Sarlat & Dordogne

The golden-stone medieval town of Sarlat, clifftop villages and castles along the Dordogne valley, prehistoric cave paintings in the Vézère valley, and foie gras and truffles.

Sarlat & Dordogne refers to the Périgord Noir in the southeast of the Dordogne department, in France's southwestern Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, along with the neighbouring north of the Lot department, with the medieval town of Sarlat-la-Canéda as the base. This is one of France's richest countryside areas for castles, prehistoric caves and food: the Dordogne river winds between limestone cliffs, its banks dotted with rival castles from the Hundred Years' War, while the Vézère valley, a tributary, has 15 prehistoric sites and decorated caves listed as World Heritage and is known as the “Cradle of Humankind”. Sightseeing falls into four areas: Sarlat's old town and its Saturday market (half a day to 1 day); the Dordogne valley villages and sights of La Roque-Gageac, Beynac, Castelnaud, Domme and the Gardens of Marqueyssac, best linked in summer by traditional gabare boat or canoe; the Vézère valley with Lascaux IV, the original Font-de-Gaume cave, the National Museum of Prehistory and La Roque Saint-Christophe; and about an hour's drive east, the clifftop sanctuary town of Rocamadour, the Gouffre de Padirac and Autoire. The best season is May–Oct: May–Jun and Sep–Oct bring pleasant weather and fewer crowds; Jul–Aug is peak season for canoeing and night markets, but popular castles and caves must be booked in advance; Dec–Feb is black truffle and foie gras season, though many sights close in winter. Getting there: trains from Paris to Sarlat take about 5–6 hours (usually changing at Bordeaux or Souillac), or fly into Bergerac or Brive airports; sights are spread out and public transport is very limited, so a car is strongly recommended. Allow 3–5 days. Tips: the original prehistoric caves admit very few visitors per day and must be booked online in advance; country roads are narrow and parking is difficult in summer; local specialities include foie gras, duck confit, walnut cake and Cahors red wine.

Top sights

• Sarlat Old Town – One of Europe's densest concentrations of medieval architecture, with golden limestone houses, slate roofs, La Boétie House, and a viewing…
• Lascaux IV – An international cave art center with a full 1:1 replica of the prehistoric Lascaux paintings. Bulls, horses and deer from 17,000 years ago…
• Rocamadour – A pilgrimage town clinging vertically to the 120-meter cliffs of a canyon, with seven chapels and a Black Madonna statue. The scenery is br…
• La Roque-Gageac – A village clinging to a cliff and facing the Dordogne River, ranked among France's most beautiful villages, with golden stone houses reflec…
• Château de Beynac – A 12th-century castle perched on a 150-meter cliff, which faced off against the English castle across the river during the Hundred Years' W…
• Jardins de Marqueyssac – About 150,000 hand-clipped boxwoods form rolling green clouds, and cliff-edge viewpoints overlook five castles in the Dordogne Valley.
• Gouffre de Padirac – A giant natural sinkhole 35 meters across and 75 meters deep. Descend underground and take a boat along a subterranean river, one of France…
• Sarlat Saturday Market – One of France's most famous village markets. Every Saturday, the whole old town turns into stalls selling foie gras, walnuts, cheese, and b…
• Sarlat Cathedral & Lanterne des Morts – Sarlat Cathedral, largely built in the 16th and 17th centuries, with the mysterious 12th-century conical Lanterne des Morts on the slope be…
• Château de Castelnaud – An English stronghold during the Hundred Years' War, now the Museum of Medieval Warfare, with reconstructed giant siege engines and armour…
• Domme – A 13th-century fortified new town on a cliff, where the Belvédère de la Barre offers the most sweeping panorama of the Dordogne Valley.
• Château des Milandes – The Renaissance château of legendary dancer Josephine Baker, with displays of her stage costumes, her life story and her Resistance work; t…
• Font-de-Gaume Cave – The only prehistoric painted cave in France still open to the public, where you can see 17,000-year-old originals; nearby Combarelles is fa…
• National Museum of Prehistory – The French National Museum of Prehistory, built into the cliffs below Les Eyzies, with 400,000 years of stone tools, bone implements and ar…
• Rouffignac Cave – Ride a small electric train deep into an 8-km-long cave to see more than 150 mammoths drawn and engraved by prehistoric people, known as th…
• La Roque Saint-Christophe – A cave-dwelling town along a 1-km-long, 80-metre-high cliff above the Vézère River, inhabited from prehistoric times through the Middle Age…
• Grotte du Grand Roc – A limestone cave in the Les Eyzies cliffs known for its dense, rare eccentric formations and crystals; its entrance overlooks the Vézère Va…
• Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère – A quiet village in a bend of the Vézère River, with a Romanesque church, two castles and riverside meadows; one of 'The Most Beautiful Vill…
• Jardins du Manoir d'Eyrignac – A French formal garden run by the same family for 500 years, with precisely clipped yew and hornbeam 'green sculptures', recognised as one…
• Château de Commarque – Medieval castle ruins deep in the forest, with towers and walls rising from the trees, and prehistoric caves in the cliffs of the valley be…
• Gouffre de Proumeyssac – A bell-shaped underground chamber known as the 'Crystal Cathedral', where you can also descend from the top of the sinkhole in a vintage ba…
• Limeuil – A hillside village where the Vézère meets the Dordogne, with a panoramic garden and the starting point for canoe trips at the confluence.
• Collonges-la-Rouge – A 'red village' built entirely from deep red sandstone, and the birthplace of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association.
• Château de Hautefort – A 17th-century classical château with French gardens, known as the 'Versailles of Périgord', with richly decorated interiors.
• Monpazier – One of the best-preserved medieval fortified new towns, with a grid of streets and a central square surrounded by arcades.
• Belvès – The 'City of Seven Bell Towers', a medieval hilltop town with underground cave dwellings you can visit beneath its market square.
• Grottes de Lacave – A small train and a lift take you into the mountain, where stalactites under fluorescent lights and their reflections in an underground lak…
• Autoire – A valley village known as the 'Little Switzerland of Quercy', with tower houses, a 30-metre waterfall and the ruins of the 'English Castle'…
• Saint-Cirq-Lapopie – A medieval village perched on a 100-metre cliff above the Lot River, voted 'France's Favourite Village' in 2012, with stacked stone houses…
• Saint-Amand-de-Coly – One of 'The Most Beautiful Villages of France', with golden stone houses clustered around a 12th-century fortified abbey church whose fortr…

Where to eat

• Ô Moulin – Housed in a converted historic water-powered sawmill in Carsac, this restaurant holds a 2026 Michelin Bib Gourmand and…
• La Belle Étoile – A long-standing family-run restaurant in the riverside village of La Roque-Gageac, awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for…
• La Couleuvrine – Set in a 15th-century rampart tower in the old town, this family-run hotel restaurant serves homemade Périgord classics…
• Gueule et Gosier – A gourmet bistro on a pedestrian street in the old town, combining local Périgord duck and foie gras with global flavor…
• Chez le Gaulois – A cozy ham and cheese tavern in the old town, specializing in raclette and fondue—a budget-friendly alternative when yo…
• Le Grand Bleu – An intimate fine-dining restaurant near the train station, where Chef Maxime Lebrun crafts creative dishes with Périgor…

Itineraries

• Dordogne Valley Châteaux and Caves Road Trip – Five nights in Sarlat, with day trips to the Lascaux caves, the valley's châteaux and Rocamadour.