnaud. Both offer many activities/shows/demonstrations/entertainment for young and old. You can easily spend several hours there. Life-size history lesson. We love it.
As always, don't hesitate to comment on this post with your own experiences and good addresses so that we can keep a practical-practical post referenced by our google friend for our parent colleagues who would be looking for ideas for a holiday in the Dordogne!
To find other ideas for accommodation and visits in Périgord, you can also consult this site.
Ah, and I'm sticking my link to my post on the Rocamadour/Gouffre de Padirac combo, which aren't "that" far from Sarlat.
