Discover the top Dordogne towns and villages
Explore some of the loveliest towns and villages around Dordogne.
Find loads of top tips and local insights in our Dordogne Destinations Guide.
The riverside town of Saint-Céré is a lovely place to base yourself for excursions in the region. The La Bave river winds its way through the centre of the town and its old buildings have been carefully restored, retaining their timber vaulting or Renaissance stonework.
The largest town in the area, Bergerac, still retains a quaint old feel, with a change in pace in the summer months.
Carennac has been previously voted 'One of the 'Most Beautiful Villages in France' and it's easy to see why. The blonde stone and red-brown roofs of its buildings have tall chimneys and are adorned with creepers that turn red in the autumn.
This medieval town on a bend in the Dordogne grew around its 9th century Benedictine abbey of Saint-Pierre.
The town and the surrounding prehistoric sites have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nearly 150 sites have already been discovered and contain significant finds dating back as far as the Middle Stone Age - about 300,000 to 40,000 years ago.
The village of Beynac-et-Cazenac is thought to date back to the 12th century when its imposing cliff top château was constructed.
Sainte-Foy-la-Grande sits on the south bank of the Dordogne river. This attractive walled bastide town still has some of its medieval houses and is a good base for visiting the surrounding Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux wine region and nearby Château de Montaigne, home of Michel de Montaigne.
The relaxed town of Le Bugue sits on the river Vézère where it's joined by the Doux. A more tranquil base for exploring the region, it has some pretty, narrow streets and a bustling market twice a week.
The pretty old town of Montignac serves as a good base for visiting the nearby prehistoric caves.
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.
A base for exploring the region, Souillac has a medieval past and is filled with Romanesque-style sculptures.
The main town of the area between 1800 and 1926, it was all but destroyed during the floods of 1930, which caused devastation across the entire south west of France and counted as a 100 year flood.
Perched on the side of a cliff, in a gorge above the river Alzou, this medieval town has a breathtaking setting.
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.
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.
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
Standing out as one of the most charming towns in the region, this medieval dwelling remains much as it was when it was built in the 14th century.
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.