Bordeaux and the Dordogne in 7 Days: Vineyards, Bastides and Périgord Villages
Bordeaux • Dordogne· 7 days / 6 nights
from €1,690 per person
Destinations — Dordogne
Your Dordogne Trip, Designed and Booked for You
- Beynac and Castelnaud face to face
- Sarlat market, then the river by gabare
- Bordeaux by train, then a car in Périgord
- Saint-Émilion cellars booked ahead
What to see and do
Sarlat crosses on foot in twenty minutes, so it is the one town here you need no plan for: golden limestone, heavy lauze roofs, and lanes that keep returning you to the same square. Come on a Saturday and the market fills the streets around the former cathedral and spills into the covered hall.
Beynac is the castle that makes the valley legible: from its terrace you look straight across at Castelnaud, the fortress that faced it through the Hundred Years War. The lane up from the river is steep and paved, and the view from the top is the one most travelers keep from the Dordogne.
La Roque-Gageac faces due south with the cliff at its back, so it stays warm well into autumn and palm trees grow against the houses. It is a single line of ochre façades along the water, and the flat-bottomed gabares leave the quay for an hour on the river.
Limeuil stands exactly where the Vézère runs into the Dordogne, so one village gives you both valleys. The lane climbing through it ends in terraced gardens above the confluence, and that view is what makes the detour worth it, more than the streets below.
Saint-Émilion gives you a wine region and a medieval town in the same afternoon: the church under the main square was cut straight down into the rock, and the working cellars are a few steps away. Climb the Tour du Roy for the roofs, with the vineyards starting where the streets stop.
Ideal for
- First time in France
- Trip for two
- With the family
- Food and wine travelers
- Castle and village lovers
A trip we already designed, yours to adapt
Book it as it is, or use it as a starting point: we adjust it to your dates, budget and pace.
What we take care of
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Flexible ways to travel
Self-drive road trip, train then a rental car, or a private driver-guide: combine them as you like.
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Booking places you would not find alone
Character farmhouses and estates, boutique hotels, vineyard tastings, starred or genuinely local restaurants.
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Area-by-area planning
We cover Sarlat, the Dordogne valley, the Périgord noir, Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux.
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Everything booked for you
Accommodation, transport in France, tickets, guides and restaurants: we handle all of it.
How it works
- Step 1
Tell us everything
Your dates, your budget, how you like to travel and who is coming with you.
- Step 2
We design your itinerary
A realistic plan, organised area by area, with the right times to visit.
- Step 3
We book it for you
Once your quote is confirmed, we take care of the bookings it includes.
- Step 4
You travel
You receive your travel documents and keep a contact for the services we arranged.
We start with your dates, budget and pace, then take care of the rest: neighbourhoods, visits, bookings. Everything is handled for you. The idea is that each step flows naturally, and that you understand why.
FAQ
Is the Dordogne Trip Fully Customizable?
Yes. There is no fixed departure and no group. The duration, the pace, the way you travel, the areas covered, the type of accommodation, the visits and the restaurants are all set around your dates, your budget and the people traveling with you.
The sample Bordeaux and Dordogne trip is a starting point rather than a catalogue item, and every proposal is rebuilt from your own plans.
What Can You Book for Our Trip to the Dordogne?
Depending on the proposal you approve, we book the accommodation, the trains and transfers within France, the car rental or the private driver, the castles and prehistoric sites, private guides, tastings and the restaurant tables. Restaurant reservations are part of the service on every trip, and the meals themselves are settled on the spot.
All included services are clearly listed in your quotation before confirmation. International flights are not included.
Can We Do This Without Driving?
Yes. The usual arrangement is the train to Bordeaux Saint-Jean, which is about two hours from Paris, then a private driver for the days in the valley. You keep the flexibility of a car without the roads, the village parking or the question of who drives home after a tasting.
The trip can also be built the other way round, with a rental car for the open days and a driver only for the wine days.
How Much Does a Trip to the Dordogne Cost?
It depends on the season, the number of travelers, the length of the stay, the category of accommodation and how much is guided. A week built around villages and markets does not carry the same budget as one with a private driver throughout, a manor house and pre-booked estates.
The ready-to-go trip shown below carries a published starting price, which gives you an order of magnitude before anything is quoted. After we have read your request, you receive a proposal matched to what you actually care about.
Can You Combine the Dordogne with Another Region?
Yes. It sits naturally with Bordeaux and the Atlantic coast, with the Lot and Quercy to the east, or with the Basque Country to the south. By train it also links cleanly to Paris, the Loire Valley or Provence, so it can be the heart of the trip or one leg of a longer route.
We order the stops and arrange the transport so that nobody spends a day of their holiday backtracking.
How Far in Advance Should We Contact You?
The earlier you write, the wider the choice of accommodation, tables and guided visits, which matters most between May and September and around the harvest. Several months ahead is comfortable for those periods.
A request closer to departure is still worth sending: we will tell you plainly what is left rather than build a trip around what is not.
Will You Remain Available During the Trip?
Yes. You will have a dedicated contact for the services we have organized and for any difficulties that may affect your itinerary. The precise terms of this support are explained in your proposal and travel documents.
Want a trip designed and booked for you?
Tell us your dates, your budget and your pace. We come back to you with a proposal and a detailed quote.