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Boutique hotels in Dordogne

Holidays in Dordogne, France

Dordogne Activities

Highlights the best Dordogne has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.

Worth getting out of bed for

Highlights the best Dordogne has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.

Viewpoint
The village of La Roque-Gageac, near the charming mediaeval town of Sarlat, clings to the cliffs overlooking the Dordogne valley. The most striking view is from the ruins of the troglodyte fort at the top of a vertiginous ladder.

Arts and culture
The Dordogne is dotted with castles and châteaux. Two of the best are the Renaissance Château de Puyguilhem near the town of St-Jean-de-Côle and the very grand Château de Hautefort, with its wonderful gardens, northwest of Brive-la-Gaillarde.

Something for nothing
The suitably haughty statue of Cyrano de Bergerac takes pride of place in Bergerac’s Place Pélissière. The statue’s famously protruding nose is often stolen.

Shopping
In Bergerac, Bille de Bois in Place du Docteur André Cayla is filled with old-fashioned wooden toys. There’s so much fabulous local wine to choose from; try the velvety Monbazillac, a sweet white wine often drunk to mark special occasions. There are markets in Bergerac on Wednesdays and Saturdays, Lalinde on Thursdays, Libourne on Fridays and Sarlat on Saturday. Bergerac’s fleamarket sells antiques and bric-à-brac on the first Sunday of the month.

Daytripper
Book two weeks in advance to visit the wine cellar of Château Margaux, north of Bordeaux. The neoclassical château produces some of the Médoc region’s finest wine. The cellars are closed in August and during the harvest (www.chateau-margaux.com).

Activities
There is good canoeing on the Dordogne, between Argentat and Beynac. Copeyre in Souillac hires canoes and mountain bikes (www.copeyre.com). The Bergerac area is ideal for wine-tasting; contact www.vins-bergerac.fr for details. L’Essentiel, on Rue Guadet in St-Émilion, promotes ‘boutique’ producers and is stylish yet unstuffy (www.essentiel-vin.com). There’s a challenging nine-hole golf course at Château les Merles (www.lesmerles.com).

Diary

Early May The châteaux of St-Émilion open their wine cellars for a day, usually on a Sunday; some offer free samples. Late June Every two years Bordeaux holds its three-day Fête du Vin, with wine tasting, concerts and auctions. 14 July Bergerac’s magnificent four-day food and wine festival sees tables in the streets and free concerts in the evening (www.pays-de-bergerac.com). Mid-August Brive-la-Gaillarde has a ten-day festival of classical music concerts. Third Sunday of September The start of the wine harvest is announced from the Tour du Roi in St-Émilion, accompanied by parades; see www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com for details.