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(The star
ratings shown are those given in the green Michelin guide to the
Dordogne.)
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The area is beautiful and many happy hours can be passed
just wandering through the towns, villages and countryside discussed in
The
Area.
There is an abundance of prehistoric caves such as Les
Eyzies de Tayac (**), Grotte de Rouffignac (*) and the Grottes de
Lacave (*) and a little further Grotte du Peche Merle (**). The journey
through the Gouffre de Padirac (***), with its subterranean galleries,
includes 700m by boat.
Within easy driving distances is the magnificent
mediaeval city of Sarlat (***), Cahors (**) with its surrounding
vineyards and the Lot Valley (**) and the beautiful old city of Figeac
(**). There are many picturesque villages within easy reach, such as
Domme (**), Beynac (**), Loubressac (**), La Roque-Gageac (**),
Carennac (*), St-Cirq-Lapopie (**) and Rocamadour (***), the castle at
Castelnau (**) and the bastide town of Montpazier(*).
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About an hour's drive away is Gimel-Les-Cascades. The
village is very picturesque but the succession of three waterfalls
falls created by the River Montane falling down a 450 feet ravine are
quite spectacular (**).
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The Three Waterfalls of Gimel-les-Cascade
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In an area well known for its cuisine there are many
excellent restaurants. One of our favourites is La Vieille
Auberge in Souillac. Their "Menu
Gormande" at about £30:00 will give you a memorable meal. The
seven course "Menu
Degustation" at about £50 per person is not for those with a
small appetite! There is even a vegetarian menu!
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© La Vieille
Auberge - Souillac Lot.
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For those who can take their holidays outside the normal
holiday period, the Lycee
des
Hoteliers or
catering college offers great
value and interesting menus. They do both lunch and dinners, and whilst
their restaurant is well appointed and spacious do remember that it is
a school.. The menus are set as are the times of meals. so make sure
you get a copy of the menus and the times of meals from reception in
the college. Three or four course meals start at around £8:00 and
can go as high as £15:00 the range of dishes reflecting the
difference in prices.
We used to enjoy the restaurant "La Gabarre". Take the road to St
Julien de Lampon
from Le Roc and it is the first restaurant you come to. During the
summer you can dine on the terrace high above the Dordogne Valley. It
was closed for some time but the last time we were there we discovered
that it was just about to re-open. We will report after our next visit!
As you would expect in an area that prides itself on its
gastronomy there are many restaurants to choose from. Based on our own
experience you might like to try the following:-
| Name |
Location |
Comment
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La
Chastrusse
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Nadiac
de Rouge - on the hill above Le Roc
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Menu
typical of the region but beware of the pasties unless you have a very
big appetite!
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Le
Gindreau
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Catus
St Medard
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A
top rated restaurant with a good range of dishes with interesting an
gastronomic twist! You can find more details in the booklet "Les Bonnes
Tables du Lot" in the house.
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Musee
Henri Giraude
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Le Vigan
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Yes,
it really is a museum, well more an art gallery dedicated to the works
of Henri Giraude. He has some interesting paintings about people,
usually of interesting women and weedy men!! The restaurant is only
open on Friday evenings and Sunday lunch times. At first sight the cost
at about 40 Euro's looks expensive, but when you remember it can be up
to ten courses including wine, it is really well worth trying.
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La
Terrasse
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Meyronne
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Another
restaurant from the "Les
Bonnes
Tables du Lot".
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Au Hazard
Balthazar
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Martel
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A
very interesting ambiance with good food at reasonable prices.
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La
Belle Etoille
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La Roque Gageac
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Superb meals from 25
to 45 Euros. If the weather is fine, you can dine on the terrace
(booking essential) overlooking the Dordogne
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Fishing on the Dordogne at Mareuil, Le Roc
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Talking about catching fish, it is possible to get a
fishing licence from the Marie. You can then spend many tranquil hours
on the banks of the river. I understand that occasionally the
tranquillity can be broken by fish that attach themselves to fishing
lines, although I must admit I have never seen anybody catch a sandre!
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For the energetic there are plenty of sporting
activities in the area. Riding, tennis, fishing and mini golf will be
found nearby with golf at Souillac, Cahors and Domme. There are several
canoe bases along the river and for the adventurous there is a hot air
ballooning centre some 14kms away at Chateau de Veyrignac. If gentle
exercise appeals more, there are wooded hills behind the village and it
is possible to hire bicycles in Souillac.
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For many, however, it is the River that is essential to
the character of the Dordogne Valley. The stretch of the river nearby
is one of the most beautiful
For any bird watchers the area is a delight. As well as
the "normal" birds in the garden we have black kites, buzzards, spotted
and pied flycatchers, redstarts and black redstarts, greater spotted,
lesser spotted and green woodpeckers, blackcaps and hoopoes.
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This part of theDordogne River is about 1km from our
house
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The squirrels are, of course, red squirrels and we
sometimes get them in the garden. Hedgehogs are also quite common but
you may be pleased to know that the wild boar do keep themselves to the
surrounding countryside. The nearest I have come to a wild boar was at
one of the local village fetes, when it was served roasted although we
have seen them crossing the road between Souilla and Le Roc on a couple
of occasions..
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Scenes from the Market in Souillac
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There are no shops in the village but most days a van
will come round selling bread/cheese/milk/meat. The time of arrival
varies but they announce their arrival by loud hooting of the horn.
There are two supermarkets less than 10 minutes drive away along with
all the shops one would expect in a small town. Souillac has a
market on Fridays. The mediaeval town of Sarlat has the best
market we have found in the area. A large market is held on Saturday
and a much smaller one on Wednesday.
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Other activities include the Museé d'Automat(*),
the French national museum of automatons, with its fascinating range of
moving models. Look out for for vouchers from restaurants that give a
reduction on the entrance fee. There are many hundreds of exhibits
including the beautiful Snow Queen from the 1950's and the Jazz
Band with a full jazz band from the 1920's.
Talking of Jazz, during the third week of July, Souillac
holds its Annual Jazz
Festival. Free
jazz concerts are held on
open air stages and in many of the bars. Jazz players from all over the
world come to play many different varieties of jazz from traditional to
modern.
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Rocamadour(***),
built into the 500 foot cliffs
rising above the Alzou Canyon is one of the most famous sites in the
whole of France. It is a centre for mediaeval Christianity. As a child
I have seen pilgrims climbing the two hundred or so steps from the
floor of the canyon to the church on their knees to finally kneel at
the altar of the Black
Madonna to receive forgiveness for their
sins. One of the best views of Rocamadour is from the terrace at
L'Hospitalet on the road from Payrac.
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Another well known village that has been built
into the cliffs is La
Roque Gageac(**) .From here you can take
a trip in a "Gabarre" , replicas of the old trading vessels of the
river. The trip goes down the River towards Castelnaud(*) and
its castle. The castle stands on one side of the Dordogne confronting
the castle of Beynac(*) on the other. Many battles were fought
here during the 100 years war, and changed hands between the English
and the French with great regularity.
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A
traditional Gabarre
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View of Castelnaud
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Houses built into
the cliff
at La Roque Gageac
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And Finally...
The range of restaurants, activities fairs etc, is so
great that it is difficult to list them all here, especially from
memory! We hope you find it interesting and helpful, but please
remember, they are our own personal views. We plan to add extra
thoughts to this page after we have been back to the house to check our
facts!. There is a big file in the house with contributions from people
who have stayed there over the years, including details of places to
visit, sample menus from favourite restaurants; it is a valuable source
of ideas for spending your holiday leisure time.
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