After breakfast, meet your English speaking driver-guide at Place Pasteur and start your gourmet walking tour.
Walk towards the Market and begin your discovery of the best produce of the Dordogne region. Then stop at a family run local delicacies shop. Here, we will taste small toasts spread with patés or foie gras from either duck or goose. Then, taste a top rated Foie Gras from a local producer that has obtained many awards at the Paris Exhibition. Finish this tasting stop with a local cheese called Trappe d'Echourgnac. Trappist cheese is pressed, uncooked, fermented by retro-rubbing or by using the “morge” scrubbing technique. Then walnut liqueur is added. How much? And, then what? Well, that’s a secret never to be told! All this will be rinsed with a tasting of a White & Red Bergerac wine.
Follow your guide through the medieval streets of Sarlat. This walking tour allows your guide to point out all the local products of the season that arrive from all corners of the Dordogne. If you are lucky, it might be the season of strawberries, of which the Dordogne is famous for, and your guide will make sure that you have the opportunity to sample some.
Another very popular stop is at a local walnut cake producers stall. Walnut Cake is a true specialty of the Dordogne. It is said that there are as many recipes as there are ducks and geese in the Dordogne, and that's a lot! Let your guide take you to his / her preferred producer.
Your next stop will be a visit of a Church that has become a Market. Even though this market is accessible on the other days as well, we stop here as there is a great opportunity to taste very different specialties. As a starter you will get to taste half-cooked Foie Gras accompanied by a glass of Bergerac white wine. This will be followed by dried magret (duck breast) with pepper.
Finally, listen to your guide as you are introduced to the the king of mushrooms, the black truffle. If you would like to buy some, then this is the place. You can also purchase black truffle oil that makes for a great seasoning. End with a total walnut experience.Taste the local walnut oil, the croquants - a dry and crunchy caramelised sugar biscuit like treat. End the tasting with a shot of walnut liquor to rinse all these delicious treats right down.
Enjoy some free time for personal discovery and lunch (at own expense)
In the afternoon, visit the Villages of the Dordogne Valley.
Drive to the beautiful village of Domme. With its trapezoid city plan, Domme is a bastide, or a fortified medieval town, adapted to the surrounding terrain, and thus falling short of the rectangular city plan characteristic to bastides. The village is classified as one of the "Plus Beaux Villages de France" ("The Most Beautiful Villages of France").
In 1307, Knight Templars were imprisoned in Domme while during the Hundred Years' War, the bastide was coveted by the English who first took the town in 1347 and repeatedly changed rulers throughout the war until 1437 when it finally fell under French rule again.
Then drive to La Roque Gageac and enjoy a peaceful cruise on the the Dordogne River on board an authentic Gabarre to admire mighty castles that loom over the riverside. The Gabarres are traditional flat-bottomed boats that have been used for transporting goods along the Dordogne since the Middle Ages.
A trip on one of the Gabarres offers a relaxing way to enjoy the sight of some of the many Dordogne chateaux and villages from the perspective of the river. Various sights and wildlife are pointed out to you as you meander slowly down the river as well as the history of the Gabarres.
Finally, reach Beynac to admire the village and the Castle. This Middle Ages construction, with its austere appearance, is perched on top of a limestone cliff, dominating the town and the north bank of the Dordogne River. The castle was built in the 12th century by the barons of Beynac (one of the four baronies of Périgord) to close the valley.
The sheer cliff face being sufficient to discourage any assault from that side, the defenses were built up on the plateau: double crenelated walls, double moats, one of which was a deepened natural ravine, double barbican. See architectural phenomenon, aided by nature, and discover more about the history of this unusual city on this half-day tour!
6.00pm drop off in Sarlat and night at your hotel.
Overnight stay in Sarlat at Hotel Plaza Madeleine.
Chateau de Beynac