Quercy Périgord: from the Lot to the Dordogne

Arrival in the late afternoon. Check-in, welcome drink, dinner, overnight stay.

Departure for the guided tour of Rocamadour. A true feat of balance, clinging to its limestone cliff, Rocamadour is a prodigious layering of houses and sanctuaries. A major centre of Christianity since the Middle Ages, the medieval town offers numerous points of interest. The tour runs from the castle past the sanctuaries to the shopping street.

Free time. Lunch at the hotel.

Vicomté de Turenne circuit: discovery of Collonges-la-Rouge, an astonishing little Limousin village whose magnificent manor houses in purple sandstone cluster around its Romanesque church; continuing via Martel, the town of seven towers, capital of the Haut Quercy.

Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Tour of the Périgord Noir: discovery of Sarlat with its medieval lanes, private mansions, turrets and pinnacles.

Free time at its famous market (Wednesday and Saturday).

Lunch at a farm inn.

Continuing to the Manoir d’Eyrignac: visit of its magnificent French formal gardens, dating from the 18th century. Known as “green gardens”, they are mainly composed of lawns, hornbeams, box, yews and cypresses.

Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

In the morning, visit of the Moulin de Cougnaguet, a fortified mill built in the 14th century in the raw beauty of the Ouysse gorges.

Continuing with a visit to a duck farm with a tasting of local products.

Lunch at the hotel.

In the afternoon, discovery of small Quercy villages listed among the “Most Beautiful Villages of France”: Loubressac, overlooking the Dordogne and Bave valleys, with an exceptional panorama of the Château de Castelnau and the towers of Saint-Laurent.

Continuing to Carennac and its cloister.

Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Visit of the Grotte des Carbonnières, the most recent cave to open in France, on 1 July 2018. For about an hour, you will have the chance to get as close as possible to formations thousands of years old. You will follow your guide along a specially laid-out path without a single step, easy and effortless, through the heart of vast galleries that light up with every step you take… Lunch at the hotel.

In the afternoon: between the rich lands of the Limargues and the desert-like mineral landscape of the causse, you will discover Assier and its magnificent church, imbued with the spirit of the Renaissance.

Then Figeac: exploring this restored sub-prefecture is a real delight. The historic quarter is incredibly rich, as was the destiny of Jean-François Champollion, who was born there in 1790!

Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Tour along the Dordogne, with access by little train to the royal bastide of Domme: from the top of its rocky outcrop, the village overlooks the valley with an exceptional panorama.

Continuing to the Château des Milandes, lunch at a restaurant.

Built in 1489, the château, former home of Joséphine Baker, is remarkable for the finesse of its exterior sculptures. You will be charmed by the moving atmosphere it exudes.

Then on to La Roque-Gageac for a gabare cruise, a moment of pure serenity on the water, during which you will discover the history of this magnificent region and admire 5 of the most beautiful châteaux in the valley.

Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Circuit of the three valleys, Lot, Vers and Célé: discovery of the village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie which, clinging to a cliff nearly 100 metres above the riverbanks, is one of the major sites of the Lot valley. The streets lined with arcaded workshops preserve the memory of the crafts that made Saint-Cirq wealthy.

Lunch at a restaurant.

Discovery of the Grottes de Pech-Merle, adorned with prehistoric paintings including the famous frieze of dappled horses.

Return to the hotel across the Causse.

Stop in Reilhac at the Vigne Haute farm, producer of Rocamadour cheese, for a tasting.

Regional gastronomic dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast, then departure for your home town.

Have a safe journey and see you soon!