The City of Sarlat is one of the most endearing, charming, historic, and magical places I have ever…read morevisited. The amount of history surrounding this entire area of Southwest France is unparalleled to begin with, and Sarlat-la-Caneda contributes a very large portion to this magical setting. It is a medieval town that was established mainly due to the Benedictine abbey of Carolingian origin. The Sarlat Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Sacerdos, and the building itself can be seen in records as early as 1081. It was one of the very few cathedrals in the region that was never raided by the Vikings!!!! Those rascals!! Thank God, because if it were destroyed and leveled to the ground, we would not be able to visit and understand how profound this divine place actually is today and how well the efforts to preserve it have been accomplished. The Malraux Law was passed in 1962, which saw Sarlat restored, and this effort saved many buildings from demolition. The architect of this law, Andrea Malraux, was, at the time, the French Cultural Minister. This legal act greatly enhanced Sarlat's medieval center through the extensive restoration of most of its houses. My favorite (as mentioned in one of my earlier reviews) was the Manoir de Gisson, a museum that you should not miss when visiting! Some of my most favorite highlights during my visit were, of course, the food, the winding, cobblestone roads, the art galleries, and the nightlife, where visitors can enjoy an aperitif at a cozy, outdoor cafe' before venturing out to enjoy the tantalizing cuisine of this city! From foie gras, black truffles, cepes, dried sausages, cheese, walnuts, and wine, this girl was golden and I had everything that needed or could ever want! There is a great little grocery mart, tons of places to find delicious food and lot's of curiosities. There are candy shops, cafes, and desert spots galore!, And one cannot leave without visiting the farmer's markets, which are huge and packed full of the most amazing produce, delectables, and gifts. They have markets two times a week and they are a must see! I even ventured out to discover a wonderful art store and since I happen to be a painter, I could not pass up the 1.5 mile walk to scope out some French art supplies and I even got to pop into an incredibly curated antique shop as well! I could go on and on about this magical place, but I am going to leave it to you to book your ticket and see for yourself. My only hope is that my photos tell it's story and make you want to book your next trip to France!

Sarlat is a beautiful village, and if you planned to stay here, stay in one of the Bed & Breakfast…read more(mentioned in my previous review). But stay for the Market Day on Saturday. Market Day is fabulous! You'll see stuff not sold anywhere, and you'll see various foods not cooked anywhere else (unless you're in Spain), so get ready for lunch and have some Paella! There's no warnings for pickpockets, here! They're friendly people! Go early, before it gets too hot, & too crowded, and while the dish is fresh! BTW: Our Tour Guide told us, French Costumer Service, they ignore their customers, they don't pressure you to buy, sometimes they don't even greet you. That's their style! I'm in Customer Service, but I always talk to my customers. If I was ignored, I just assumed, the seller don't care about me! But not in France.

Good stop when visiting caves. Lots of flints, some signs are in English. Animal displays are cool,…read moreand the museum continues along the hillside for great views.

Take a walk back through time Our tour guide brought us here…read morefor a tour of this museum. The collection, the documentation, the displays cataloged with a "Smithsonian" perfection were just overwhelming for the short period of time we were there. I understand this area of France is a little off the beaten path for the large American tour companies. This is a shame, the museum deserved much more time for discovery and contemplation. Even with so much use of French in the museum, a visitor can still be filled with a sense of wonder.

I really enjoyed my tour of Chateau de Puyguilhem two weeks ago. The grounds were beautiful and…read morethe chateau beautifully maintained. This chateau is a renaissance castle and has an interesting history. The chateau is much like the renaissance castles in the Loire valley. The Chateau de Puyguilhem is more "modern" than a medieval castle but still has considerable gothic influences. All of this was pointed out and explained by our tour guide. Our tour guide was excellent and was very well informed about the history of the castle and made our tour very special. She was perfectly bilingual and gave the tour in French and English. If you are touring the Perigord area this is definitely worth a stop.

The Puyguilhem Castle was built during the First Renaissance and is a fine example of a Francoise…read more1st castle. Puyguilhem was built for Mondot de La Marthonie. A lawyer and President of Paris Parliament, he helped Louise of Savoy, the king's mother, during the first Italian campaign when the king was kept far from court Chateau de Puyguilhem is located to the South East of Nontron and just 1 km from Villars, in the Northern part of the Dordogne department. It is the setting of the castle that makes it so special, with the forests of the Northern Dordogne closing in on the back of the chateau and open meadow to the front it was this open view to the front that give the original, medieval, castle on the same site its defensive strength. Chateau de Puyguilhem was constructed in the 16th century and it is a fine example of a Renaissance castle. There are many features in this chateau that are typical features of a castle of this type grand fireplaces, an impressive spiral staircase and perilously steep slate-tiled roofs. The style has more in common with the castles of the Loire Valley (far to the north) than it does with the majority of the Dordogne castles, most of which avoided the 16th-17th century renovations characteristic of the castles of the Loire. Inside the castle you can see their impressive collection of armour, furniture and tapestries, while outside the grounds of Chateau de Puyguilhem have been attractively restored, and contain some smaller buildings of note, such as the pigeonnier. The entry fee is relatively small (a few euros) and information booklets are provided in a number of languages. There are guided tours available, however these are only in French (hence the booklets). The Chateau is well worth a visit and should be incorporated into a visit of the nearby Grotte de Villars, a prehistoric cave dwelling with original prehistoric cave paintings.

This is a "must see" kind of place for anyone interested in Neolithic cave art…read more The displays in the museum give context and insight into the astonishing art you see in the cave itself. The tour of the (meticulously reproduced cave) really brings out the wonder of the art, which was completed over a 500 year period 21,000 years ago! The tour guide spoke excellent English and showed a thoughtful and complete knowledge of the art and context.

This is Lascaux IV: #1 is the original cave discovered in 1940 by an 18-year-old and his dog, which…read morewas closed to public in 1963 when the light, heat, humidity, and exhalation produced by visitors was too damaging to this valuable artifact. #2 the replica opened in 1983 on the same hill. Unfortunately, the many tourists, along with their motor vehicles, continue to threaten the original cave. Thus, #4, grandly named Lascaux International Centre for Cave Art, was completed in 2016. (#3 is a traveling exhibit.) Lascaux IV can only be visited by joining the guided tour. I highly recommend you to reserve and prepay online, especially if you don't speak French, as there are very few tours in English and other languages. If you walk in and they are full, all you can see is the gift shop. At the tour, you get an tablet and a headphone. After some introduction, you walk into a replica of the cave. The cave replica was developed through 3D laser scanning and casting technologies to replicate the original cave form to a 1 millimeter tolerance. 25 artists spent 2 years hand-painting 900 meters of resin rock reproductions, using the same pigments that the prehistoric painters used 20,000 years ago to recreate the 1900 paintings and engravings that adorn the walls of the cave. Afterwards, you can spend as much time as you like in the multimedia exhibition, taking your time to take photos of the drawings, listen to more in depth explanation of each painting and watch videos about many aspect of the archeological site, which really makes me appreciate the artwork even more! Truly, the dynamic, expressive cave paintings are impressive. And that they are so ancient really give me a different impression of our prehistoric ancestors. The interactive exhibit is totally awesome, let me learn so much more than what a guided tour allows. I hope one day I can make it back again.

Steve and Judy Burman, ex-pat English archeologists, offer an exclusive B&B and personalized tour…read morepackage of the painted caves and castles of the Dordogne region of southern France. My wife and I engaged Steve for a two day private tour of cave art at Lascaux, Le Thot, Cap Blanc, Font-de-Gaume, Las Combarelles and the National Museum of Prehistory in Les Eyzies. We were forewarned that we would return after a day with Steve completely exhausted. And we did. Each day, with Steve as our guide and mentor, we learned about he paintings, engravings and sculptures of the "Cromagnons" often times only inches away from the art they created. We climbed, crouched and twisted our way into cave recesses to see ancient paintings of bison, aurochs, mammoth,and raindeer, quickly understanding that these were made by highly competent artists. Steve not only explained the art and its merits but also set for us the geologic and archeological background which spawned the people who created these masterpieces. Steve was generous with his knowledge, generous with his time and, over lunch or while driving us from one site to another would also patiently explain customs, courtesies and modern French lifestyle in the Dordogne. I can't say enough for Steve and Judy Burman's Caves & Castles tours.

I enjoyed my tour of this cave. We needed to book the tour in advance because there are limited…read morenumbers of spots on the hourly tours. Something to keep in mind is that even though the tour is limited in the size you can miss some of the highlights of the tour if you lag towards the back of the group. The tour of the cave is less than an hour. It is nice and cool inside which was an excellent break on the warm summer day I was there. The tour guide spoke mostly in French so I missed a some of the highlights. Towards the end of the tour, there is prehistoric "artwork" to view. The artwork has been both preserved and obscured to some degree by calcification in the cave. It was still extremely interesting to see "caveman" paintings from so long ago though. Overall, I recommend the tour.

Close to Brantôme in Perigord Vert, you will find the Grotte de Villars, a natural prehistoric…read morecave. An underground river has hollowed out huge caves joined by galleries. You can admire all types of concretions throughout the visit, from the impressive calcite flows to the finest stalactites, translucent draperies, rimstone pools and countless stalagmites. The prehistoric paintings, dating back 18,000 years and slightly covered with calcite, will allow you to appreciate the art of our ancestors. The scenes depicting a Bison and a Sorcerer are some of the few human representations of prehistoric art. Significant enhancements have been made to the site, such as a sound and light system, non-slip paths and commentaries by microphone (in French & English). Near the reception area, you will discover a learning area featuring a video film, a representation of a stalagmite floor core sample showing the evolution of climate over the last 100 centuries and an exhibit of collected archeological items discovered in the cave. Entrance fee is 7 Euro for adults and 4.5 Euro for under 12's but is well worth the fee. You can also incorporate a visit to the nearby Chateau de Puyguillem during your time in the area.

The cave of Pech Merle is a wonderful experience. The caves are among the most beautiful I've been…read morein with fabulous natural displays of nature's artistry. If you enjoy exploring underground wonderlands, it is worth going just for that. The icing on the cake (and our primary purpose for going!) are the incredible drawings left on several walls of the cave by Neolithic humans 29,000 years ago. As someone who has explored caves with a flashlight and candle as my only light source, the idea of negotiating the thin passageways and crawling under overhangs with only a shallow bowl of deer fat and juniper lamp is amazing! Let alone finding dry walls to serve as your canvas for creating your art on! The drawings themselves are breathtakingly beautiful. With just a few lines they convey their subject. The guided tour is over a paved walkway with several sets of stairs.

I have dreamed of viewing an actual cave, not a replica of prehistoric paintings, and this tour…read morelived up to my dream. Something about seeing these artistic renderings, realizing these have been dated to 29,000 BC (carbon dated by charcoal used on the horse's mane), gave me a frisson of wonder. The oldest art I have seen, and so beautifully drawn in manganese, with the style going on for 10,000 years in this cave until a landslide closed the entrance, only rediscovered in 1922. Only a few tours are available each day to protect the cave, which has numerous beautiful cave stalactites and stalagmite formations as well as the aon-site. Book tickets in advance online to be assured of a spot. Photos are not allowed in the cave. My photos are photos taken from a book available in the gift shop. An outdoor cafe and informative museum are also onsite.

Le Bournat, 24260 Le Bugue http://www.lebournat.fr…read more 05 53 08 41 99 Situated on the banks of the Vezere, Le Bugue has much going for it, including Le Gouffre de Proumeyssac where one may do the descent into the cave by basket. Our trip on a dull Monday was to see Le Village du Bournat. Being early in the season, we missed out on most of the animations though we did we see a wood artist and a lace expert in action. This is really the reconstruction of a Perigord village from the early 1900s, complete with ladies washing by the water, a blacksmith's and a farmyard. Many other crafts are on display, though not all at the same time, and we also visited the windmill where in an adjoining cottage we found a nest of what looked like swallows, who were being fed by the parents. If you are hungry you may also sample some old style bread and more new style refreshments in the facilities. Kids are well catered for here with picnic facilities and many old style games to keep them occupied when they get fed up of the crafts and farm activities. Entry Cost for an adult is EUR12.00.

From the owner: Voyage en 1900 Il était une fois au coeur du Périgord Noir un village où le temps s'est arrêté au…read moredébut du siècle dernier : Le Village du Bournat. Un site à l'ancienne où parents et enfants font un voyage dans le temps pour y découvrir la vie de nos grands-parents, les traditions d'antan. Au rythme des saisons, à travers des animations et reconstitutions, le village s'anime et s'organise autour des visiteurs : la vie quotidienne, les femmes au lavoir, les enfants à l'école, les travaux des champs ... La journée au Bournat est rythmée entre l'atelier modelage et sculpture sur pierre ou les contes pour les enfants et une visite guidée dans le village décrivant la vie rurale en 1900. Tout l'été des visites nocturnes (20h30-22h00) sont également organisées sur le thème des Mythes et Croyances en Dordogne et sur le rôle de la femme en 1900.