Driving Miss Karen

A blog about our travel

The Dordogne: Awesome Rural France

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I didn’t have many expectations for the Dordogne region but it was a good stop on our way back to Paris. I actually liked it better than Provence or Carcassonne (Paris and Chamonix are so different). It was greener than either Provence or Carcassonne and many of the towns had a beautiful golden stone that glowed in the evening sun (and I didn’t capture in my pictures). The countryside was hilly but not too wild, the rivers peaceful, and the people friendly. Throw in good food and what’s not to like.

Castelnaud where we finished our 12km canoe trip on the Dordogne river (the rapids were class 0.1)
We stayed in cute Sarlat-La-Canede with its honey stone buildings and pointy domes
The region is the birthplace of Foie Gras and it is sold everywhere.
I really enjoyed Sarlat. It was just the right size to have plenty of shops but not overly touristic. It felt very relaxed and friendly
The Dordogne river is the heart of the valley and has lots of pretty villages on its banks
The 20,000 year old Lascaux cave paintings are nearby. The original cave is closed to avoid damage but the amazing Lascaux IV full reproduction is so worth it. The famous upside down horse is on the right. No one knows why its the only one out of hundreds of figures drawn this way
There were cute little villages to visit and multiple pre-historic sites as well
La Chapelle Notre-Dame de Rocamadour part of a 1000 year old pilgrimage
The main goal of the Marian Pilgrimage is Our Lady of Rocamadour, a Black Madonna
The entre religious city with seven chapels was started in 1166 after the discovery of the body of Saint Amadour.
Rocamadour is one of the prettiest villages. It has a castle on top, church in the middle, and shops near the bottom. There is an elevator but I walked.

Jose

AKA Alfred

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