La Berberie

We give a short list of a number of tourist/sports activities that you can visit/do at a very short distance from our house and which we think are really worthwhile. There is of course much more to visit and do in our region but you can find it all in the guidebook that is in the house.

Castles:
-Castel vvan Castelnaud. A beautifully renovated and decorated battle castle on top of a rock with a magnificent view over the Dordogne River. Especially fun for children.
-Fenelon Castle Beautiful castle and fully furnished and decorated (14th to 19th century) with one star from the Michelin Guide. Can be visited without a guide.
-Castel Les Milandes. The splendid little house where Joséphine Baker lived with all her orphans. Her entire eventful life is made visible by photos, her dresses, furniture etc. Several times a day there is a falconry show in the garden. There is also an explanation in Dutch.
-Forte de Reignac. Special castle where only the façade on the outside can be seen. The real castle is built in the rocks. This castle has only recently been opened to the public.

Caves:
-Caves of Maxange. Very special caves, only recently opened to the public with a ceiling made of crystals.
-Lascaux II. The most famous cave in France with its cave paintings of all kinds of prehistoric animals. This cave is an exact copy of the original, which unfortunately is no longer accessible to the public due to deterioration of the cave paintings.

Gardens:
-The gardens of Manoir Eyrignac. Beautifully laid out with many boxwood shrubs in tight symmetrical shapes. Starred in the Michelin guide.
-The gardens of Marqueyssac. These gardens, with 6 km of walking paths, are situated on a plateau on a hilltop. This gives you a splendid view over the surrounding area with its numerous castles and villages. In July and August, the gardens are illuminated every Thursday evening until midnight with 2000 candles and music groups play at different places in the garden.

Towns and villages:
-Sarlat. This capital of the Périgord Noir has a beautifully preserved medieval centre with many houses with Renaissance facades. Many nice streets with restaurants and shops and squares with terraces.
-La Roque Gageac This picturesque village is situated against a cliff with the river Dordogne at its feet. Behind the houses there is a footpath that leads up to the top where you can imagine yourself in the tropics because of the special vegetation.
-Domme. Beautiful bastide on a rock above the Dordogne with a breathtaking belvedere. Many small shops, restaurants, terraces etc. Touristy, but worth to have seen once. On the market square is the entrance to a cave in which the residents used to hide during enemy attacks.

Aviation:
-In the immediate vicinity, balloon trips can be made and flights with a helicopter or a single-engine plane.

Water:
-On the Dordogne or the Vézère, canoeing is excellent. There are numerous departure points where you can hire a canoe for a long or short trip.
-These are boats with a flat bottom which used to be used to navigate the Dordogne.
You can make a trip of about one hour on the Dordogne.

Markets:
-Every day or evening there is a market in the area. The best markets are in Sarlat. Wednesday morning the market with the regional products such as truffles, cheeses, sausages, vegetables etc.
Saturday all day long the big market with all kinds of articles like clothes, fruit, watches etc.

Walking:
-In the immediate vicinity are more than 100 official hiking trails plotted both for beginners and advanced. Maps of these routes can be borrowed from us.

Further activities in the area:
-golf: there are four golf courses nearby (two 9-holes, two 18-holes)
-horse riding
-wine route in the Bergerac area (distance approximately 70 km)
-cabanes: houses and barns that consist entirely (walls/roof) of loosely stacked stones
-Museums: e.g. the nut museum in Castelnaud
-prehistoric parks and sites: e.g. La Roque Saint-Christophe
-fishing
-Bicycles (rental company at 3km distance)