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The Dordogne, Sarlat & Domme
Tourist information for the Perigord Noir area of Dordogne...
See also:
- Dordogne photo gallery: Domme, Rocamadour, La Roque Gageac and Sarlat
- Links to other web sites of interest
The Dordogne, or Perigord, is an area of outstanding natural beauty; green hillsides dotted with picturesque villages, rivers meandering through fertile valleys of orchards, vineyards and pastoral farmland. Throw in plenty of sunshine, a rich and fascinating history, and renowned gastronomy and you have a recipe for the perfect holiday destination!
The temperate climate and varied landscape of the Dordogne provide plenty of interest and an abundance of photo opportunities for the tourist. This is an area of thickly wooded hillsides, beautiful mediaeval towns and villages, numerous churches, cathedrals, castles, chateaux, bastide towns and fortresses.
Ideal for Walking & Hiking Holidays!
Le Salidou is the ideal vacation location for walkers and hikers - whether you prefer a gentle stroll or a more challenging walk. The area around St Aubin de Nabirat offers an abundance of marvellous walks and rambles, all through some of the most stunning countryside in France. Copies of Promenades et Randonnées are available in the house, for the use of guests; this publication includes 28 circular walks of varying difficulty and length which can also be combined to create almost endless permutations.
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Other activities in the area
A wide variety of activities are available in the area, including:
- Canoeing on the River Dordogne
- Horse riding
- Hot air ballooning
- Microlight flights
- Light aircraft flights
- Swimming and water sports on the recreational lakes.
Perigord Noir
Le Salidou is located in the Perigord Noir area of Southwest France, at the southern end of the department of the Dordogne, near the department of the Lot river. It is 6 miles (10K) from the Dordogne river and a short walk from the C'eou river. It is 1.8 miles (3K) from the village St Martial de Nabirat which has basic shopping facilities, and 6.3 miles (10K) from Gourdon which is a large market town with four supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, shops, a hospital, many doctors, dentists etc. Please see our Maps & Directions page for more details on how to find us.
There is a twice-weekly farmers market in Gourdon where locals sell their goods direct. There is also a summer music festival in the two medieval churches where travelling orchestras and soloists perform as in many local towns and villages.
The walled Bastide of Domme is six miles (10Km). The beautiful mediaeval town of Sarlat is 13 miles (23Km) - Sarlat has the highest concentration of Medieval & Renaissance architecture of any town in France. The stone cliffs of La Roque Gageac and Beynac with several breathtaking chateau-fortresses are just some of the local attractions.
The Lascaux caverns (see below for Lascaux Caverns information ), with their prehistoric cave paintings, the fabulous sanctuary village of Rocamadour with its fortress cathedral, and the Gouffre de Padirac with its deep underground caverns and rivers, are justifiably world-famous.
A little further afield (40Km) is Cahors, capital of the Lot and the centre of the wine growing area producing deep red and strong Cahors wine. Also relatively nearby is Bergerac, the centre of another wine growing area producing Bergerac reds and whites, Pecharmant reds and Montbazillac whites. Bordeaux and Toulouse are within two and a half hours drive through beautiful countryside.
There are many museums, art galleries and exhibitions, depending upon the season. It is five and a half hours by train and about six and a half hours by road from Paris. The area is quite unspoiled, under-populated and rich in history and geography.
The Hundred Years War was centred here and many of the fortresses built then can still be seen today. One large chateau fort Castlenaud, which changed hands between the English and the French countless times, is a museum of medieval warfare.
Dordogne photo gallery: Domme, Rocamadour, La Roque Gageac and Sarlat
If you have visited this part of France before, then you will know that there are fabulous views around almost every corner, and the towns and villages are stunningly attractive. For those of you who haven't visited the area before, we include here a little gallery of photographs to whet your appetite. As you can see, you will need to bring your camera if you visit this corner of France!
The mediaeval town of Domme - 10km from Le Salidou - is one of the most-visited destinations in France
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All the photographs and painting above are reproduced by kind permission of Jean Louis. Copyright © Jean Louis. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted without permission. We commissioned Jean Louis to paint the picture of Le Salidou which appears on our About Le Salidou page.
Lascaux Caverns
This area has some of the most well-known evidence of early man, e.g. the world-famous Lascaux cave, which was discovered in 1942 and contains magnificent prehistoric paintings of animals and humans. In 1963 the cave was closed to the public to protect the cave paintings; the delicate pigments can be damaged by the moisture people exhale when breathing. However, historians have created a faithful replica named Lascaux II, which is open to the public and is certainly well worth a visit. Lascaux II is located in Montignac and is open every day except Mondays. The guided tour takes about 40 minutes.
Links to other web sites of interest
We provide below links to other web sites which you may find useful when planning your vacation in the Dordogne. Please note that these links are provided for the convenience of visitors to this site and we have no control over and accept no responsibility for the content of the external web sites we link to. Each link opens in a new browser window.
- Best of Perigord
A guide to the Perigord region (in several languages including English) - Just Tour France - Dordogne (in English)
- Perigord.com (in French only)
