Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley You can email Rick at and follow his blog on Facebook.) This column revisits some of Rick’s favorite places over the past two decades. (Rick Steves ( ) writes European guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public TV and radio, and organizes European tours. Once you experience it, you’ll wonder why more Americans don’t visit. Everything is fresh and local – so seasonal that shoppers can tell the month by what’s on sale.įrom canoes to cave art to cheese, the Dordogne is a rich brew of nature, culture, and cuisine. One of the best markets is in the main town of Sarlat-le-Canéda. One way to enjoy the marvelous cuisine is to visit a few markets, where you’ll find fresh veggies, truffles, foie gras, cheese (the Dordogne is famous for its Cabécou goat cheese), and France’s tastiest strawberries. Though unique for its prehistoric sights, the Dordogne is typically French when it comes to a flair for food. While there’s nothing old here except for the gouged-out rock, the family-friendly exhibit makes it easy to imagine the entire village – complete with butcher, baker, and candlestick-maker. When the raiders came, residents gathered their kids, hauled up their animals, and pulled up the ladders. A clever relay of river watchtowers kept an eye out. While the terraces had been inhabited as far back as prehistoric times, the information and reconstructions presented inside focus on the Middle Ages, when people settled here to steer clear of Viking raiders sailing up the river. Christophe, a series of river-carved terraces, which has provided shelter for 55,000 years. In the knights’ mess hall, it felt as if the cooks had just taken a break. The castle was lit by little oil lamps – puddles of light giving the spiral staircase a visual rhythm. It was like stepping back into medieval times. And the noble-lady of the castle herself – land rich but, apparently, cash poor – sold me a ticket to enter and prowl around. Pulling my canoe up in Beynac, I hiked up to the brooding, cliff-clinging château. On one particularly memorable Dordogne day, I enjoyed a perfect storm of travel thrills. Two of the most picturesque are La Roque-Gageac, a strong contender for “cutest town in France,” and Beynac, a well-preserved medieval village that winds like a sepia-tone film set from the river to the castle above. There’s always a place to stow the canoe, and plenty of welcoming villages. Delights are revealed around each bend, and you can pop ashore whenever you like. I can’t think of a more relaxing way to enjoy great scenery while getting some exercise. When I’m here, one of my rituals is exploring the riverside castles and villages via canoe. Its highlights include rock-sculpted villages, prehistoric cave paintings, fertile farms surrounding I-should-retire-here cottages, floats along the river, and a local cuisine worth loosening your belt for. Whether young or old, visitors to the Dordogne are easily charmed by its unforgettable blend of man-made and natural beauty. I’d take her for a lazy canoe ride down the river, then cap the day with a great riverside meal – letting her enjoy goose liver (explaining what it was later) with the finest glass of French red wine she’s ever had. A reader once asked me if I were to bring a spry, 73-year-old grandmother to Europe, where would I go? My response: France’s Dordogne River Valley.
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