Get off the Beaten Track!

The Dordogne is the perfect playground for children and if you’re interested in some activities that go beyond canoeing, chateaux, pretty villages and French markets, check out our suggestions for some off the beaten track activities.

Family Cookery Course – Le Chèvrefeuille

This is an unique opportunity for people of all ages to participate in a fun half day experience, preparing a two course regional lunch menu to be enjoyed at the end of the morning. It is an ideal course for families and friends who want to do a fun activity together which is interesting and informative. These dishes will always have a local flavour, using the regional ingredients which will change in accordance with the season, produce at its best.

Ian is passionate about food nutrition for children, believing that it is essential for their future health and wellbeing to encourage an interest in food and its importance. His hands on approach encourages children to try what they cook and this, we hope in turn will lead to an interest in cooking and trying new things. Ian’s approach to teaching children (having two of his own) is in a light-hearted, fun and encouraging manner.

Family and friends who prefer to eat rather than cook need not miss out on this superb degustation experience! Join the two-course tasting with wine, tea and coffee for an additional charge.

Le Thot – Espace Cro-Magnon

Le Thot, touted as the perfect complement to a tour of Lascaux IV, is a great way to take a step back into the life and times of Cro-Magnon Man. Unique to Le Thot is the reproduction of paintings from the original Lascaux site. Whilst reproductions can be seen elsewhere, at Le Thot the paintings have been reproduced onto rock carved in exactly the same shape as at original Lascaux.

In the underground chamber of Le Thot, visitors will find an exact reproduction of “Scene du Puits”, which depicts a man, bird and rhinoceros. It is very rare to find human figures in prehistoric art, making this scene particularly unique. Le Thot also offers computer generated, life size versions of animals, including mammoths, cave lions, bison, deer, aurochs and megalaceros, that once thrived in the region but are now extinct.

Outside, at Le Thot wildlife park, you will find descendants of animals from prehistoric times, including aurochs, bison, tarpan horses, deer and mountain goats. Most intriguing are the aurochs, which became extinct in 1627, but were “reproduced” by the Heck brothers in 1931. The brothers took species of bovine from Corsica, Hungary and Scotland. By “blending” these species, they created the genetically closest cow to the original aurochs.

Le Thot is situated in the tiny and beautiful village of Thonac, on the River Vézère, near Montignac. It is a short, beautiful 25-minute drive from Le Chevrefeuille.

Chateau des Milandes

Built in 1489 Chateau des Milandes has beautiful gothic features and is a great example of Renaissance architecture. But, it is the story of Josephine Baker who bought the chateau with husband, Jo Bouillon, and where they lived with their 12 adopted children, that is truly intriguing.

Famous for her performance in Paris of “La Danse Sauvage,” in which she wore nothing but a skirt of bananas (on show at the chateau), Ms Baker shot to fame in 1925. The rooms of the Chateau pay homage to her extraordinary life, with beautifully curated displays, each telling stories of her happy, brave and poignant life – including her little-known time as a member of the resistance during the war.

The gardens surrounding Chateau des Milandes are listed as a French Historical Monument. Beautifully landscaped, with water features, rolling hills and stunning, colourful flowerbeds, the gardens also play host to a fascinating birds of prey demonstration – involving falcons, owls and eagles.

Chateau des Milandes is a beautiful, scenic, 25-minute drive from Le Chevrefeuille.

Gouffre de Proumeyssac

Gouffre de Proumeyssac, also known as the “Crystal Cathedral” is a spectacular cave with a stunning collection of stalactites and stalagmites. Famous for the four enormous stalactite formations, the siren, waterfall (from which flows water into beautiful, clear blue pools on the floor of the cave), jellyfish and octopus, Gouffre de Proumeyssac is a spectacle of natural wonder and beauty.

On one wall of the cave is a huge formation of stalactites, stalagmites and columns, which resemble a large organ, giving rise to the caves alternate name the “Cathedral of Crystal”.

Behind the organ is a tunnel, which visitors walk through (if they wish) to see extremely rare and strange triangle-shaped crystal deposits. Most people enter the cave via a tunnel, but you can choose to be lowered into the cave via a basket – just as the first visitors to the caves would have done over 100 years ago.

Once inside the cave, the lights are turned off and there is a breathtaking light show, which illuminates the various features of the cave.

Gouffre de Proumeyssac is a short, 15-minute drive from Le Chevrefeuille. It is not far from the beautiful market village of Le Bugue, one of the farmer’s markets visited by participants on the Cook Dordogne cookery course.

 

Troglodyte Villages in the Dordogne

The Dordogne is rich with prehistoric culture. Le Chèvrefeuille is perfectly placed for visiting three of the world’s most unique and beautifully preserved troglodyte settlements.

The term troglodyte refers to humans who live in caves and three of the world’s best troglodyte settlements– spectacular La Madeleine, La Roque St Christophe and La Roque-Gageac – are 20-minutes drive from Le Chevrefeuille.

LA MADELEINE

Settled 17,000 years ago by hunter-gatherers, La Madeleine is located on the River Vezere near the ancient village of Tursac.  

La Madeleine, comprising a prehistoric rock shelter, medieval troglodyte village, an 8th Century chateau (The Petite Marzac) and a 15th Century gothic castle, is a unique and fascinating site.

Originally accessible only by river, La Madeleine provided a safe, natural defense against predators and intruders.

The first settlers at La Madeleine thrived, overcoming increasing temperatures, which drove mammoths, their main source of food, north. The departure of their main prey forced these prehistoric settlers to hunt new game, developing new hunting methods and weapons, giving birth to a whole new culture!

La Madeleine is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is a beautiful 20-minute drive from Le Chevrefeuille.

For further information, visit:

www.la-madeleine-perigord.com 

LA ROQUE ST CHRISTOPHE

La Roque St Christophe has breathtaking views over the Vézère River.

Used as a shelter by Neanderthal man (50,000 BC) and Cro-Magnon man (25,000 BC), La Roque St Christophe was inhabited until the Wars of Religion in the late 16th Century. The village, which spanned five terraces, is estimated to have had a population of 1000 at its peak.

Visitors to the site can see beautiful examples of how the Troglodytes carved holes into the rock face to insert support beams for ceilings and roofs. There are also carved out storage areas, stone hooks used to tether animals, replica of winches, scaffolding, capstan and cranes that the troglodytes used to build the village.

La Roque St Christophe boasts one of the largest monolithic staircases – a key part of their defence system – in Europe and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a stunning 20-minute drive from Le Chevrefeuille.

Tickets

Tickets can be bought online in advance at:

http://www.roque-st-christophe.com/

or at the visitors entrance to the site.

LA ROQUE-GAGEAC

Built into a cliff with spectacular views of the Dordogne River is La Roque-Gageac, a traditional Perigordine village.

Forty metres above the village is a fascinating troglodyte fort, which was established in the 12th Century and played an important role in the region’s defence system.

Manoir de Tarde, the most beautiful building in La Roque-Gageac, is the only remaining evidence of the village’s noble history. Built during the Renaissance (18th Century) Manoir de Tarde has a round tower and mullion windows.

The village also features a beautiful exotic garden, planted in 1970 by Gerard Dorin, and which still flourishes today.

La Roque-Gageac is a beautiful 20-minute drive from Le Chevrefeuille.