A Week on the Dordogne, One Inn at a Time

There’s a certain satisfaction in arriving at a French country inn after a day spent outdoors, knowing that someone else has already taken care of the luggage and that dinner is going to be worth looking forward to.

Perhaps there’s time for a drink before dinner, or a stroll through the village. Maybe a little exploration of the local shops, particularly if there’s a bakery nearby. Tomorrow, we’ll continue our journey through the countryside, eventually arriving at another village and another welcoming inn.

It’s a familiar pattern to anyone who enjoys inn-to-inn walking or cycling holidays.

On our Dordogne journey, though, we travel by canoe.

And it turns out that a river makes a rather wonderful route through the French countryside.

The View From the Water

The Dordogne has been shaping the landscape of southwest France for a very long time. Limestone cliffs rise above its banks, wooded hills overlook the valley, and villages have grown up along the river wherever the geography offered a suitable place to settle.

From a canoe, you’re close to the water, looking up at the cliffs and villages that rise above the banks. The river carries you around each bend, revealing a little more of the countryside as you go.

Sometimes the river passes through quiet stretches of woodland, with little more than birdsong and the gentle movement of water. Elsewhere, a village appears beside the bank, its stone houses gathered around a church or small square. And occasionally, there’s a castle looking down from a cliff.

Quite a few castles, actually.

The Dordogne was once a contested frontier during the long conflicts between England and France. Fortified towns and imposing châteaux occupied strategic positions above the river, controlling crossings and watching over the valley. Today, those same buildings provide some spectacular scenery.

Approaching La Roque-Gageac by canoe is particularly memorable. The village sits beneath an enormous limestone cliff, its stone houses crowded between the rock face and the river. From the water, the entire settlement comes gradually into view, looking almost as though it has been carved into the hillside. It’s difficult to imagine a better way to arrive.

A River That Encourages Detours

One of the appealing things about canoeing the Dordogne is that the river does much of the route planning for us.

We paddle downstream, following the gentle current through a landscape that changes gradually as the kilometers pass. There’s time to stop, explore a village or simply enjoy a quiet stretch of river. The paddling is active without needing to become an athletic contest. We cover a satisfying distance during the day, but there’s little reason to hurry.

And there are plenty of reasons to stop.

Carennac, with its historic stone buildings and narrow streets, is the sort of village that rewards wandering. Domme occupies a dramatic hilltop position above the valley, while the châteaux around Beynac and Castelnaud provide a vivid introduction to the region’s medieval history.

Not every stop needs a famous monument, though. Sometimes a riverside café, a village square or a bakery is quite enough. After all, we’re in France.

The Important Business of Eating

The Dordogne flows through a region where food is taken seriously, and it would be a considerable oversight to spend a week here without giving the local cuisine proper attention.

The Périgord is known for its duck and goose dishes, walnuts, mushrooms, cheeses and a wealth of other regional specialties. Local markets reflect the agricultural traditions of the surrounding countryside, while restaurants range from simple village establishments to places with long and distinguished culinary histories.

On one of our paddling days, we stop for lunch at a small café in Lacave. It’s a chance to put the paddles down, enjoy something good to eat and take a break before continuing along the river.

But the food isn’t confined to one special lunch. It’s part of the journey, from casual midday stops to leisurely dinners after we’ve put the paddles away.

There is something particularly enjoyable about sitting down to a good meal after a day spent on the river. Perhaps it’s the exercise. Perhaps it’s the fresh air. Or perhaps French country cooking doesn’t need much assistance.

The Pleasure of Moving On

The inn-to-inn nature of the journey adds another dimension. We aren’t returning to the same base each evening. Every day carries us farther along the river, through a changing landscape and toward another place to explore.

In the morning, we collect our paddles, settle into the canoes and set off downstream. During the day, the river provides the scenery, the villages offer opportunities to explore, and there’s usually something interesting waiting around the next bend. By evening, we’ve arrived somewhere new.

The luggage is waiting, the day’s paddling is finished, and we have time to enjoy the place where we’re staying.

You don’t have to think of yourself as a canoeist to enjoy this journey. If the idea of exploring the French countryside under your own power appeals to you, the Dordogne offers a particularly pleasant way to do it.

With the added advantage that the river is always heading in the right direction.