Dordogne Highlights #1

Sunday, May 26

Domme

One of the places we had visited in 2012 was the hilltop town of Domme. It is a bastide, or fortified town. Our Road Scholar tour had brought us here for the renowned view of the Dordogne River Valley. We had time to see the view, poke our noses in the nearby church, and climb back on our tour bus. (Please know that I am in no way meaning to besmirch our tour. We saw wonderful things. And witness that here we are 7 years later wanting to see many of the same sights—just in more depth.)

Once it was decided that we would come to this part of France with Jill and Randy, we knew we wanted to bring them to Domme. It became our first stop on our first day of exploring the Dordogne. Jill and Randy did the full Rick Steves walking tour, while we did a shorter version of it and walked a number of the streets of the town. The views were even more spectacular than we remembered, and the town was fun to wander.

Always a tourist train…this is actually one of two in Domme.

The profusion of roses at this time of year is something to see.

The beautiful Dordogne River Valley, from the Belvedere de la Barre

Another great view. One of many walnut orchards below.

The Mairie or town hall (13th century building)

Eglise Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption—1622, using stones from an earlier church

Marqueyssac Gardens

We next visited the hanging gardens of Marqueyssac, another hilltop spot with grand views to castles and the valley below. There were many areas of carved hedges and topiaries, and we shared the space with numerous peacocks and peahens.

View to Chateau de Castelnaud (11th century)

View to Chateau de Beynac (12th century), across the river from Castelnaud. The castle was captured by Richard the Lionheart. The village of Beynac is at the foot of the cliff.

La Roque-Gageac

We also stopped in La Roque-Gageac, a picturesque village built into the base of a cliff and sitting right along the Dordogne River.

At the top is a 12th century troglodytic fort.

Two gabarres returning after an excursion down the Dordogne to view villages and castles. In 2012, we took one of these touristy rides, which is actually a nice way to see the area from a different perspective. This time, we just watched them coming and going.

We had a good first day of seeing some of the highlights of the area surrounding Sarlat. It gave us a taste of the scenery, the river, the castles. So much more to explore.

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