Dordogne is named after the river Dordogne, but another name to the region is Perigord. Subsequently, Perigord is divided into four parts, by color: green, white, purple, and black.

Perigord as a region is huge, basically, one can spend a month just there. So we only stuck to Perigord Noir (Black Perigord). In this area, there are tons of oaks with dark color leaves and dark fertile soil. Plus, mining and coal industries. That’s where “Noir” comes from. Also, truffle and nut culture.

My palate is very basic for the truffles but I do love nuts. Geese and duck raising culture, producing some delicious duck pâtés and fois gras. Lastly, prehistory in the Vézère valley, where you have a concentration of caves with prehistoric drawings, troglodyte villages, and museums.

We only had five nights here and couldn’t get to everything on my wishlist. So, highlights:

Sarlat is where we stayed. This medieval town is a true jewel. Our apartment was in the old town, so we got to enjoy the stone walls, narrow streets and lanterns, but not so close to the square that it was noisy. It was in the quieter part of town.

While planning this trip, I first cheaped out and got a farm stay in Camburat, which was an hour away. I’m glad I changed my mind, coughed up some extra money, and stayed in Sarlat. It was central to pretty much everything. Oh, the rental car has to be parked outside of city walls- pedestrian traffic only.

Padirac Chasm. I have always wanted to visit an underground system of caves.

This one was so cool. We went down, down, down; got a ride on a boat on a subterranean river. The beauty of the formations, the lakes and the river, but also the darkness and the dampness. Everything dripping on top of you. The only minus: it was cold as all hell.

Rouffignac cave paintings. An electric train took us deep into the Rouffignac cave to see the prehistoric depictions of wooly mammoths, wooly rhinoceroses, horses, ibexes, and one human representation. No pictures were allowed due to the light sensitivity of drawings.

We could have done Lascaux I and IV but those caves are the number 1 attraction in the region therefore, full of people; plus they are all replicas. This one was not as flashy as Lascaux but it was original. I found it to be a meditative experience for me. Looking at a mammoth drawn by an artist some 15000 years ago was thought-provoking.

Castelnaud Castle. I know the biggest and the best castles are still to come for us (Loir valley) but this medieval castle and grounds were fun. Specifically, we learned about using the trebuchets aka catapults to fight the enemy. Hey, you just never know. Plus, the views were spectacular.

The Marqueyssac gardens. Whimsically sculpted bushes, as if they were from Mine Craft. Breathtaking views of the Dordogne river and valley. Play spaces for the kids. I didn’t realize how big the gardens were… the kids were absolutely and entirely done at the end of that day.

In addition to the above sites, we filled our days by:

🥐Going to a bakery every morning

🥐Hanging at the house

🥐Visiting various playgrounds/ parks. Some were planned (Google maps), others we stumbled upon. Every French midsize town seems to have a merry-go-round, and we are here for it.

🥐Going to buy food to Intermarché (think Stop and Shop) and E.Leclerc (think Costco). That alone is a great field trip experience. For all of us. The kids help me choose food to eat which I may veto but usually don’t.

🥐lots of picnics! See point about grocery shopping.

🥐I admit I also took some field trips to French pharmacies and purchased some skin care here. One pharmacy had a cat napping in a wheelchair that was for sale. I wondered if the cat was included if you buy the wheelchair.

The next section of our adventure is the Loire Valley. We just arrived here this evening, but I’ll save that for another post.