Travel Around The Clock

2013 has been, for us, the year we discovered France. Not that we had never been there before, but we had only visited Paris until last year when we finally took our time to explore a bit of the countryside, especially in the south. France is an amazing country and not only for its wines and good food (oh yes we love them!!) but because it is also extraordinarily rich in history and art. Other than the myriad of castles spread all over the country (check out our post about some of them) there are plenty of interesting attractions. Above all of them, the prehistoric caves we visited during our 2 weeks on the road in the southern part of the country have left special memories in our hearts. Have you ever heard about Lascaux ? If the answer is yes, well, forget about them.  The original cave is not accessible and the only thing you can visit is a reconstruction ( Lascaux II ). It may be interesting but we preferred to go for some real ones: Font de Gaume and Les Combarelles , ...

If every serious fairytale has a castle, then France is the quintessential fairytale country, considering the ridiculous amount of Chateaux in the country. And if a lack of knowledge had made us think that they were merely located on the Loire banks or used as accommodations by the wealthy wine producers of Bordeaux, a 2 weeks trip on the road in Southern France proved us completely wrong. We encountered plenty of castles of various ages and architectural styles; some of them were closed as December is low season but we still managed to visit most of them and were lucky enough to have guides all by ourselves giving us private tours! We started form the Perigord Vert and the Chateau de Bourdeilles , which is itself a double castle, including a medieval building and a Renaissance one, both very well preserved and accessible for a €7 per head. Chateau de Bourdeilles The medieval part is of course much more austere, while the Renaissance building has still plenty of decoration, furnish...

La Roque-Gageac is one of the most recognizable (and Instagrammed) villages in the Dordogne . Located on the side of a cliff, it seems to have been placed on the edge of the Dordogne by the benevolent hand of a giant.  La Roque Gageac La Roque Gageac With its brimming charm, La Roque Gageac, labeled " most beautiful village in France ", is bathed in a soft light from dawn to dusk and benefits from a peculiar micro-climate. On top of the cliff, the troglodyte fort dominates the village: built in the 12th century to resist invaders from northern France , the fort was then dismantled in the early 18th century to serve as a stone quarry. La Roque Gageac The riches of La Roque-Gageac date back to the Middle Ages, when the impregnable city became the place of refuge for the bishops of Sarlat . Their residence, as well as other vestiges of the same period, are still there, ready to be discovered. Although, the most imposing of them, the castle and its majestic turret, unfortunately,...

The Dordogne, a hikers paradise The Dordogne is one of the top destinations for those that want to explore the rural side of France, and, besides the amazing castles , the medieval villages, the astonishing prehistoric art and the colorful farmers markets full of exquisite local products, this region offers lush landscapes made of green rolling hills, quiet valleys and beautiful forests. Walking along the paths in this generous countryside, other than being an excellent exercise, is a joy for the heart and the eyes!  And, if you like hiking, the region proposes approximately 780 kilometers of long hiking trails and 4000 kilometers of short ones that will offer you the chance to explore this beautiful scenarios scattered with golden stone hamlets that seem to be lost in time and space.  3 different variants of Way of Saint James cross the Dordogne Valley leading pilgrims and walkers to the vertiginous city of Rocamadour . But our favourite long walk in the region is...

If you ran into this blog post, we assume you are probably already planning a visit to the Dordogne Valley.  Well done, excellent choice! This beautiful and welcoming department of the South-West of France offers plenty of culture, history, beautiful nature and amazing food, so no wonder why it is one of the top destinations in the country. We have prepared a little list for you that it's just meant to be a starting point, to give you an idea of the most interesting sites and things to do during your stay, and if you haven't booked your trip yet, we are pretty sure you'll be doing it straight away after reading this! Here is our top 10 list of things to do in the Dordogne Valley : 1. Savour the local produces: duck, walnuts and truffles Food lovers already know that the Dordogne Valley is a top gourmet destination . And not only for the voluptuous, fairly expensive and surely controversial (in its preparation) foie gras , but for any kind of duck dish, for the h...