Towns & Villages in Dordogne

Limeuil is a picturesque old village which features on the list of 'Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'. It has a pretty park on the top of the hill and some ruins from its medieval past.

Couze used to be a paper-making village and a number of its old mills are still in existence, using the power of the Couze river to turn the water wheel.

Located on an ancient Roman road, the town of Brantôme on the Dronne river is centred around its 8th century Benedictine abbey.

This bastide town, sitting high above the Dordogne river, has an impressive number of its 13th century fortifications still intact, including three of its original gates.

It's hard to imagine a nicer village than La Roque-Gageac, with its huge limestone cliffs that tower behind the Renaissance-style houses built in creamy stone with burnt red roofs. 

The village of Beynac-et-Cazenac is thought to date back to the 12th century when its imposing cliff top château was constructed.

Sitting proud on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Nauze valley, this fortified town boasts seven bell towers and an 11th century keep that is still standing, despite numerous invasions and wars.

Perched on the side of a cliff, in a gorge above the river Alzou, this medieval town has a breathtaking setting.

A base for exploring the region, Souillac has a medieval past and is filled with Romanesque-style sculptures. 

Founded in 1261, Lalinde was the first English bastide. Situated on the banks of the Dorgdogne, the town is also crossed by the Canal de Lalinde, constructed to bypass the dangerous rapids of Grand Thoret.

Trémolat was originally home to a 6th century hermit, Saint-Cybard, before monks built their monastery here in the 9th century.

A small but beautiful medieval village built around the Cadoudin Abbey, constructed by the Cistercians in the 12th century. It's situated very close to the neighbouring larger town of Le Buisson de Cadouin

This medieval town on a bend in the Dordogne grew around its 9th century Benedictine abbey of Saint-Pierre.

You get a sense of this town's history as soon as you arrive, with are flags and coats of arms lining the roads that lead you to the main square.

The largest town in the area, Bergerac, still retains a quaint old feel, with a change in pace in the summer months.

Formerly the capital of the old province of Quercy, Cahors is the largest town in the Lot valley. The site was inhabited by the Cadurci tribe in Roman-Gaul times. 

Very much a textbook bastide village, it's laid out in a grid fashion around a central square. Eymet, as it exists today, was founded by Alphonse de Poitiers in 1270. 

The town of Martel is not, in fact, famous for the brandy (that's Martell with two ll's) but is well known as the capital of truffles and a great producer of walnuts, two of the region's specialities.