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Grotte de Lascaux
France’s most famous prehistoric cave paintings are at the Grotte de Lascaux, 2km southeast of Montignac. Naturally sealed and protected for millennia, it…
Andrew Montgomery
The Dordogne, Limousin & the Lot
The Dordogne, Limousin and the Lot are the heart and soul of la belle France, a land of dense oak forests, winding rivers, emerald-green fields and famously rich country cooking. It’s the stuff of which French dreams are made: turreted châteaux and medieval villages line the riverbanks, wooden-hulled gabarres (traditional flat-bottomed, wooden boats) ply the waterways, and market stalls overflow with pâté, truffles, walnuts, cheeses and fine wines.
The Dordogne département has a bevy of bastides (fortified towns) and fantastic medieval castles, as well as Europe’s most spectacular cave paintings, and probably the best cuisine. To the northeast, Limousin – now part of the larger Nouvelle Aquitaine région – is the most rural, strewn with farms and hamlets, as well as the porcelain centre, Limoges. To the south, the Lot département is ribboned with rivers to cruise and caverns to explore, plus dramatic hilltop villages and medieval settlements.
Explore The Dordogne, Limousin & the Lot
- GGrotte de Lascaux
France’s most famous prehistoric cave paintings are at the Grotte de Lascaux, 2km southeast of Montignac. Naturally sealed and protected for millennia, it…
- GGrotte de Font de Gaume
This extraordinary cave contains the only original polychrome (as opposed to single-colour) paintings still open to the public. About 14,000 years ago,…
- Château de Castelnaud
The massive ramparts and metre-thick crenellated walls of this quintessential medieval fortress (occupied by the English during the Hundred Years War)…
- Grotte de Rouffignac
Hidden in woodland 18km north of Les Eyzies, this tri-level cave is one of the most complex and rewarding to see in the Dordogne. Board an electric train…
- FForteresse Royale de Najac
High on a hilltop 150m above a hairpin bend in the River Aveyron, Najac’s fortress looks as if it's fallen from the pages of a fairy tale: slender towers…
- MMedieval Figeac
Enter the historic centre of Figeac at place Vival, where the tourist office occupies the Hôtel de la Monnaie, an arcaded 13th-century building where…
- SSanctuaires
The Sanctuaires are seven beautiful 12th- to 14th-century chapels built into the rock-face and surrounding a central courtyard. You can see worn stones…
- MMusée Gallo-Romain Vesunna
Part of the park that contains the Tour de Vésone, this sleek museum designed by French architect Jean Nouvel encompasses a 1st-century Roman domus …
- JJardins de Marqueyssac
Horticulture fans won’t want to miss these famous manicured gardens, stretching along a rocky bluff overlooking the Dordogne Valley. Signposted paths lead…
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout The Dordogne, Limousin & the Lot.
- See
Grotte de Lascaux
France’s most famous prehistoric cave paintings are at the Grotte de Lascaux, 2km southeast of Montignac. Naturally sealed and protected for millennia, it…
- See
Grotte de Font de Gaume
This extraordinary cave contains the only original polychrome (as opposed to single-colour) paintings still open to the public. About 14,000 years ago,…
- See
Château de Castelnaud
The massive ramparts and metre-thick crenellated walls of this quintessential medieval fortress (occupied by the English during the Hundred Years War)…
- See
Grotte de Rouffignac
Hidden in woodland 18km north of Les Eyzies, this tri-level cave is one of the most complex and rewarding to see in the Dordogne. Board an electric train…
- See
Forteresse Royale de Najac
High on a hilltop 150m above a hairpin bend in the River Aveyron, Najac’s fortress looks as if it's fallen from the pages of a fairy tale: slender towers…
- See
Medieval Figeac
Enter the historic centre of Figeac at place Vival, where the tourist office occupies the Hôtel de la Monnaie, an arcaded 13th-century building where…
- See
Sanctuaires
The Sanctuaires are seven beautiful 12th- to 14th-century chapels built into the rock-face and surrounding a central courtyard. You can see worn stones…
- See
Musée Gallo-Romain Vesunna
Part of the park that contains the Tour de Vésone, this sleek museum designed by French architect Jean Nouvel encompasses a 1st-century Roman domus …
- See
Jardins de Marqueyssac
Horticulture fans won’t want to miss these famous manicured gardens, stretching along a rocky bluff overlooking the Dordogne Valley. Signposted paths lead…
