On Friday, after two nights at Montignac we drove further south east, finally crossing the Dordogne river but continuing on to the very popular location of Rocamadour. The town has a spectacular but quite bizarre setting – set into the northern cliff face over the river Alzou are three distinct levels. At the bottom is a medieval town; set in the cliffs above is the the Cité Religieuse, a collection of seven chapels which was once a very busy pilgrimage destination. These two part are connected by a huge stone staircase known as the Grand Escalier, for the non-pilgrim tourists a lift has also been installed! On the cliff top is a large château now connected to the Cité Religieuse by a funicular railway. There was free overnight parking for the van in the car park behind the van so we took the easy funicular/lift route to visit the chapels and town. Although the setting was very impressive we thought the Main Street of the town was a little too crowded with souvenir shops.
On Saturday we drove west to a village on the banks of Dordogne river called Limeuil and booked into a campsite on the opposite side of the river for two nights rest. The location is one of France’s designated ‘most beautiful villages’. It is built on steep hill overlooking where the La Vézère river meets the Dordogne. We climbed to the top of the village to find a recommended restaurant (Garden-Party) and were not disappointed with the delightful meal. On the walk back we passed the Village Fete in full swing on the riverside with the band playing past midnight.
This is the view from the campsite across to Limeuil with some bloke floating past spoiling the picture!
