Bordeaux Attractions

You can see the Lot

Advantages: Off the beaten track
Disadvantages: None

** The initial idea ** Several years ago, my sister moved to the south western corner of France, to escape the rat race of life in the south western corner of London. She was nearing retirement, and her husband had had a major health scare, so the time was ripe for this move. I had only visited her once in France, and so it was time for me to travel down there to spend some time with her in her new life. The area is in the Midi Pyrenees, historically ...
...but is now called Lot. It is an unspoilt area, with mountains and rivers, most notably The Dordoyne. Having said that, though, it has a huge history, including the Hundred Years War, plus various religious wars, which have left their mark on the area. If you like castles, then this is the place to go! ** Preparing for the journey ** Having decided to go there, there is the small fact that I have little experience of driving in France, as I have ...

orlando 03.11.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Southwestern France

Village Life

Advantages: Great family day out
Disadvantages: None

...a bun food whilst at Le Village Du Bournat you could for the same price be tucking in to a duck and foie gras baguette with a raspberry preserve surrounded by the aroma of the bread being baked on site in an replica of a centaury old oven. Alternatively you can sit down in a waiter serviced restaurant to sample some local cuisine and enjoy a glass of red; at Alton Towers they have Ye Olde Fish and Chip Shop with plastic forks. Le Bournat is a village ...
...to visit. Located in Le Bugue-sur-Vezere it was a thirty minute drive from our base in Sarlat and was well sign posted as you enter the town. There was plentiful parking however there is an Aquarium and other attractions next to it and this meant that by the time we left in mid afternoon the car park was full with cars waiting for spaces to appear so it is worth getting their early. The village is open from mid February until the middle of November ...

atticusuk 20.11.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Le Bournat, Dordogne, France

The French bitch slap Warwick Castle

Advantages: Great value for money
Disadvantages: None really

The Chateau de Castelnaud is located in the small town of Castelnaud and rises up above the tight cobbled streets to look over the slowly meandering River Dordogne and a beautiful lush green landscape stretching as far as the eye can see off to the distant hills of the Dordogne region of France. Earlier in the week we had viewed it while canoeing down the Dordogne and decided that it was definitely worth a visit. We were based in Sarlat and so it ...
...get there although the last couple of kilometres certainly make you glad of power steering as you negotiate the steep and twisting roads leading to the chateau entrance, much kudos to those hardy souls who were either cycling or walking to it, I would not have wanted to swap places with them. The chateau (we would call it a castle) is open all year round although the opening times do vary dependant upon the time of year, during the peak summer months ...

atticusuk 15.10.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Castelnaud Castle, Dordogne

One Big Hole

Advantages: Excellent rock formations
Disadvantages: Queues.

The prospect of visiting the underground cave system the Gouffre De Padirac meant that I could spend the evening before telling the kids' stories about underground trolls and demons who for years abducted people from the Dordogne region whilst they slept and whilst underground you can still hear the cries of their trapped souls. Anyway after a sleepless night dreaming of being abducted from our tent I awoke rather heavy headed (the kids slept soundly) ...
...the forty minute drive from Sarlat towards Padirac. We arrived at about 9.15 a full forty five minutes after the opening time however the place was already teeming with visitors and we were almost put off by the long snaking queue that was in front of us and there was a constant stream of new arrivals. Admittedly we were visiting at the height of the summer holidays and at least half of those visiting seemed to be French visitors, if we had waited ...

atticusuk 10.10.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Gouffre du Padirac, Dordogne