The Dordogne

Introducing The Dordogne

The Dordogne département is for many people the picture-perfect image of the French countryside, a gentle landscape of patchwork fields, hilltop towns, turreted mansions and jade-green woods. Named after the most important of the region’s seven rivers, the Dordogne is better-known to the French as Périgord, spiritual home to two of the country’s enduring culinary passions – foie gras and the black truffle. The Dordogne is famous for its stunning cave paintings, as well as for its many fortified chateaux and bastide towns – reminders of the bloody battles waged here during the Middle Ages and the Hundred Years’ War.

Périgord has been divided into four colour-coded areas: in the centre, the area around the capital, Périgueux, is known as Périgord Blanc (white) after its pale limestone hills. The fields and forests to the north and northwest are known as Périgord Vert (green), while the wine-growing area of Périgord Pourpre (purple) lies to the southwest, around Bergerac. Périgord Noir (black) encompasses the Vézère Valley and the upper Dordogne Valley, as well as the beautiful medieval town of Sarlat-la-Canéda.

With such a rich variety of attractions, it’s hardly surprising that the Dordogne is crammed to bursting-point in the summer months, especially with holidaying Brits and French families during the grandes vacances. In winter the region goes into hibernation, and many hotels, restaurants and tourist sites close.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009