Dordogne: what to see and do

Beynac-et-Cazenac

Seat in the Middle Ages of one of the four baronies of the Périgord, the castle withstood every assault and was taken only by Richard the Lionheart and Simon de Montfort.

Château de Castelnaud

Facing the Château de Beynac, whose implacable rival it was in the endless conflicts that punctuate the history of the Middle Ages.

Gouffre de Proumeyssac

Already famous in the eighteenth century for its terrifying legends, the Proumeyssac chasm was only explored in 1907.

Grotte de Lascaux

Located in the Dordogne near the village of Montignac-sur-Vézère, in the heart of the Périgord Noir, the Lascaux cave is the masterpiece of prehistoric art.

Château de Beynac

It is probably from the course of the Dordogne that the fortress looks most impressive.

La Grotte du Grand Roc

Set into a magnificent cliff overlooking the Vézère, the Grand Roc cave is an exceptional jewel.

Les Eyzies

A village nestled at the foot of high troglodyte limestone cliffs, nicknamed the "world capital of prehistory" for the exceptional density of its Palaeolithic deposits.

Univerland Le Bugue (ex-Parc Aquarium du Périgord Noir)

The largest private aquarium in Europe at Le Bugue-sur-Vézère. With more than 3 million litres of water and more than 600 fish, the Périgord Noir Aquarium is without doubt the largest private open-air freshwater aquarium.

Belvès

Fortified in the Middle Ages because of its strategic position and nicknamed "the Pope's town" under the protection of Pope Clement V, Belvès keeps the remains of a tormented past: ramparts, Auditeur tower, bell belfry, town hall tower, former bell tower of the Dominican friars' convent, Hospital tower…

Bergerac

Castelnaud-la-Chapelle

Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, ranked among the "Most Beautiful Villages of France", overlooking the confluence of the Dordogne and the Céou, characterised by its terraced layout climbed along little steep lanes, is a village of exceptional heritage richness.

Château d'Auberoche

Château de Beauvais

Château de Belcayre

Château de Biron

Seat of one of the four baronies of Périgord, this original fortress has undergone many architectural alterations over the centuries.

Château de Bourdeilles

Château de Bridoire

Owned by a mysterious Senegalese company, the château de Bridoire has been abandoned since 1982.

Château de Campagne

Château de Commarque

In the Vézère valley, on a wild site, the château de Commarque was built in the twelfth century by the abbots of Sarlat to counter the power of the Beynacs.

Château de Hautefort

The castle stands on a rocky spur that overlooks the commune and the village of Hautefort.

Château de Jumilhac

The château (13th–17th century), a listed historic monument, is the soul of the village because it was protected from the Revolution by the town's inhabitants.

Château de Losse

The medieval fortress built on a sheer drop overlooks the Vézère valley. It is enclosed by walls and bordered by deep moats.

Château de Monbazillac

The château de Monbazillac, owned by the Monbazillac cellar since 1960, presents a unique and original architecture, a mix of medieval defensive systems and Renaissance elegance.

Château de Montaigne

Château de Montastruc

Château de Montfort

The château de Montfort stands literally on a rocky ledge overlooking the river and the cliffs below.

Château de Puyguilhem

Château de Puymartin

Puymartin, built around 1270 and once surrounded below by a village of the same name, served as a border between France and England when the Hundred Years' War began; it was then pillaged, stripped of its crenellations, ramparts, towers and roofs.

Château de Rastignac

Château de Salignac

Château de l'Herm

Château des Milandes

In the heart of the Black Périgord, the château des Milandes overlooks the Dordogne river. It was Lord François de Caumont who had this residence built in 1489 at the request of his wife, Claude de Cardaillac.

Cincle de Trémolat

The Trémolat bend is one of the most famous meanders of the Dordogne, formed by the river between the communes of Trémolat and Mauzac-et-Grand-Castang.

Domme

Ringed by ramparts, the thirteenth-century bastide tells a tumultuous past illustrated by its fortified gates and towers that served as prisons.

Gabares Norbert

Grotte de Rouffignac

The Rouffignac cave is in the heart of the Black Périgord. This cavity was successively inhabited by cave bears and prehistoric artists.

Grotte de Bara-Bahau

Overlooking the Vézère valley, in the village of Le Bugue, you will discover the surprising Bara-Bahau cave, whose dialect name comes from the expression "and badaboom!!!" The cavity is just behind the reception and its unusual entrance will not fail to astonish you.

Grotte de Font-de-Gaume

The last polychrome decorated cave still open to visitors in France, in the Vézère valley.

Grotte de Roque Saint Christophe

Halfway between Les Eyzies and Montignac, in one of the most beautiful landscapes of the Périgord, the enormous cliff of La Roque Saint-Christophe rises sheer above the Vézère.

Grotte de Tourtoirac

Today, developed for everyone, the Grotte de Tourtoirac will let you discover the fabulous diversity of concretions that nature has shaped over time.

Grotte de Villars

The Villars cave was discovered in 1953 by the Périgueux speleological club. The developed part belongs to an immense network of which 13 kilometres have been mapped to date.

Grotte de domme

Grotte des Combarelles

A long engraved gallery in the Vézère valley, with many animal figures of Prehistory.

Grottes du Roc de Cazelle

La Roque-Gageac

In the Middle Ages, La Roque-Gageac had 1,500 souls. At that time, the Dordogne supported the fishermen and gabariers of the port.

La ville de Brantôme, la « Venise du Périgord »

Set on an island, at the gates of the Périgord Limousin nature park, the charming town of Brantôme is one of the prettiest towns of the Green Périgord.

Le Château de Fayrac

Le village de Bournat