A 10-DAY TOUR  TO THE BEAUTIFUL DORDOGNE AND LOT REGIONS IN SOUTH-WEST FRANCE.

VISITING OVER A DOZEN OF FRANCE'S MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES, (LES PLUS BEAUX VILLAGES)

 

DATES: TO BE CONFIRMED ( 10 days/10 nights )

COSTS: TBC per person, based on two people per car sharing a double room

The costs, per person, are based on two people per car) sharing a hotel bedroom and include the following:

 

• • Accommodation in 4-star or 3-star stylish hotels ( 8 nights )
  • Breakfast daily
  • 3-course dinners, ( 8 nights )
  • Outward  afternoon car ferry from Portsmouth to Ouistrham/Caen
  • Return afternoon ferry from Ouistreham/Caen to Portsmouth
  • Rally plate
  • Comprehensive road book with daily itineraries and detailed route notes
  • Michelin maps with the highlighted route
  • DK eyewitness guide to The Dordogne

NOT INCLUDED ARE THE FOLLOWING :

• Lunches, snacks, coffees, etc.
• Drinks with dinner including bottled water and coffee
• Entry to places of interest eg. museums, gardens, chateaux, etc.
• Autoroute tolls

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

A 10-day tour to the beautiful Dordogne and Lot regions in South-West France visiting a dozen of France's most beautiful villages, "Les Plus Beaux Villages".

Our scenic route starts with an afternoon  Portsmouth to Caen ferry crossing and ends 10 days later with an afternoon ferry crossing from Caen to Portsmouth.

Our first night in France is spent in the Loire Valley before we arrive in Bourdeilles,  northern Dordogne, near Brantome.

Our hotel accommodation in the Dordogne includes 2 nights in Bourdeilles, and 4 nights in a chateau hotel in the Dordogne valley, near Beynac.

On our first day in the Dordogne, we visit Brantome as well as Aubeterre and St Jean de Cole, two more “Beaux Villages”

We then head south to the Dordogne Valley where our chateau hotel is based overlooking the Dordogne River near the stunning village of Beynac Over the next 3 days we visit the stunning towns of Sarlat, Rocamadour and visit over a dozen of France’s most beautiful villages including St. Jean de Cole, Aubeterre, Domme, Beynac et Cazenac, La Roque Gageac, Castelnaud la Chapelle,  Monpazier, Belves, St Cirque la Popie and St. Leon-sur-Vezere,

After our last day in the Dordogne, we head north back to the Loire Valley for the final night of the tour.

 

Day 1  Monday 

Afternoon ferry from Portsmouth to Ouistreham/Caen

Our afternoon ferry leaves Portsmouth at 2.45pm and arrives in Ouistreham at 9.30pm. Our hotel is less than a mile from the ferry port.

Day 2 Tuesday 

Ouistreham to Loire Valley ( 190 miles )

After brekfast, we drive to the Loire Valley, stopping at Pegasus Bridge, Sees, and the Le Mans Museum before arriving in the Loire Valley where our hotel is located.

Day 3 Wednesday

Loire Valley to Bourdeilles, Dordogne ( 200 miles )

Our route takes us south to Angle Sur L'Anglin, our first beau village and our lunch stop. After lunch, we continue south to Chassenon where we visit the Roman Baths. Our route then takes us south to Branto where our hotel is located in a nearby village.

Day 4  Thursday

Local excursion, Brantome, St Jean de Cole and Aubeterre

 In the morning we visit Brantome is described as "the Venice of the Perigord" due to the river Dronne completely encircling the town effectively making Brantome an island, see photos below:

We then drive to St. Jean de Cole, our second "Beaux Village" followed by Aubeterre, our third "Beaux Village" before returning to our hotel

Day 5 Friday

Bourdeilles to Beynac  ( 95 miles )

We leave Bourdeilles and drive south to the Dordogne where our morning coffee stop is the Manoir d'Eyrignac gardens.

Our lunch stop is Sarlat, one of Europe's best-preserved towns.

We explore this historic town which is often described as "the jewel in the Dordogne's crown".

We then drive along the river Dordogne via La Roque Gageac to Beynac where our chateau hotel for the next 4 nights is located in a small village

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Day 6  Saturday                                                                              

 Local excursion:  4 "beaux villages" including Beynac et Cazenac,  La Roque Gageac,  Domme, Castelnaud la Chapelle and Marquessac gardens  ( 30 miles )

Today we enjoy a relaxed local excursion visiting four of France's most beautiful villages.

We start with  Beynac et Cazenac our morning coffee stop where we can explore this pretty village and another beau village, which was used as a film set for the film Chocolat and more recently "The Last Duel"

 

Next, we visit another “plus beau village” La Roque Gageac on the river Dordogne.

 

 

 

Our lunch stop is Domme, another of France's most beautiful villages.

Built on a clifftop there is a stunning view of the Dordogne valley

There is also an option to visit the caves at Domme which we access from the centre of the town.

We next visit nearby Castelnaud la Chapelle, another beau village, which sits at the intersection of the Dordogne and Ceau valleys.

Here we visit the amazing medieval fortified chateau which was in English hands during the "100 Years' War" and now as a museum, is open to the public.

 

Next, we visit Marquessac Gardens with superb views over the Dordogne Valley.

We then return to our hotel. for dinner.

 

Day 7 Sunday                                                                                

Beynac, local excursion:  St Cirque La Popie/ Rocamadour ( 115 miles )

Our route today takes us east via Carsac to Carlux where there is an option to visit Cadiot Gardens.

We then continue along the Dordogne river over the Dordogne border into the Lot department to Souillac.

We then head south to another of France's most beautiful villages, St.-Cirq-La-Popie, our lunch stop.

We then continue on to the majestic Rocamadour 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 a couple of hours to explore it.

We then return via Gourdon, to our hotel near Beynac for dinner.

Day 8  Monday

Beynac, local excursion Chateau Milandes, Belves, Monpazier, Biron and Bonaguil ( 70 miles )

We drive less than 5 miles on a scenic minor road to Chateau Milandes which was the home of Josephine Baker, the American singer and topless revue dancer who in the 1930s was adopted by the French as their favourite American.

This is our morning coffee stop and there is ample time to visit the fascinating museum devoted to Josephine Baker as well as watch a display of birds of prey at 11.00 am.

We then travel via Belves, another "beau village" to Monpazier, our 2nd "beau village" and our lunch stop.

 

 

After Monpazier we continue south to Chateau Biron where we visit the impressive chateau.

We then visit Bonaguil, a quaint village overlooked by a medieval chateau, and our afternoon coffee stop.

We then return to our hotel,

Day 9  Tuesday

Beynac to Loire Valley

Our scenic route takes us up the Vezere valley

Our morning coffee stop is another beau village, sleepy St. Leon-sur-Vezere, where we can enjoy coffee by the river and visit the 12th-century church.

We then continue north to the Loire Valley where our hotel for the final night is located

 

Day 10  Wednesday                                                                 

 Loire Valley to Ouistreham/Caen ferry( 190 miles )  

We leave the Loire Valley and drive up to La Chartre Sur Le Loir, our morning coffee stop. We then join the motorway and drive northwest to Sees, our lunch stop. We then head to Ouistreham where we catch the 16.30-afternoon ferry to Portsmouth which arrives at 21.15.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beynac, local excursion to the Lot region visiting, Collonges la Rouge, Curemonte, Turenne, Carennac, Loubressac and Autoire.

We initially head east along the Dordogne river stopping to visit the gardens at ?? then follow the river northeast to Souillac and then north to Nespouls where we turn east to visit the first of our “beaux villages” Turenne, which is shaped and clustered on the cliffside. 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 morning coffee stop and the next beau village, Collonges-la-Rouge, with its unique carmine sandstone architecture and almost toy-town unreality.

Continuing south a few more miles we arrive at Carrenac, our third beau village and from here we drive on to Loubressac with its vast panorama of the Dordogne valley.

Our final beau village, Autoire, is 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 the Autoire gorge.

We then return to our hotel.