Discover Dordogne over 5 Days

ARRIVAL IN SARLAT ON YOUR OWN

Arrive in Sarlat on your own and settle into your hotel. Explore the exceptional beauty of Sarlat at your own pace.

Because modern history has largely passed it by, Sarlat has remained preserved and is one of the most representative towns of 14th century France.

Located in the heart of the Perigord Noir, the town possesses an outstanding number of buildings and houses dating from the 13th to 18th century. Take some time to stroll through the small narrow alleys and streets for personal discovery.

Night at your Hotel in Sarlat.

SARLAT GOURMET WALKING TOUR / VILLAGES OF THE DORDOGNE VALLEY SHARED HALF DAY TRIP FROM SARLAT

Breakfast at your Hotel. 9.20am Meet your guide at the meeting point Place Pasteur 9.30am Begin your Gourmet walking tour

The medieval town of Sarlat hosts one of the biggest and best food markets in the Dordogne. On this 2 hour tour, visit on market day to experience the town at its most atmospheric. Meet your English speaking local guide, expert in Dordogne Culinary specialties.

Start your visit of the Market

Walk towards the Market and begin your discovery of the best produce of the Dordogne region. Then your first stop will be at a family run local delicacies shop. Here, we will stop to taste small toasts spread with patés or foie gras from either duck or goose. Then taste a Top rated Foie Gras from a local producer that has obtained many rewards at the Paris Exhibition.

Finish this tasting stop with a local cheese called Trappe d'Echourgnac. Trappist cheese is pressed, uncooked, fermented by retro-rubbing or by using the “morge” scrubbing technique. Then walnut liqueur is added. How much? And, then what? Well, that’s a secret never to be told! All this will be rinsed with a tasting of a White & Red Bergerac wine.

Continue nibbling as you stroll the medieval streets

Then follow your guide through the medieval streets of Sarlat. This walking tour allows your guide to point out all the local products of the season that arrive from all corners of the Dordogne. If you are lucky, it might be the season of strawberries, of which the Dordogne is famous for, and your guide will make sure that you have the opportunity to sample some.

Another very popular stop is at a local walnut cake producers stall. Walnut is a true specialty of the Dordogne. It is said that there are as many recipes as there are ducks and gees in the Dordogne, and that's a lot! Let your guide take you to his / her prefered producer.

Visit a Church that has become a Market

Your next stop will be inside St Mary's church which houses the covered market. Even though this market is accessible on the other days as well, we stop here as there is a great opportunity to taste very different specialties. As a starter you will get to taste half-cooked Foie Gras accompanied by a glass of Bergerac white wine. This will be followed by dried magret (duck breast) with pepper.

Finally, listen to your guide as your are introduced to the the king of mushrooms, the black truffle. If you would like to buy some, then this is the place. You can also purchase black truffle oil that makes for a great seasoning.

End with a total walnut experience

Back through the market to make our way to our final stop. On the way there will be a few more stops along the way before reaching your final tasting session. Here it will be all about walnuts! Taste the local walnut oil, the croquants - a dry and crunchy caramelised sugar biscuit like treat. End the tasting with a shot of walnut liquor to rinse all these delicious treats right down.

Enjoy some free time for personal discovery and lunch (at own expense)

In the afternoon, visit the village of Domme

Drive to the beautiful village of Domme. With its trapezoid city plan, Domme is a bastide, or a fortified medieval town, adapted to the surrounding terrain, and thus falling short of the rectangular city plan characteristic to bastides. The village is classified as one of the "Plus Beaux Villages de France" ("The Most Beautiful Villages of France").

Enjoy a peaceful Boat Ride

Then drive to La Roque Gageac and enjoy a peaceful cruise on the the Dordogne River on board an authentic Gabarre to admire mighty castles that loom over the riverside. The Gabarres are traditional flat-bottomed boats that have been used for transporting goods along the Dordogne since the Middle Ages.

A trip on one of the Gabarres offers a relaxing way to enjoy the sight of some of the many Dordogne chateaux and villages from the perspective of the river. Various sights and wildlife are pointed out to you as you meander slowly down the river as well as the history of the Gabarres.

Visit the village of Beynac

Finally, reach Beynac to admire the village and the Castle. This Middle Ages construction, with its austere appearance, is perched on top of a limestone cliff, dominating the town and the north bank of the Dordogne River. The castle was built in the 12th century by the barons of Beynac (one of the four baronies of Périgord) to close the valley.

6.00pm drop off in Sarlat and night at your hotel.

CAVE ART OF THE DORDOGNE SHARED FULL DAY TRIP FROM SARLAT

Breakfast at your hotel. 8.50am Meet your guide at the meeting point Place Pasteur 9.00am Depart from Sarlat

Depart for the Unesco World Heritage Site of the Vézère Valley

During this day you will be introduced to this fascinating art and to the people who created it.

Guided visit of the National Prehistory Museum

Follow your guide and discover the main chapters of the Hominids’ development through an anthropological frieze and a brief reminder of Africa’s history, starting with the early Australopithecines. Many themes are explored, including the legendary “Lucy”, the small 3.5-million-year-old woman discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. You will then visit the permanent exhibit galleries that will plunge you into the mists of time, revealing seven sequences that cover the entire Paleolithic era through an “ideal historiography”.

Free time for lunch in a local restaurant (at own expense)

Enjoy some free time for lunch in Montignac or a village of the Dordogne region. Ask your guide for recommendations.

Visit Rouffignac Cave

Continue to Rouffignac Cave. This cave possesses original and authentic etchings and drawings. The Rouffignac cave was already mentioned in 1575 by François de Belleforest. In his ” Cosmographie universelle” he cites “paintings and animal traces”.

Visit the International Center of Parietal Art - Lascaux IV

Finally, end the tour with the visit of brand new Lascaux IV cave – open since December 2016. For the first time, all of Lascaux is revealed. A complete new replica retraces the discovery of the famous decorated cave. But that’s not the end of the adventure: the entire site inquires into the position that Lascaux occupies in cave art and its relation to contemporary creation. The opening of the International Center for Cave Art marks the beginning of a new adventure combining the emotion of ancestral art and an important technological achievement.

6.00pm drop off in Sarlat and night at your hotel.

ROCAMADOUR VILLAGE SHARED HALF DAY TRIP FROM SARLAT

Breakfast at your hotel. 8.50am Meet your guide at the meeting point Place Pasteur 9.00am Depart from Sarlat

Rocamadour: A Castle set above a sanctuary set above a village

This morning, board the minivan and head to the nearby village of Rocamadour. Miraculous rock, collection of tales, legends and beliefs, sanctuary of the Black Virgin, pilgrimage site: the Village of Rocamadour is all of this at the same time. The old medieval houses, the towers and fortifications, the oratories all tumble along the steep cliff that dominates the Alzou Canyon. The whole site is topped off by the castle and its dungeon and the seven sanctuaries. Your guide will certainly stop here for a breathtaking view of the whole site that make for fantastic photo opportunities.

The visit of the village can be painful for those with walking problems but please note that there is a possibility of accessing the sanctuaries by lift (tickets not included in price).

1.00pm drop off in Sarlat and night at your hotel.

SARLAT

Breakfast at your hotel and end of our services.