A 10-DAY TOUR  TO THE BEAUTIFUL DORDOGNE REGION IN SOUTH-WEST FRANCE VISITING OVER A DOZEN OF FRANCE'S MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES, (LES PLUS BEAUX VILLAGES)

 

DATES:  AUGUST 31st-SEPTEMBER 10th ( 10 days/10 nights )

COSTS: £2,250 per person, based on two people per car sharing a double room

 

COSTS: £3,190 per person, based on two people per car with separate single rooms

COSTS: £3,500 per person, based on one person in a car with single rooms

 

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 overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St. Malo with club cabin ( reduction of £309 if no ferry is needed )
  • Return overnight ferry Ouistreham/Caen to Portsmouth with club cabin ( reduction of £251 if no ferry is needed )
  • Rally plate
  • Comprehensive road book with daily itineraries and detailed route notes
  • Michelin map of France with a highlighted route

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 France's beautiful Dordogne region in south-west France incorporating visits to over a dozen of the most beautiful villages in France, "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France"

Our tour starts with an overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St. Malo. Our route to the Dordogne is via Missillac east of Vannes where we stay overnight in a Relais and Chateau hotel. The next day we arrive in northern Dordogne where we spend the night in Le Moulin du Roc, a hotel converted from a 17th-century walnut oil mill near Brantome. The following day we drive 80 miles south to southern Dordogne where our chateau hotel overlooks the river Dordogne just a couple of miles west of Beynac et Cazenac. Over the next 3 days, we visit a dozen of France's most beautiful villages,( Les plus beaux villages) including Domme, Beynac-et-Cazenac , La Roque Gageac, Castelnau la Chapelle, and Monpazier.  In addition, we visit the stunning towns of Sarlat and Rocamadour. Our 3-day route back to Caen's ferry port is via Brantome and the Loire valley. We finally arrive in Caen to catch the overnight ferry to Portsmouth

 

 Wednesday 31st September

Overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St. Malo

Our afternoon ferry leaves Portsmouth at 20.15  and arrives in St. Malo at 8.15 tomorrow

 

Day 1 Thursday 1st September

St. Malo to Missillac, ( 105 miles )

The overnight ferry from Portsmouth arrives in St.Malo at 8.15.

Our route today takes us south to Missillac, just southeast of Vannes, with stops at Ploermel and Rochefort en Terre, one of France's most beautiful villages. Our hotel is the Relais et Chateaux Domaine de la Bretesche

 

Day 2 Friday 2nd September

Missillac to Champagnac-de-Belair, Dordogne ( 260 miles, including 125 miles on motorways )

Our route takes us southeast to Nantes then via Niort and Saintes, to Cognac our morning coffee stop.

Our route continues to Aubeterre-Sur-Dronne, our first beau village of the day and our lunch stop.

We then drive, via Riberac, to Brantome, our afternoon coffee stop.

 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:

Our hotel for the night, the Moulin du Roc, is based 5 miles away in the village of Champagnac-de-Belair.

The Moulin du Roc, is a converted walnut oil mill and  hosts one of the Dordogne's finest restaurants, nestling on the banks of the river Dronne  See photos below:

Day 3  Saturday 3rd September

Champagnac-de-Belair to Saint Vincent de Cosse  ( 104 miles, including 33 miles on motorways )

We leave Brantome and drive south to Sarlat, our lunch stop.

We explore this historic town which is often described as "the jewel in the Dordogne's crown" being arguably Europe's best-preserved medieval town.

We then drive via La Roque Gageac and Beynac et Cazenac along the river Dordogne to Saint Vincent de Cosse, where our chateau hotel for the next 4 nights is located.

Day 4  Sunday 4th September 

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 5 Monday 5th September

Saint Vincent de Cosse, 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 6  Tuesday 6th September

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.

 

 

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

We then return to our hotel, stopping en-route for a drink at Brian and Karen's house, just over the Dordogne border, in the Lot department.

Day 7  Wednesday 7th September

 Beynac to Champagnac de Belair, near Brantome ( 90  miles )  

Our scenic route takes us up the Vezere valley where we visit the fascinating cave dwellings at La Roque St. Christophe.

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

Our afternoon coffee stop is St. Jean de Cole another beau village.

We then drive 10 miles back to the Moulin du Roc, in Champagnac de Belair, for our last night in the Dordogne

Dinner tonight is in the hotel's restaurant.

Day 8  Thursday 8th September

Brantome to Loire Valley (  190  miles )  

Our scenic route takes us north via Nontron, and Confolens to Angles Sur L'Anglin, another beau village, to La Roche-Posay, our afternoon coffee stop.

We then continue up to the Loire Valley, to Montbazon where our chateau hotel for the last night of the tour is located.

Dinner, tonight, is in the hotel's restaurant.

Day 9  Friday 9th September

Veigne, Montbazon to Ouistreham/Caen ferry( 190 miles )  

As our ferry, tonight is not until 23.00 so we can explore the Loire Valley before heading up to Caen. Our morning stop is Azay le Rideau where there is an opportunity to visit the chateau. There is then an option to visit the nearby Maurice Dufresne museum or the gardens at Chateau Villandry or Langeais Chateau. We then leave the Loire Valley and drive up to Ouistreham where we catch the overnight ferry to Portsmouth ( ferry departs 23.00 and arrives 6.45 tomorrow)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alternative route

We 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.