Sights in Dordogne

The great wall, or Grandes Murailles, is now all that remains of a once Dominican monastery that was built in the 12th-century.

This is an impressive honey-stoned troglodyte house built within large cave shelters. Its relatively modest exterior disguises the space within, which is decorated in a grand style, with original medieval furniture and tapestries. 

This chateau and family home is perfectly situated at one end of the village of La Roque Gageac and overlooks the Dordogne river.

The present castle dates to 1530 when it was built by the Herm family. Its Gothic style consists of a rectangular main building flanked by two round towers. 

Developed by an engineer called Frédéric Suisse the system uses the amazing power of the river to pump water from the fountain of the Chartreux, thus supplying Cahors with drinking water.

With mullioned windows, dark grey stone slate roof (lauze) and the well-known honey-coloured stone of the facade, this is one of the most remarkable buildings in Sarlat.

The Grand Roc cave, registered with UNESCO as a World Heritage site, is a true mineral forest, including crystallizations, calcite flows, stalactites, stalagmites, pillars, eccentric stalactites, draperies, and more. 

The Pataud Shelter (or Arbi Aptaud) is one of the few prehistoric sites in the area which also shows how it has been dug and the archaeological techniques used.

Only discovered in 1995, by the caver Jean-Luc Sirieix, these caves have some impressive stalactites and stalagmites along its tunnels over 20 metres below the surface.

The Wine Centre (Maison des Vins) is right in the historic heart of Bergerac, in the Récollets Cloisters, a magnificent group of monastic buildings from the 17th-century.

This fabulously preserved cliff top château overlooks the town of Beynac and the river Dordogne. It was built as a fortress in the 12th century with the cliff on one side and double walls and moats on the other.

Not to be confused with the Château de Castelnaud, this château close to Brenetoux stands as an incredible example of a fortified castle, with a combination of architecture from the 13th-century through to the 17th-century. 

This rock shelter was discovered in the late 19th century, but its fascinating engravings of prehistoric fish were not identified for some 20 years. 

It is thought that the keep at Commarque was originally founded by two abbots in the 12th century. Its ruins, built into the cliff face, have undergone some extensive restoration work over the last 50 years.

This glass museum designed by Jean Nouvel is located on the site of a Roman mansion discovered accidentally in the late 1950s. The remains of this huge villa are impressive and include murals dating back to the 1st century. 

These caves were originally discovered in 1825 and house some impressively large stalagmite pillars reaching up to 10 metres in height and varying in colour. 

The walk through this park will take you past rock shelters, caves and dwellings where a great number of tools and weapons, dating back over 12,000, have been discovered.

Set within three hectares the water gardens in Carsac-Aillac offer a new place to walk that will delight young and old, tourists and locals.