Camping at Le Paradis and The Dordogne
After the Ile de Re, our next stop on our French roadtrip this summer was the Dordogne! I actually didn’t know anything about this region, we booked it solely for @leparadisdordogne campsite which had been recommended as a special spot and it broke up our journey to Annecy. It ended up being better than we ever could have hoped for! This region is stunning, I’d say it feels like the Cotswolds of France in the countryside with sweet stone villages, the river to kayak on and lots of chateaus. Here’s a mini guide;
- stay : Le Paradis Dordogne, the most beautiful campsite we’ve ever stayed at. Leafy, a resort kind of feel with excellent pools, a splash park, impressive Kew Gardens esque playground, river access, a shop with fresh bread/pastries, activities, pedal go karts, a newly renovated posh - for camping! - shower & toilet block. People come back year after year here and I can see why. They have safari style tents & cabins with private gardens too if you don’t have a tent/van. Book in advance if you want to visit in the summer holidays! We overheard a few families rebooking for next year whilst they were still there!
- Do: it’s was so hot, almost 40c and the campsite had been so fab that we spent a lot of time here by the pools and the kids had made such lovely friends. But in the local area we enjoyed;
- kayaking on the river, a minibus takes you upstream then you kayak down passing chateaus on the way. We booked through the campsite but there are companies everywhere.
- Being in the countryside, sunflower fields & hay bales aplenty
- Visiting Chateau de Losse for an epic treasure hunt we all enjoyed {and the kids loved the gold coin treasure prize at the end} & a beyond beautiful fairytale kind of setting
- Eating crepes by the river, seeing an outdoor magic show and the Thursday evening market where everyone eats on huge tables in the village square in Saint Leon
If we’d have had more time we would have:
- driven to Sarlat for the famous Saturday market {but I heard it gets busy!}
- Seen the famous cave paintings @lascaux and prehistoric Troglodytic @la_roque_saint_christophe
- Cycled the Green route
- Gone to Montignac- Lascaux {we stopped very briefly for pastries early on our way to Annecy the next stop but it looked beautiful!}
- Seen the romantic gardens at Marqueyssac
- Ziplined on a treetop adventure at Conquil St Leon.
- The Perigord area is really famous for it’s food, walnuts, truffles, sausages, foie gras {not for me personally!} and duck. And I’d read about a walnut farm which sounded nice to visit.
Have you been? Where would you add?
You can find more of our French adventures here. Back next with Lake Annecy!
