Day 1 Depart from the
U.S.
Day 2 Arrive in Sarlat-la-Canéda.
After checking into the charming Hotel de la Madeleine,
enjoy a tasty three-course meal. (D)
Day 3 Explore Sarlat-la-Canéda.
After a lovely breakfast buffet, take part in a tour of
the town featuring the town's architectural centerpiece,
the 16th-century cathedral of Saint Sacerdos. Observe
the sublime Romanesque designs of the Chapel of the White
Penitents and the Place de la Liberté. After lunch at
the hotel, take in a lecture on Architectural Preservation
in Sarlat. Have an afternoon at leisure to experience
the Sarlat Market, then, delight in a welcome reception
followed by another fine dinner at the hotel. (B,L,D)
Day 4 Enjoy the famed pilgrimage
site of Rocamadour, a three-tiered city essentially carved
into a sheer limestone cliff. Walk the 216 pilgrim steps
from the lower level to the Chapel of Notre Dame, and
behold the sacred Black Virgin and Child, a walnut carving
over a thousand years old. After lunch, journey to the
Souillac monastery, founded in the early 900s. This evening,
dine at the hotel. (B,L,D)
Day 5 After breakfast, head to
Cap Blanc and view walls sculpted by Cro-Magnon man. Later,
venture to Les Eyzies de Tayac, where the first known
bones of Homo sapiens were discovered. Learn about prehistoric
discoveries at the National Museum of Prehistory in the
16th-century castle of Beynac. After lunch, travel north
to Perigord Noir. Tucked away in the fold of a small valley
find St. Amand de Coly. Continue to St. Genies, one of
the many beautiful villages of Perigord Noir. Visit Chapelle
du Cheylard, filled with 14th-century frescoes. This evening
dine at the hotel, then delight in a folk group presentation.
(B,L,D)
Day 6 This morning, after breakfast,
enjoy time at your leisure. Then, embark on a cave tour
of Lascaux II and Rouffignac. This evening, enjoy dinner
at the hotel. (B,L,D)
Day 7 After a morning at leisure,
walk around the Sarlat Market. After lunch, visit one
of the most famous gardens in France at Eyrignac Manoir.
Marvel at the gardens that were laid out in the 18th-century
and transformed in the 19th-century into an English garden.
Listen in on a Village Life Forum at the hotel followed
by dinner. (B,L,D)
Day 8 Visit the medieval fortress
of Beynac-et-Cazenac, dramatically situated atop a towering
limestone cliff. As you tour the castle, learn about the
history of its intriguing and eclectic interior. Next,
board a gabare, a 19th-century boat used for trade on
the river, for a scenic cruise upriver toward the castle
of Castelnaud. Savor lunch at the Hostellerie de Malleville
in the village of Beynac. Then, venture to Domme, the
most spectacular of the Perigord towns. Take in the unforgettable
panoramic view of clusters of old pale stone houses topped
by bright orange roofs yielding to the cliff's edge and
a lush green horizon stretching for miles. This evening,
eat dinner at the hotel. (B,L,D)
Day 9 After breakfast, fly from Bordeaux to Paris and then return to the U.S. (B)
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