Darling Dordogne: Vacation Holiday in France
July 27, 2010
Castles, prehistoric caves, hill towns, lush greenery and a lazy river running through it, makes the Dordogne an extremely popular vacation region. I've read that some say it is reminiscent of the Cotswolds, but I don't really see the similarity. (Although Sarlot is suppose to have more Medieval, Renaissance and 17th century building facades than any where else in France, so perhaps that is why). Luckily, once again, we got there early in the season so missed the crowds, although we ran into a few sprinkles as well in June.
The area is called the Dordogne River Valley and lies east of the Bordeaux region and St. Emilion. There are lots of campgrounds in this area, but we particularly liked the one we picked La Riviera in Les Eyzies. Our primary reason for coming here was to see the world famous prehistoric cave paintings.
Our journey is an educational field trip after all, so we did not want to miss the opportunity to unit study on prehistoric man via the caves. Plus it would be nice to be able to compare them with Alta Mira that we saw a month earlier in northern Spain. I had read a lot online about the Dordogne from French travel lovers, so was also curious to check out this area. It's a large area, so we could not see every nook and cranny, but we saw a lot and enjoyed the beauty, river and relaxed atmosphere.
There is a lot to do there for families from horseback riding to river canoeing, from biking to hiking. It is also known for it's sophisticated food including truffles and foie gras , so one can not go wrong here. More details coming but this is peek. We found it uniquely charming.
Have you been to the Dordogne? Or would you like to go?
Castles, prehistoric caves, hill towns, lush greenery and a lazy river running through it, makes the Dordogne an extremely popular vacation region. I've read that some say it is reminiscent of the Cotswolds, but I don't really see the similarity. (Although Sarlot is suppose to have more Medieval, Renaissance and 17th century building facades than any where else in France, so perhaps that is why). Luckily, once again, we got there early in the season so missed the crowds, although we ran into a few sprinkles as well in June.
The area is called the Dordogne River Valley and lies east of the Bordeaux region and St. Emilion. There are lots of campgrounds in this area, but we particularly liked the one we picked La Riviera in Les Eyzies. Our primary reason for coming here was to see the world famous prehistoric cave paintings.
Our journey is an educational field trip after all, so we did not want to miss the opportunity to unit study on prehistoric man via the caves. Plus it would be nice to be able to compare them with Alta Mira that we saw a month earlier in northern Spain. I had read a lot online about the Dordogne from French travel lovers, so was also curious to check out this area. It's a large area, so we could not see every nook and cranny, but we saw a lot and enjoyed the beauty, river and relaxed atmosphere.
There is a lot to do there for families from horseback riding to river canoeing, from biking to hiking. It is also known for it's sophisticated food including truffles and foie gras , so one can not go wrong here. More details coming but this is peek. We found it uniquely charming.
Have you been to the Dordogne? Or would you like to go?
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I am so in love with your photographs! They look like they should be in a cofee table book. You have a real talent. I especially love the picture of the town by the river. What type of camera do you use?
Posted by: Christina | July 27, 2010 at 12:55 PM
Mmm, your pictures sure make me want to go! What is that building carved out of the cliff? Very cool!
Lisa (@TheWorldCalls)
Posted by: Lisa @ The World is Calling | July 27, 2010 at 02:47 PM
Hi there!
Glad you're enjoying France!
My father is originally from the Dordogne region, but he was in the army so we moved around quite a lot...probably one of the reason I got the travel bug :-))
But it's still the region of France where you find the most people with the same last name as us (it's not a common last name).
Posted by: Gabrielle | July 28, 2010 at 09:17 AM
Christina - Thanks so much, I'm really glad to hear that you are enjoying our photographs! I do take most of them but Mozart & DaVinci help out too and they both have great eyes too for pictures.
I wrote about our cameras here:
http://www.soultravelers3.com/2008/07/new-cameras.html?cid=123415684
We really enjoy capturing places in pictures and have lots more of the Dordogne that I'll get up soon.
The only bad things about photos is how much work it is just trying to keep up with them on this trip. We didn't realize that before we began, but it is not uncommon for us to take 300 to 600 photos a day or more....so 4 years later we have TONS of photos. I've barely begun to show them all. LOL
Posted by: soultravelers3 | July 28, 2010 at 10:31 AM
I haven't been to the Dordogne, but I would LOVE to visit!
Posted by: Erica | August 07, 2010 at 09:27 AM
Also, a cute picture of your daughter. very interesting as well. europe has so much history and character!
Posted by: Marlana | June 27, 2012 at 11:52 PM
Thanks Marlana, it is a lovely area!
Posted by: Jeanne @soultravelers3 | July 06, 2012 at 02:17 AM
Que bonito todo.
Posted by: Javier | August 10, 2021 at 01:49 AM
Muchas gracias Javier!! ¡Me alegra saber que disfrutó de su visita a esta región!
Posted by: jeanne dee | September 23, 2021 at 02:36 PM