DORDOGNE SPRING / BEAUX VILLAGES TOUR

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Description

The English have had a love affair with the Dordogne and Aquitaine for centuries so here is your chance to find out why and join us on the back roads of this delightful region so full of history and wonderful vistas. The Dordogne is aptly described as “the region of a 1000 chateaux” and we visit a few of these on our tour as well as other places of interest such as gardens and museums.

Following a Wednesday night ferry crossing our tour starts in St.Malo and takes us across country to our first overnight stop a sumptuous 4* chateau hotel in the Loire valley. From here we drive down the Vienne valley on minor roads until we reach Brantome our first overnight stop in the Dordogne region in South West France. After two days of relatively high mileage we relax the next day with lunch in nearby stunning Michelin* restaurant,a converted walnut oil mill, and local excursions to two of France's most beautiful villages( les plus beaux villages) ,St. Jean de Cole and Aubeterre which is just over the Dordogne's west border in the Charente.

The following day we leave Brantome and head south to Domme visiting en route another 3 beaux villages and Sarlat, Europe's best preserved medieval town. On day 5 our route takes us east to the stunning Rocamadour via another 6 beautiful villages. On day 6 we head west back into the Dordogne via another 2 of France's most beautiful villages on our way back to Brantome.On our penultimate day we leave behind Brantome and the Dordogne and drive back up to the Loire Valley stopping off in the morning to visit the Village Martyr at Oradour sur Glane and in the afternoon Chinon just south of the river Loire. On our final day we leave our chateau hotel and the Loire Valley behind and catch the afternoon ferry from Caen to Porsmouth.

For more information on Les Plus Beaux Villages de France visit http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/

Itinerary

Wednesday, May 19th, Ferry from Portsmouth at 20.30 to St Malo.

Day 1 - Thursday,( approx 220 miles)

Ferry arrives St Malo at 8.00am. On leaving St Malo we will take the Coast road to our charming breakfast stop in Port Mer a small secluded bay two miles north of Cancale.We stop for breakfast here and meet the other members of the tour and the road books will be issued.We then continue along the coastal road overlooking the Mont St Michel bay.The route then heads south cross-country on quiet 'back-roads' to a lunch stop in the charming medieval town of Vitre. From Vitre we drive to Le Mans to visit our afternoon coffee stop the world famous motor museum next to the main entrance to the Le Mans 24 hours circuit before heading south, still on minor roads, towards the Loire Valley and our hotel for the night, the magnificent Chateau Rochecotte - a sumptuous four-star hotel in St Patrice 5 miles west of Langeais, (see photos below right).
Chateau Rochecotte Hotel - click here

Day 2 - Friday,( approx 200miles)

After leaving Chateau Rochecotte we drive along the the River Loire to Langeais and then cross the picturesque bridge,(see photo above left) driving 5 miles south to Azay-le-Rideau stopping en route to visit the beautiful gardens at Chateau Chattoniere.We then head east through Descartres, and then south to La Roche Posay our lunch stop.We then continue south through Angles- sur l'Anglin, one of France's "plus beaux villages",( see photo right),to Chauvigny. We then drive through the picturesque Vienne valley on minor roads into the Charente department through Confolens to Chabanais where, just south, we stop to visit the amazing Chassenon Roman Baths. Located at Longeas, a small hamlet just south of Chassenon, these are amongst the best preserved buildings of their type in the territory of ancient Gaul and possibly in the whole of what was once the Roman Empire. The site also includes three temples, a theatre and an aqueduct, all once part of the ancient Roman city of Cassinomagus. We then continue south into the Dordogne to the charming town of Brantôme, described as "the Venice of the Perigord" due to the river Dronne completely encircling the town effectively making Brantome an island,(see photos below).Brantome also boasts the oldest bell tower in France attached to the ancient abbey.The medieval village of Bourdeilles 5 miles down river from Brantome will be our base for the next 2 nights and our hotel is a converted 16th century moulin,(water mill) on a picturesque 16th century bridge ovelooking the river Dronne.

Day 3 - Saturday,(approx 80 miles)

After two days of relatively high mileage we start to relax in the Dordogne with a free morning in Brantome visiting the shops and an opportunity to stroll around this extremely pretty town.Late morning we drive to our first beautiful village in the Dordogne,nearby St.Jean de Cole, followed by lunch at a Michelin * restaurant, the nearby Moulin du Roc, a converted walnut oil mill and one of the Dordogne's finest restaurants and one of the world's most romantic settings, nestling on the banks of the river Dronne,( see photos below)

 

 

 

After lunch we drive across country on scenic roads to the neighbouring Charente region; driving west along the banks of the pretty river to Lisle and then climb up to Montagrier with its picturesque views and then continuing on backroads through Lusignac to Aubeterre-sur-Dronne in the Charente, another of France's prettiest villages, (see photo at bottom of page).Here we visit the amazing underground monolithic church and explore this picture-book village. Driving on some more of the Dordogne's scenic country lanes, we then return to our hotel.

Day 4 - Sunday, (approx 120 miles)

We leave our hotel and Brantome behind and head across country on minor roads towards Sarlat approximately 70 miles south west, stopping for coffee at another beau village, St. Leon-sur-Vezere.Late morning we arrive in Sarlat,our lunch stop,which is the jewel in the Dordogne's crown being arguably Europe's best preserved Medieval town with amazing rennaisance architecture,(see photo below left).After lunch we visit two more of France's prettiest villages; Beynac et Cazenac, (see photo at top of page) where we stop for coffee and La Roque Gageac.We then drive to nearby Domme,our 4th beautiful village of the day, via the medieval stone archway which carries graffiti made by the Knights Templar who were once imprisoned here a few centuries ago.Our hotel for the next two nights is based in Domme, perched on a cliff top, with stunning views overlooking the Dordogne valley, (see photo below right taken from the hotel's terrace).
For more information on Domme visit the Domme website http://www.ot-domme.com/

 

Day 5 - Monday, (approx 120 miles)

Our route today takes us via six of France's most beautiful villages,(les plus beaux villages) and takes us over the Dordogne border into the Lot region.From Domme we follow the river north east to Souillac and then north to Nespouls where we turn east to visit the first of our beaux villages, Turenne which is shaped and clusterred on the cliff side.Turenne was the last feudal fiefdom in France being in family ownership until 1738! From the remains of the chateau there is an amazing 360 degree panoramic view of the Cantal mountains across the Dordogne valley.A few miles further south is our next beau village, Collanges la Rouge with its unique carmine sandstone architecture and almost toytown unreality.Continuing south a few more miles we arrive at Carrenac our third beau village from where we drive on to Loubressac with its vast panorama of the Dordogne valley.Our final beautiful village is Autoire, regarded as one of the most beautiful places in Quercy which is the name of this fertile area east of Perigord at the mouth of of the Autoire gorge.Just outside the village we stop and, on foot, visit the impressive one hundred foot waterfall and climb to a rocky amphitheatre with panoramic views of the region.After our walking excursion we return back to the cars and continue our drive to our lunch stop the majestic Rocamadour,(see photo below right),with its breathtaking location perched on the side of a rocky peak above the Alzou valley.Since the 10th century Rocamadour has been a centre of pilgrimage and today it receives many tourists and we have ample opportunity to explore Rocamadour,After lunch in Rocamadour we visit the nearby geographical curiosity,"Gouffre de Padirac," a huge chasm that forms the entrance to a series of underground caverns.Here we have the option of descending literally "into the abyss" to view the group of giant stalagmites to the lake at the bottom of this huge opening where we can take a boat ride. after which we return to our hotel in Domme.

Day 6 - Tuesday, (approx 120 miles)

Leaving our hotel and Domme behind, we head to the Chateau of Marqueysac where we can enjoy the gardens and then drive to nearby Castelnaud our lunchstop where the village sits on the intersection of the Dordogne and Ceau valleys.The chateau here was in English hands during the 100 years war and, having undergone incredible restoration is now open to the public.After Castelnaud we head south west to another beautiful village,Belves, set on a cliff top with its 16th century chateau and 16th century covered market with seven towers including several belltowers.From Belves we drive north to Limeuil, another beau village with its riverside beach,craftsman workshops and narrow streets leading up to the chateau.Our route from here takes us north back to Bourdeilles for our final night in the Dordogne and our penultimate night of the tour.

Day 7-Wednesday, (approx 200 miles)

Today we return back to the Loire. Again we will follow the Vienne valley but with some variations on the Friday route.Our morning coffee stop is the fascinating, yet sobering, "Village Martyr", Oradour -sur-Glane where the old ruined village is a national monument commemorating the June, 1945 massacre of the entire village,( out of more than 500 occupants; less than 5 survived), by 200 retreating german SS soldiers.After Oradour we continue north west cross-country skirting around Poitiers through the ancient town of Richelieu and then on to medieval Chinon, our afternoon coffee stop. From here we drive via the Chateau d'Usse, the chateau with many turrets that was apparently the inspiration for the "Sleeping Beauty" story , along the charming south bank river road of the river Loire crossing at Langeais and then driving to St. Patrice and back to Chateu de Rochecotte. Tonight we enjoy our final night's celebratory dinner.

Day 8 - Thursday, (approx 200 miles)

We say 'au revoir' to the Loire Valley and head back to Caen for the afternoon ferry via scenic minor roads to La Chartre sur-le-Loir where we stop off at the Hotel de France, the headquarters of the Aston Martin, Le Mans racing team in the 1950s and 60s. Over coffee you can browse through the nostalgic pictures of Le Mans legends that line the walls of this famous hotel. After coffee we head north to Alencon and on to Sees our lunch stop. After lunch we continue north to Caen to the port of Ouistreham for our 4.30pm ferry to Portsmouth, (arrives Portsmouth 9.30 pm).

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