*In France, châteaux,
but “castles” makes for better alliteration.
We happened on Dordogne almost by accident. Neither of us was familiar with the region,
and it didn’t figure at all in our planning for our French leave. But a
friend in Lyon raved about his family’s vacation in the area and urged us to
pay it a visit. We had a two-week hole
in our itinerary, so we said, “Why not?”
Dordogne is part of the larger region called Périgord. The area is in central France, due east of
Bordeaux and just above the regions comprising France’s southwestern corner, Aquitaine
and Midi-Pyrénées. It takes its name
from the Dordogne River, which, together with other rivers, including the Vézère
and the Lot, has sculpted the terrain into a wonderland of forested hills and
cliff-lined gorges.
 |
| The Lot River valley, Dordogne. |
We rented a cottage at a
gîte
called La Ferme de la Tour (Tower Farm) near the hamlet of Sainte
Nathalène. (The tower referred to is
that of a small, 17th-century château on neighboring property that serves as a
landmark for finding the
gîte.) The three-unit facility is run by a British
couple who moved to France with two young daughters 10 years ago to escape the
rat race. Our attractive stone cottage
was simply but comfortably furnished, with an adequate kitchen where we
prepared most of our meals. From the
cottage’s porch we had a nice view of Dordogne’s rolling hills, and we took
several long walks through the surrounding farmland.
 |
| La Ferme de la Tour, our gîte near Ste. Nathalène. |
Unfortunately, for much of the fortnight the weather didn't match the beauty of the landscape. We had many cloudy days and more than a little rain. The weather didn't deter us from exploring the area, though, and with accurate forecasts and careful planning, we managed to coordinate our visits to the best sites with the nicest days.
CLIFFS
A geologist could explain why Dordogne’s rivers have
produced so many valleys with sheer cliffs, instead of more graduated
embankments. All we know is that
vertical rock faces are found throughout the region, and that for centuries its
inhabitants have imaginatively integrated the cliffs into their communities.
There is, for example,
La
Roque-Gageac, nestled at the base of a cliff on a narrow strip of the
Dordogne’s right bank. The town could
only grow vertically, so its successive tiers, connected by steep stairways,
climb the bluff. (Sadly, the bluff that
was intended to provide shelter also brought tragedy; in 1957 a large chunk of
rock crashed onto the village, destroying houses and killing three residents.)
 |
| The cliffside village of La Roque-Gageac on the Dordogne River. |
 |
| A "street scene" in La Roque-Gageac. |
While La Roque-Gageac, Les
Eyzies-de-Tayac, and other towns in Dordogne huddle at the base of cliffs, other
communities perch atop the bluffs. Among
the cliff-top towns our little car wheezed up to were Domme and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie.
 |
| Saint-Cirq-Lapopie sits atop a cliff overlooking the Lot River. |
The most spectacular and deservedly famous of the
cliff-based towns in Dordogne is
Rocamadour,
on the bank of the Alzou River. In the
Middle Ages, Rocamadour became an important destination for religious pilgrims
after miracles purportedly occurred at the tomb of an early Christian-era
saint. The flood of pilgrims resulted in
the construction of a church and numerous chapels and shrines, which protrude
from the cliff above the village, marvels of gravity-defying architecture and
construction. For good measure, a
stately château crowns the top of the cliff.
We were pleased to have visited this remarkable site on a pretty
November day among only a modest crowd of tourists, since during the summer
thousands of visitors descend on the village every day. (Unfortunately, our photos had to be taken
straight into the sun or in shadows, with generally mediocre results.)
 |
| The medieval pilgrimage city of Rocamadour. |
 |
| Rocamadour. |
 |
| One of the chapels that cling to the cliff at Rocamadour. |
CAVES
The geologic phenomena that created Dordogne’s cliffs
probably also contributed to the numerous caves and grottos that honeycomb the
region’s hills. Some of these are
renowned for natural features such as stalactites, but we were more interested
in those having a connection to human history.
Two are noteworthy:
First, we visited an abandoned village called
La Madeleine, on the Vézère River,
where, for a number of centuries starting about 800 A.D., the residents lived
in caves that they improved with wooden floors and partitions and furnished like other dwellings of the early
Middle Ages. Two archeologists happened
on the forgotten and overgrown village in the 1860s, and their research and
that of successors has recaptured many, though not all, elements of the
village’s curious history.
 |
| The abandoned cave village of La Madeleine. |
 |
| Another view of La Madeleine, showing part of a resident's home. |
Second, we visited
Lascaux
II , a painstakingly accurate reproduction of the cave where, in 1940, four
French schoolboys found hundreds of paintings on the walls and ceiling. Scholars determined that the paintings, mainly
of bulls, horses, and deer, were made about 17,000 years ago. The painters would have had to stand on
scaffolding to create the images. The
cave was open to visitors until 1962, when it was determined that pollution was
causing the paintings to deteriorate.
The cave was closed to the public, but Lascaux II, though less extensive
than the original, faithfully reproduces the two primary chambers where 90% of
the paintings are located. The
paintings, and an awareness of what their production entailed, are, in their
own way, as awe-inspiring as the great Gothic cathedrals. (Photos are prohibited in the cave; if you'd like to see some of the paintings, click on this site:
Lascaux. If the English version doesn't appear, click on the British flag at the bottom of the sidebar on the introductory page.)
NOTE: The geologic conditions in Dordogne facilitated the
preservation of the remains of prehistoric people and animals, and of evidence
of early habitations. The region ranks
among the best in the world for the study of prehistoric life. The excellent Musée National de Préhistoire (National Museum of Prehistory) built
into a cliff in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac is devoted to the subject.
Among the museum’s interesting exhibits are life-sized
realizations of Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon men by Elisabeth Daynes, an
award-winning French sculptor with a background in theater design. Her remarkably lifelike reconstructions of
early man and his predecessors, based on remains and scientific data, are
displayed in museums throughout the world. (Click here to see
Elisabeth Daynes's website.)
 |
| Neanderthal man (E. Daynes). |
 |
| Cro-Magnon man (E. Daynes). |
CHÂTEAUX
Though great, turreted residences are found throughout rural
France, Dordogne has more than its share.
Maybe many of the noblemen and rich landowners who build such homes
couldn’t resist Dordogne’s scenic hill- and cliff-tops. More important, though, Dordogne was the
scene of much warfare during the Middle Ages – notably the Hundred Years War
between France and England (1337-1453) – and many of the châteaux were also
fortresses built on defensible sites.
Roadside arrows pointed to châteaux every few kilometers, it
seemed, but we visited just two of the handful recommended in Fodor’s. One of our favorite visits in the area was to
the
Château de Marqueyssac, high
above the Dordogne River. The château
itself was undergoing repairs, but that was OK, because we’d actually gone to
see its storied gardens and landscaping.
Adjacent to the building are several acres of boxwoods sculpted into
intricate patterns (the twice-a-year pruning is all done by hand clippers, to
avoid the damage that could be caused by electric shears). From there several lovely paths stretch out
along the bluff, ending at a “belvedere” nearly 400 feet above the river, from
which we had a panoramic view of the valley and other cliff-top châteaux on the
far bank, including the
Château de Beynac,
as well as of La Roque-Gageac and other riverside villages.
 |
| Sculpted boxwoods, Marqueyssac Gardens. |
 |
| Clifftop pathway, Marqueyssac Gardens. |
 |
| A "dry" (i.e., no mortar) shelter constructed of layered stones, Marqueyssac Gardens. |
 |
| Château de Beynac viewed from across the Dordogne River. |
Also visible from Marqueyssac was the Château de Castelnaud, whose origins date back to the early 13th-century. A mammoth, thick-walled structure, it was always intended to be a fort, as its position above the Dordogne River has strategic importance. Though it looks impregnable, Castelnaud changed hands seven times during the Hundred Years War. Today it houses a Museum of War in the Middle Ages; if you’re into swords, staves, cross-bows and gigantic siege machines that could hurl boulders hundreds of meters, this is your place.
 |
| Château de Castelnaud. |
Final Notes
Our
gîte was about
10 miles from
Sarlat-la-Canéda
(usually referred to simply as Sarlat), considered the heart of Dordogne. Though it features neither cliffs, caves nor
castles, it’s within easy driving distance of all three, and it’s as charming a
town as you’ll find in France. A
must-visit if you’re in the area (even on a cloudy day).
 |
| A restaurant on a square in Sarlat. |
A unique feature of Dordogne, and one we found especially
pleasing, is the yellow hue of the stone that is the most common building
material in the region. (What causes
that tone? Where’s a geologist when you
need one?) It’s a softer, warmer tone
than the gray stone we’ve typically seen throughout France, and it provides a
nice complement to the area’s natural beauty.
 |
| A typical yellow-hued home in Dordogne. |
Finally, it should be mentioned that one of Dordogne’s
regional culinary specialties is
fois
gras (goose or duck liver), which is featured in many restaurants and food
shops. We passed numerous large
processing facilities throughout the area.
 |
| Dordogne foie gras "on the hoof'." |
Now it’s au revoir
to the Ferme de la Tour, and on to Toulouse and big-city life.
