Visit Sarlat in the evening to appreciate the romantic lighting and special ambience. Périgord Noir lies in the southeast and contains that most quintessential of Dordogne towns, Sarlat, where golden and ochre medieval buildings cast deep cooling shadows over immensely picturesque cobbled streets lined with souvenir shops and restaurants serving an endless array of local gastronomic specialities – avoiding duck on the menu is simply not an option. Having lived and travelled in the Dordogne I can vouch for the aptness of the names. Unlike some more fanciful labels these labels are actually quite handy to get your bearings and they allow the visitor to get a sense of what lies beyond the hotspot destinations. Some years ago the tourist authorities hit upon a distinct way of naming some of the territories within the département – the so called four Périgords, the Noir, Pourpre, Blanc and Vert (black, purple, white and green). Because, aside from its supremacy in numbers, the Dordogne is big enough to offer a charming diversity of landscapes, attractions and activities to cater for most tastes and to allow people to join in the action or be an escapist, as the mood dictates. The tourism office is rightly proud of the fact that they have 190 different sites and monuments open to visitors, including 70 or so museums, no fewer than 10 of France’s listed villages, 15 UNESCO World Heritage prehistoric sites, over 250 hotels, a similar number of campsites and literally thousands of gîtes and country properties for rental. No wonder three million tourists come to the Dordogne every year.Īnd yet there is space for them all. All this space is beautifully green: of the 557 communes, 497 are rural. And no wonder its river-based activities are legendary because it has over 500 kilometres of navigable waterways, including the mighty Dordogne, the Vézère, Isle and Dronne. It’s actually the third largest département in France and can easily take two and a half hours to cross by road from one border to another. Take a moment to consider the Dordogne ‘by numbers’ and you will begin to appreciate its scale and diversity. Like an actor who happens to be excellent at a certain role, there is always a danger of typecasting – but the reality is that la Dordogne is a star with a diverse portfolio ready to be revealed, if you know how and where to look. Nostalgia for pastoral idylls is a powerful draw for many travellers, not just the British, and this is a corner of France that can deliver a heady antidote to the stress of busy lives, giving a taste of what has often been lost in more densely populated parts of the world. It’s no surprise the British love the area – it reminds them of the more picturesque parts of England, say the Cotswolds, but with less crowds and better weather. But it would be a great mistake to label the Dordogne in this clichéd manner. So popular has the region proved with expats that national newspaper journalists in the UK enjoy referring to ‘Dordogneshire’ and if your only experience is passing through Bergerac airport or visiting the pretty town of Eymet then you might think that this reputation has been well earned. By contrast, today’s Brits are more likely to be seen fighting over an old property for sale, enjoying the sensual delights of a summer market or canoeing down a river. The British have a long association with the Dordogne, and fought over it often during the Hundred Years’ War in the 14th and 15th centuries. Many people claim to know the Dordogne but when you challenge them on their knowledge, it turns out they know their favourite patch well, but have only been to one or two towns and villages beyond – in other words, they have formed their opinion too early. To discover all that this grand region has to offer requires time and imagination, to venture away from the tourist hot-spots, to meander a little off the beaten track, to allow time to linger and create your own memorable experiences. The Périgord, to use the old name for the modern French department number 24, the Dordogne, is a multi-faceted jewel of a region in South-West France, where the sun is high enough to make for warm humid summers, sunny dry autumns, short sharp winters and lush verdant springtimes. La Dordogne: an ancient realm where dark rivers sweep under limestone cliffs and medieval hilltop villages emerge from lush dense forest where a cornucopia of local produce has created a rich and abundant gastronomic heritage where the extraordinary legacy of prehistoric cave art contrasts with the sublime architecture of grand Renaissance châteaux where today’s traveller can stay for a week, a month, a season and never grow jaded.
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