A 3-day itinerary through Dordogne-Périgord with Joana

"We left Barcelona in the morning and arrived early in the afternoon at the charming hotel Château de Maraval, located in Cénac-et-Saint-Julien, well located to discover the most beautiful villages of the Perigord Noir during this 3-day stay in Dordogne-Périgord. The castle maintains its classic exterior and a modern and functional design inside. It consists of four comfortable rooms, each with the decoration that corresponds to its name, Klimt, Flamenco, Zen and Ethnic.

Sarlat, a beautiful medieval town full of life and activity inviting you to wander around and discover its hidden gems. The main buildings are in the Place de la Liberté, the Place du Marché aux trois Oies, the Rue des Consuls and the Place du Peyrou. Go up in the lift of the Church of Saint Mary and go from modern times to the Middle Ages in only just a few seconds, it’s fantastic!

It is a village built at the foot of a cliff and next to the Dordogne River. Its main attraction is to walk through the narrow streets of medieval houses and visit the Bambusal. There, we found the Sunday street market of antiques where you can buy one-of-a-kind pieces. Another experience is to sail in a “gabarre” or rent a canoe and enjoy the Dordogne River. To discover all the corners of La Roque-Gageac, one of the "Most Beautiful Villages of France" in Dordogne-Périgord. We recommend good shoes!

The Marqueyssac Gardens are very curious, mostly made of trimmed boxwood, giving it rounded shapes, forming a kind of labyrinth. We enjoyed long, quiet walks where you can enjoy stunning view points. At the Dordogne viewing point, 130 metres above the river, there is one of the most beautiful views of the Perigord. At the end of the walk, or rather hike, you can have a drink on its terrace, with beautiful views.

We had dinner in Domme, another of the 10 "Most Beautiful Villages in France" in the Périgord, overlooking the Dordogne River from the terrace of "Le Belvedere" with the tasty "salade Perigourdine", a typical Périgord salad, its main ingredient is duck, accompanied by some local beers and a dessert while we enjoyed the sunset.

Return to Château de Maraval for a relaxing break in the sun on the terrace. With its heated outdoor pool, gym and spa, this is an excellent hotel, and the attention to detail provided by the owners Anne-Marie and Thierry is particularly noteworthy.

Rocamadour, also known as the sacred city with its black virgin, is a vertical city carved into a rock and built on three levels: the castle is at the top, the basilica in the middle and the houses, mostly shops, are at the bottom. The 216 steps of the pilgrims' staircase takes you to the church square. We went up in the lift to visit the castle towers by inserting a €2 coin in the revolving door at the entrance; where we enjoyed some impressive views. For the second time, we had dinner in Domme at the "Auberge de la Rode". We enjoyed typical French dishes such as "coq au vin à l'ancienne" and again the "bloc de canard". On the last day we drove  through Dordogne-Périgord, then we said goodbye in the medieval town of Gourdon. We visited the Butte gardens and took the opportunity to buy local products such as foie gras and some wines to take back to Spain in our suitcase.