France 2025 - Dordogne & Provence
Immersing ourselves in the Dordogne, our second visit in the past year, and our first to Provence, both are stunning in their own way but completely different, we created memories that will last a lifetime in a land of timeless beauty.
Built on rocky outcrop in the heart of the Dordogne, Castelnaud-la-Chapelle is the location of two incredibly well preserved castles, the feudal castle and the Renaissance castle, once home to the great Josephine Baker and our home for the next three weeks; being situated in the heart of the Dordogne allowed for easy drives to a number of beautiful locations. Sarlat-la-Caneda is a paradise for food lovers, a thrill for history buffs and a godsend for lazy travellers who want it all in one place… Our personal favourite was the Wednesday food market get there early, it gets busy; with an abundance of local producers showcasing their in-season wonders and some of the finest charcuterie I have ever tasted. Keeping a keen eye on the weather, we wanted to visit Saint-Émilion on a sunny day (our visit was early April so rain was never far away), with the weather in our favour we set off for a fantastic day. Saint-Émilion is a charming medieval village located in the centre of the world famous Bordeaux wine area, granted UNESCO world heritage status it is a very unique site delivering beautiful architecture, stunning restaurants and of course, incredible wine. Another stunning and one of France’s most beautiful villages, La Roque-Gageac would make the perfect content for a pop-up book. Situated at the foot of a towering limestone cliff, La Roque-Gageac offers visitors a labyrinth of cobbled streets, a troglodyte fort, and magnificent views from one of the river tours. With our time in the Dordogne coming to an end, it was with excitement and sadness that we packed the car and prepared to head to our next location, Avignon.
The drive from Castelnaud to Avignon was relatively simple, however, the closer we got to the Mediterranean the busier the roads become. Arriving at Maison Orsini our host Folco gave us a lovely warm welcome, helping us with our bags and filling a glass for us to start our evening of relaxation. Something I was completely unaware of was for 70-odd years of the early 1300s, the Provençal town of Avignon was the centre of the Roman Catholic world, and though its stint as the seat of papal power only lasted a few decades, it's been left with an impressive legacy of ecclesiastical architecture, most notably the soaring, World Heritage–listed fortress-cum-palace known as the Palais des Papes. As a guy who likes the odd glass of wine there is a link to the previous on every bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape (the famous red wine from the Rhone valley), the cross-keys emblem on the bottle are papal coat of arms of Avignon. Each day in Provence was filled with different activities, from walking the summit of Mount Ventoux, scrambling the coast-line of Parc national des Calanques, enjoying lazy lunches in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, however our favourite has to be Fontaine-de-Vaucluse of which we visited a further two times. A place where we spent walking the canal paths, mountain ridges and through tranquil villages, our efforts rewarded with an incredible pizza served from a man-in-a-van along with some of the most delicious ice cream we have ever had.
We hope you enjoy viewing the images below as much as we had capturing them. Its now time to plan our next trip, Christmas in Salzburg and the Alsace.
