The Dordogne region is an intoxicating blend of the beautifully cultivated and the breathtakingly untamed. The three great rivers of the south west – the Dordogne, the Lot and the Garonne - tumble headlong towards the Atlantic through jagged limestone gorges; hillsides are carpeted inmeadows of wild flowers and seemingly impenetrable forest. As if to emphasis the ruggedness, this corner of France is dotted with thousands of caves,including those at Lascaux and Les Eyzies whose walls daubed with prehistoric paintings, andmany others are filled with weird and wonderful displays of stalactites and stalagmites.
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By wayof contrast, stately châteaux, including the masterpiece at Castelnaud, perch serenely abovethe orderly orange rooftops of hilltop towns. Gardens like those at Marqueyssac are soprecisely manicured you simply cannot help but gaze on in awe. Medieval villages and towns such as Sarlat are almost too pretty to be true, so too the fortified ‘bastides’ acting as silent reminders of the Hundred years War. And the neat rows of vines extending out from the riverbanks bear world-class wines, as sublime foie gras and truffles add their own delicious refinement to the Dordogne table.
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