From the town’s three gateways, Monpazier’s flat, grid-straight streets lead to the arcaded market square (also known as place Centrale), surrounded by an ochre-hued collection of stone houses that reflect centuries of building and rebuilding. In one corner is an old lavoir once used for washing clothes. Thursday is market day, as it has been since the Middle Ages.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
29.4 MILES
France’s most famous prehistoric cave paintings are at the Grotte de Lascaux, 2km southeast of Montignac. Naturally sealed and protected for millennia, it…
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18.87 MILES
This extraordinary cave contains the only original polychrome (as opposed to single-colour) paintings still open to the public. About 14,000 years ago,…
15.62 MILES
The massive ramparts and metre-thick crenellated walls of this quintessential medieval fortress (occupied by the English during the Hundred Years War)…
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23.07 MILES
Hidden in woodland 18km north of Les Eyzies, this tri-level cave is one of the most complex and rewarding to see in the Dordogne. Board an electric train…
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16.52 MILES
Horticulture fans won’t want to miss these famous manicured gardens, stretching along a rocky bluff overlooking the Dordogne Valley. Signposted paths lead…
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21.46 MILES
For an introductory French market experience, visit Sarlat’s heavily touristed Saturday market, which takes over the streets around Cathédrale St-Sacerdos…
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19.59 MILES
This narrow, very long cave 1.5km east of Font de Gaume was the first rediscovered in the valley, in 1901, and is renowned for its animal engravings. Look…
16.58 MILES
Towering gloriously atop a limestone bluff, this 12th-century fortress’ panoramic position above the Dordogne made it a key defensive position during the…
Nearby The Dordogne attractions
0.05 MILES
This small interpretative centre is a good stop for history buffs interested in reading up on bastides, or, for a bit more family fun, playing one of the…
3.49 MILES
Eight kilometres south of Monpazier, this much-filmed château is a glorious mishmash of styles, having been fiddled with by eight centuries of successive…
9.12 MILES
This Unesco-listed 12th-century Cistercian abbey and its Gothic cloister hide in the forest just south of the Dordogne, along the River Bélingou.
10.81 MILES
Discovered in 2000 in a stone quarry, this cave system is packed with stalagtites and mineral deposits.
11.45 MILES
About 15km west of Puy l’Évêque, near St-Martin-Le-Redon, the imposing feudal Château de Bonaguil is a fine example of late-15th-century military…
14.47 MILES
This château, with portions dating from as early as the 12th century, though much of it is in the later Italian Renaissance style, is fully kitted out…
14.6 MILES
This 15th-century château, 3km southwest of Beynac, is famous for its fabulous former owner: glamorous dancer, singer and music-hall star Josephine Baker …
15.18 MILES
In high season, reserve ahead for a guided tour of this vast cave with sparkling stalactites. It has an aerial basket for viewing the cavern.