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Top 10 places to visit in the Dordogne
To help you prepare for your stay in the Dordogne and make sure you don't miss out on any of the unmissable sights, Inspire Villages Séveilles has put together a list of the best places to visit in the Périgord Noir near our open-air hotel.
Such is the region's cultural richness that the choices were difficult! There are many other remarkable sites not to be missed!
Le Gouffre de Proumeyssac
Located in Audrix near Le Bugue, this immense underground vault owes its nickname of "Crystal Cathedral" to its walls decorated with a multitude of crystallizations of exceptional density. Lighting effects and musical accompaniment add to the originality of the visit.
Traditional access is via a tunnel that takes you into the main space, but you can also enter via a gondola, just like at the turn of the century!
Lascaux II cave and visit to Montignac
Classified as a historic monument, Lascaux is one of the most remarkable sites in the world, thanks to the exceptional preservation conditions of its parietal figurations (horses, bulls, deer, signs and symbols...) dating back to 15,000 BC.
Today, you'll visit its facsimile (90% of the paintings are reproduced), which was created in order to preserve the original cave and restore conditions favorable to its conservation.
Don't miss a stroll through Montignac, a charming town on the banks of the Vézère, with the ruins of an imposing feudal castle overlooking a maze of narrow medieval streets and beautiful homes.
Castelnaud Castle
One of the most visited castles in the south-west, it dominates the Dordogne valley and stands opposite Château de Beynac, its rival in the Hundred Years War.
The object of spectacular restoration campaigns, it is now home to the "Musée de la Guerre au Moyen Âge" (Museum of War in the Middle Ages), featuring an extensive collection of weapons and armor, furniture and life-size reconstructions of war machines.
Château de Beynac
An austere-looking medieval structure perched atop a limestone cliff overlooking the village on the right bank of the Dordogne, this is one of the best-preserved and most famous castles in the region.
During the Hundred Years' War, Beynac was one of France's strongholds.
Today, the château was the setting for Jean-Marie Poiré's 1993 film Les Visiteurs, Bertrand Tavernier's 1994 film La Fille de d'Artagnan and Luc Besson's 1999 film Jeanne d'Arc.
Visit the town of Sarlat with its Saturday market
Capital of the Périgord Noir region, Sarlat-la-Canéda is a historic city renowned for its monumental finery, dating mainly from the medieval and early Renaissance periods. Stroll through its picturesque lanes and alleyways, its shady squares lined with mansions with lauze roofs... and don't miss its traditional market selling the region's specialties: foie gras, truffles, figs and walnuts.
This small Perigord town, visited by several hundred thousand tourists every year, is also occasionally used as the setting for historical films.
► Organizing my visit to Sarlat
Le Village du Bournat
Located in the commune of Le Bugue on the banks of the Vézère river, Le Bournat covers more than 7 hectares and features reconstructions of the lives of our ancestors.
Here, you can step back in time a hundred years to discover the daily life of farmers in 1900, as you watch craftsmen and women who still master their skills at work.
All entertainment, even the "1900″ rides, is free in the village.
Canoe trip La Roque-Gageac / St-Vincent de Cosse
A must when the sun is shining, canoe down the Dordogne and admire its marvellous landscapes as you go.
The La Roque-Gageac / St-Vincent-de-Cosse segment is one of the most beautiful, allowing you to discover the castles of Castelnaud, Marqueyssac, Beynac, Fayrac and Les Milandes, as well as the magnificent villages along the river.
Many canoe rental companies offer this route!
Visit to Les Eyzies and the Prehistory Museum
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac is home to numerous prehistoric sites, some of which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Vézère Valley: Grotte du Grand Roc, Font-de-Gaume, Grotte des Combarelles, Grotte de la Mouthe, Bernifal, Laugerie basse, le Roc de Cazelle....
All these riches mean that the town can lay claim to the status of world capital of prehistory, also known as the "Cradle of Prehistory".
Don't miss the exceptional collection at the World Museum of Prehistory, located right in the center of the village.
► s ee the website
Château de Commarque
Halfway between Les Eyzies and Sarlat, this castle is built on a rocky spur at the bottom of the Beune valley. The site is a medieval castrum, comprising a castle, chapel and noble houses within a surrounding wall.
Accessible by a stone track, then a long path through the woods, its difficult access has earned it the name "Forgotten Fortress".
Numerous consolidation and restoration campaigns have followed, and an archaeological research program is underway for several years.
► s ee the website
Aquarium du Périgord Noir
Located in Le Bugue, next to the Village du Bournat, the Aquarium du Périgord Noir is the largest private freshwater aquarium in France, with over 6,000 fish.pike, catfish, sturgeon and other river species are presented to the public through picture windows.in addition, you'll discover the Iguana Parc, featuring over 40 species of reptiles, as well as a 6-meter-long anaconda.
The latest addition to the site: the Alligator Park with its caimans
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