Easter in the Green Dordogne

Perigueux, Brantome

We leave the car at Parkingo and, with the shuttle, they take us to Malpensa Terminal 2 for our Easy Jet flight to Bordeaux.

The outbound trip goes very well and we even arrive in Bordeaux 20 minutes early. This time Easy Jet has outdone itself!

At the airport in Bordeaux we head to the Alamo desk to pick up our car. The Alamo employee gives us some trouble because, for some reason that isn't clear, our car had been booked for early morning and they are obliged to keep it for only 2 hours (never heard of this clause). However, she gives us a car of a higher category than the one booked, at the same price. So we travel with a Citroen C5. Unfortunately, however, a few km from the airport, we realise that the car doesn't have a full tank of petrol, as agreed. At the end of the trip, we will return it the same way, not completely full, but obviously, after a few days, they charge the missing fuel to our credit card. Alamo: another car rental to avoid in the future.

our car

We set off for Perigueux, an ancient city of the Dordogne overlooking the river with a very old core. We don't stay long, just the time to have lunch with some Croques Monsieurs (cheese toasties that we will feed on for the entire trip).

Perigueux

We then move on to visit Brantome, a small village surrounded by canals, so much so that it is called the Venice of the Perigord. The place is enchanting. Perhaps the most beautiful town we visit on the entire trip: picturesque houses overlooking the canal that surrounds, in a circle, the historic centre, with narrow streets and shops. You can also visit the large Abbey and the adjoining caves. We, however, opt for a trip on the boat that travels along a stretch of canal, even if, all things considered, it isn't really worth it that much. The most striking and photographed corner of the town is a point on the bridge from which you can see some little waterfalls and an old mill now used as a charming hotel and restaurant (which we recommend: Moulin de l'Abbaye).

We like Brantome so much that we then decide to return there in the evening for dinner.

Brantome - Hotel Mulin de l'Abbaye Brantome

After Brantome we head to another charming small village called Bourdeilles. This town too overlooks the river, with weeping willows and ancient houses. In the pretty and typical little central square of the village, there is the medieval castle, which can be visited.

Bourdeilles

After Bourdeilles, a little tired, we decide to go in search of our hotel, a fantastic castle nestled in the Dordogne countryside. It is called Hotel Chateau de la Cote and is located in Biras, a hamlet of Brantome. We are left breathless at the sight of the spectacular castle and we are thrilled at the idea of spending the night right there. The castle is furnished with antique furniture, with beautiful halls, just like the castles we usually only visit. Our room is also striking: very large, with a canopy bed, fireplace, antique furniture and a splendid view over the large park of the castle complete with horses and donkeys grazing under the windows. Bucolic!!!!

There is even an outdoor pool, but, in this season (late April) it is still closed even though, that day, the temperature was rather high and we would gladly have taken a dip in the pool.

So, we settle for lounging a bit on the deckchairs placed in the park, while my daughter climbs the trees.

Hotel Chateau de la Cote

We get ready for dinner and return to Brantome.

Unfortunately we notice that many places we had eyed in the afternoon are closed in the evening, so we have a bit of trouble finding a place to have dinner.

We therefore choose a Wine bar that also serves large Italian-style bruschettas and French fries. We wait for dusk to take some night photos on the canals and then we head back by car to the hotel.

To reach the hotel we have to drive a few km along isolated little roads between countryside and woods. In the evening, it is not rare to see small animals crossing the road: that evening we meet a large bird in the middle of the road, very similar to a falcon, and a graceful hare.

The next day, a fawn will even cross a few metres in front of the car.

Sarlat Le Caneda, Domme

We have breakfast in the halls of the castle. The breakfast is of average quality although, at € 14.00 per person, we expected something more. Still, we recommend it.

We set the essential Tom Tom Navigator (which we brought from home) in the direction of Hautefort Castle. Today the weather is a bit cloudy; we hope it doesn't rain. We visit the large furnished castle, even though we find the furnishings of too recent a period. The castle is surrounded by Italian and English gardens but, we have neither the time nor the desire to visit them. We limit ourselves to the interiors.

Castle of Hautefort

As the second and third stops we visit 2 villages that, on the internet sites, were passed off as characteristic villages of the Dordogne. They are Terrasson-Lavilledieu and Le Bugue. We however, don't find them all that interesting. Still, we take advantage of the stop at Le Bugue to eat something in a pleasant bar with outdoor tables.

Terrasson-Lavilledieu Le Bugue

After lunch we head to Sarlat Le Caneda, a town with a large historic centre where every corner is to be photographed. Beautiful and extensive. Streets, houses and palaces of other times. Unfortunately today is Easter Saturday, there is even a little market in the main street and here we find a great many people. We nevertheless manage to park without problems in a very central little square and then we start strolling through the many streets and alleyways of the historic centre. If you want to shop in the Dordogne, this is the best place because there are a great many shops. In short: we like Sarlat very much.

Sarlat

After Sarlat we finally reach the place where we will spend the night: Domme. Here, we have booked a Charming hotel, overlooking the Dordogne, at the most panoramic point of the town: HOTEL ESPLANADE From above we can admire the whole Dordogne valley. Domme then, is beautiful and very typical. It is a medium/small-sized village (stormed by tourists during the day) with many old houses all in yellow stone. Here too, there are many shops and restaurants. It is decidedly smaller than Sarlat but, those who love small villages will not be able to help but appreciate it.

Domme

We stroll through the alleyways and visit a few shops. We buy some Foie Gras (goose liver pate), which here is the typical product, so much so that the goose is the symbol of the region. Then, we decide to have dinner in a Creperie with a savoury crepe and a sweet one, as is our habit when we have dinner in a creperie.

Cahors

We have breakfast on the veranda of the hotel with a view of the Dordogne. The breakfast is nothing exceptional however the panorama is unparalleled.

The first stop of today is the beautiful Rocamadour. It is a town perched on the rock with an important abbey. The town is all steep, with staircases that run through it from the lower to the upper part. Visiting it this way is for runners/climbers: which we are not.

However there is a much more comfortable way to visit it completely: a system of 2 inclined lifts. We park in the upper part of the village and take the lifts down. The first lift reaches the abbey; from there, a second lift reaches the beautiful main street down below. The town reminds one a bit of Mont St. Michel; it is very lively and crowded with people (perhaps because it is Easter day). Obviously, after having visited everything, we take the lifts again to go back up, where we parked the car.

We like the visit of this town very much and it will certainly stay in our memories.

Rocamadour

Second stop in a village, classified by our Mondadori guide as "one of the most beautiful villages of the Dordogne". It is called Autoire; it is pretty but very small. The visit doesn't take more than half an hour. Just to stretch our legs.

Autoire

We then tackle a long stretch, through landscapes of incredible beauty (countryside, rivers, lakes, villages etc) to reach the last stop of the day: Cahors.

Today we leave the Dordogne to enter the department called Lot. Cahors disappoints us a bit because it is a large city with little character. The historic centre isn't all that interesting and then, today being Easter, everything is closed and deserted. The strong point of the city is the famous Valentré bridge, indicated by the guide as one of the most photographed spots in France.

Cahors Cahors - water clock

We photograph it too, both by day and by night. We have dinner in a Brasserie with Italian dishes too (pasta, risottos etc) right in front of the Theatre, in a beautiful square with a fountain.

Cahors - pont Valentré Cahors - square with Brasserie

Our Hotel, Inter Hotel De France, disappoints us a bit. I can't even understand how we could have chosen it! It is a modern hotel of the Inter Hotel chain. My daughter says it looks like a hospital and, perhaps, she isn't entirely wrong. Let's be clear: the hotel has everything needed and costs really little. However it is aesthetically rather ugly and is located in a not very interesting area of the city (but, after all, Cahors is not very interesting). The bridge, however, is fairly close even though we decide to always move by car.

Cordes sur Ciel and back

It's incredible but the breakfast in the bleak hotel is good. I even like it more than in the previous luxurious hotels! We therefore leave Cahors to reach the last stop of our trip: Cordes sur Ciel.

After a little more than 1 hour we are there. We park without difficulty but we realise that, to visit this very ancient centre, all uphill, you need a comfortable means. Fortunately we immediately notice the convenient tourist train that serves as a shuttle between the lower and the upper part. So, we immediately take the little train and reach the top of the very old Cordes. From there, we start walking along the very ancient streets on foot, entering the various shops of local crafts and souvenirs. Then, we take the little train again, which doesn't keep us waiting too long.

Cordes

Enough: this was the last stop of our short trip.

All that's left is to reach Toulouse airport, where we have our return flight. Obviously we will leave the car at the Toulouse car rental. First, however, we need to put some diesel in. The petrol stations, on Easter Monday, are all closed and you have to go obligatorily to the self-service ones. We find a petrol station with self-service that accepts only credit cards (no banknotes). So, we get a big scare when we see ourselves charged, with the SMS system, a good € 120.00, when we only put in € 20.00 of fuel. We understand (and hope) that initially the maximum dispensable amount is charged and, subsequently, they will credit back the difference (but it will take a few days).

Return flight very punctual, indeed early: INCREDIBLE!

Dani, Max and Clarissa

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