There is a reason why a popular restaurant here is named the “Relais de Cinq Chateaux” – 5 impressive castles are readily visible from the restaurant and magically lit up in the evenings.īut, the appeal of the Dordogne doesn’t stop at ground level! – the area is riddled with subterranean caves/’grottes’ of two main varieties – those with geological formations and those which sheltered prehistoric humans. The castles adapted their defenses to the changing technology of warfare and later evolved into pleasure castles. Huge medieval castles impossibly perched on sheer rock cliffs attest to the centuries of fierce battles fought between the English and French, as neighboring castles changed hands frequently. Interestingly, this gentle backdrop is in sharp contrast to the aggressive nature of the Dordogne’s history. Life seems to be on ‘relax’ setting here, mirroring the gentle pace of the Dordogne River itself. The deep greens of the hillsides soothe your senses, and the towns and villages with their fairytale houses complete the pastoral scene. Touring the Dordogne, the rolling hills with the meandering lazy rivers and Cinderella castles beg for pictures at every turn. The Dordogne is the perfect mix of natural beauty, picturesque villages, astounding historic sites, prehistoric caves, and, not unimportantly, marvelous food! Taken individually, each would warrant a visit to the area, but together they make the Dordogne one of my very favorite regions in France. I've sent my various itineraries to over 6,000 people on Fodors. If you would like the complete itinerary - e-mail me at & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail. Below is the introduction to my 20+ page Dordogne itinerary. It is one of our 2 favorite regions in France. And the smaller ones & the villages are not very interesting - except for Chinon. The large cities are not really that great - none make my list of top 30 in France. But there is little else to do other than the chateaux. We've spent about 8 weeks there because we love chateaux. Those areas are totally different from each other.
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