DAILY ITINERARY
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Day 1: Tuesday, August 28, 2007
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Arrival day:
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Judie and Alain will pick you
up at the Toulouse Airport and drive you
to your accommodations in Cahors.
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Day 2: Wednesday, August 29,
2007
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Morning
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Drive to Saint-Cirq Lapopie.
Visit the village and walk down the Lot river.
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Afternoon
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Back to Cahors, visit
and free time.
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Day 3: Thursday, August 30,
2007
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Morning
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Drive to visit the pilgrimage
site of Rocamadour, built into steep cliffs
and a medieval way station for pilgrims en route
to Compostela. (Possible guided tour); then on to
Martel, a village with classic examples of
14th, 15th, and 15th century buildings.
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Afternoon
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Guided tour of Sarlat,
a town with a wealth of vestiges of the Middle Ages
and the Renaissance, one of the rare sites in France
to remain intact since the 17th century.
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Day 4: Friday, August 31, 2007
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Morning
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Discover the prehistoric cave
paintings of the Dordogne, starting with an informational
tour of Lascaux II, a reproduction of the
original Lascaux. Then take a short walk
in the nearby village of Montignac to an
inviting picnic site near the river.
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Afternoon
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After lunch you can choose to
return to Sarlat or visit other villages
in the area: St-Geniès, with its Romanesque
church and Gothic chapel; and St-Amand-de-Coly,
known for its abbey church, considered one of the
most beautiful in Périgord.
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Day 5: Saturday, September 1,
2007
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Morning
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Visit Font-de-Gaume,
a prehistoric cave housing the most beautiful collection
of polychrome cave paintings open to the public
in France.
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If you like, you can take a
short walk to the Abri Roque-St-Christophe,
a long cliff with over 100 caves carved out of the
rock on 5 tiers.
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Afternoon
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Free time at Les Eyzies-de-Tayac
you may choose either to visit to the Musée d'Art
Préhistorique (Museum of Prehistoric Art), the
Abri Pataud (Pataud Shelter), containing
remains of civilizations as far back as 3500 BCE.
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Day 6: Sunday, September 2,
2007
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Morning
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A short drive from Sarlat
will take you to Domme, a beautiful hilltop
village with exceptional views and fine architecture.
You will have free time to stroll in the village
and/or take a brief walk in the countryside around
the town.
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Afternoon
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After lunch, visit the Gardens
of Eyrignac.
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Day 7: Monday, September 3,
2007
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Morning
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Drive to explore the castle
and village of Beynac-et-Cazenac, overlooking
the valley of the Dordogne far below. The castle
dates back to the 12th century, when this area marked
the frontier between French and English territory.
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Afternoon
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If time permits, a barge trip
on the river may be possible.
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You will end the day with a
visit to Les Milandes, the château which
the American singer-dancer of the 1920s and 30s,
Josephine Baker, bought as home for the children
she adopted of different races, religions and nationalities
to create her “world village.”
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Day 8: Tuesday, September 4,
2007
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Morning
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Tour ends after breakfast.
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