For years, I dreamt of driving through the French countryside but never quite made it out of Paris because there is nowhere like Paris, at least for me.
But in the fall of 2023, my wife and I skipped Paris and instead flew to Bordeaux and drove to a town near Bergerac where we stayed on an animal sanctuary and toured the small villages in the Dordogne region. Here’s my report:
First off, driving through the French countryside wasn’t quite what I expected but the scenery was more beautiful than I could have imagined and, thanks to climate change, it was warm enough to swim outside in an unheated pool in October.
My wife had spotted an AirBnB that was situated on an animal sanctuary. We’d stayed in the countryside near animals previously in Canada, and found it so peaceful that we were eager to try it again. The Mudita Sanctuary has an outdoor pool, as you can see, and we stayed in a 17th century stone cottage (below). The woman who ran the sanctuary Ariane was delightful and full of stories about her life and the animals. There were over 100 with dogs, cats, pigs, goats, rams, bulls, horses, roosters, chickens and a pigeon.
Every day, we’d leave the sanctuary in the late morning and tool around the countryside in our sporty rented Renault. So here’s the thing. My impression before the trip was that every French village would be a delight with a butcher, baker etc. ready to cater to our every need. Well, it’s not quite like that. There were many villages that were more or less not worth even stopping in. They didn’t even have the proverbial traffic light (although most did have the proverbial round-about.) You have to pick and choose. It turned out that the villages of my imagination did exist but you had to find them.
Any here’s another caution. Unlike in America, you need to time your eating carefully in France (and other European countries). Those charming little bistros—the best ones—close at 2 p.m. but, to have lunch, you must be there by 1 or 1:15 or forget it. More than once, we were turned away at 1:30 even though there were plenty of seats. Luckily for us, there was always another option although often we ‘settled’ for the charcuterie board which in France, is pretty great.
And, by the way, we speak enough French to get by so that wasn’t the problem. After studying the language for years, both of us can manage day to day logistics. Having a conversation about Camus or French fashions, well, that was not on the menu.
And while we did stay on an animal sanctuary, the food of the region just happens to be foie gras and duck. A lot of folks have major problems with foie gras and the sale of this delicacy is banned in several countries. As you may know, foie gras is produced by force feeding geese so their livers enlarge. That may turn you off but the farm workers here who care for the geese and produce the food have no such qualms and are proud of what they do. I’ve seen documentaries where they defend the force feeding practice because the geese love to eat as much as they can. It’s never been my thing but, if it’s yours, the Dordogne region is the place to go for foie gras.
But let’s move on. I can’t say enough about the village food markets that take place just about every day somewhere or another. Our favorite was the Sunday market in Issigeac. The weather was perfect on the day we arrived and parked our car without effort for free in a field a few blocks away. We just followed the crowd. Issigeac is a medieval village and I’m sure it has plenty of charm even without the market but with the market it was mind blowing. Aside from the bread, cheese, and sausages, etc., you can also buy sweaters and eat oysters and street musicians lit the already lively atmosphere. Definitely the best market on our trip.
And now a word about castles. I must admit that I find some castles predictable. While they have the requisite moat around them, they fail in presentation or are just not interesting. On the other hand, there is Chateau de Beynac built in the 12th century. If you only tour one castle, I would visit this one. To begin, the castle is very near La Roque Gageac, a tiny village built on the side of a hill. It’s reputed to be one of the most beautiful villages in all of France and overlooks a gorgeous part of the Dordogne River.
It’s no accident that this is where you can and should rent a canoe or a kayak to ride down the Dordogne River. The company will pick you up at the endpoint and drive you back. You can also take a guided flat-boat ride or fly in a hot air balloon not far from here.
Chateau de Beynac, about a 20-minute ride above the village, is the castle where Richard the Lion-Heart of England set up shop and it’s no wonder. The views of the river from his bedroom window are riveting and the castle itself is wide open to visitors. You can visit Richard’s bedroom, see his bathroom, his kitchen (you can almost smell the mutton) and his dining room. I particularly got a kick out of his dining room because, on either end of his table, there were slats where he and his knights could leave their swords.
There’s plenty to see in this area and you might want to stay near La Roque Gageac for a couple of nights, as we did. This way, you’re not driving back and forth all the time from Bergerac (which by the way, I did not love.) A must see spot about 90 minutes from Bergerac is Lascaux, the famous caves where a group of boys discovered prehistoric cave paintings back in 1940. The drawings of romping bison, deer and the like were painted there over 20,000 years ago which is hard for me to wrap my mind around. That’s a lot of years. The drawings were discovered by a group of curious boys who happened to notice a hole in the ground after a large tree fell after a storm. Crawling down, they made one of the most astonishing finds of the 20th Century.
The original caves were open until 1963 when they were found to be degrading quickly. Today, when you visit here, you plunge into an exact replica of the caves. It is surrounded by a very modern museum that highlights every stroke those cavemen made. Totally worth seeing even if you’re turned off by the Lascaux puzzles or keychains. Still a very cool museum. (I’m told there are other Lascaux caves nearby and at least one of the original ones is still open.)
Speaking of caves, the next cool town on our list was Domme. It’s very small but very peaceful with more terrific views of the Dordogne River and, right under the tourist information cottage in the middle of town, is the entrance to yet more caves, these full of stalagmites and stalactites. I snuck a few photos so you can see what it looks like. It’s like entering a magic garden of crystals. The tour is in French but you can ask questions in English and, even better, the guide will answer in English.
Heading back to Bergerac, we visited one of the many wineries in the so-called Perigord Purple. It was as beautiful as you might imagine but so are most wineries. I didn’t go for that reason and I’d visit one and head to the other destinations listed above. In sum, the French countryside was even better than I’d imagined. There is something about the light in that region that makes everything beautiful and I’d visit again in a heartbeat. If you’re thinking of going, send me an email if you have any questions.
Oh, one more spot I’d definitely put on your list—the Troglodyte Village of La Madeleine. It’s a castle and dwellings built into a slice of rock on a hillside. You can read more about it at the link but again, it was mind-blowingly beautiful and fascinating to see how serfs and their lords lived in the middle ages. The audio guided tour is excellent and you really get a feel, if that’s possible, of what life was like back then. And how often do you see a bakery carved in the side of a mountain?
Thanks Jack, hope you make it. Escape from Paris!!! :)
Paul... thanks for taking us along a portion of your trip. Parts of it seem quite idyllic. Personally, I think I might be able to do without immersion on a farm w/ a hundred animals, but then again, I've seen plenty of animals in my time. ;-) I have thought about a trip outside of Paris as well, perhaps the south of France, combined w/ Germany. My sister has done this and enjoyed it. I especially would be fascinated by your visit to Lascaux. Very intriguing. All best to you and Susan, J.