shopping
The local village Grand Brassac is
3km and has a wonderful Cafe Asso for bread, lunch and apertifs. The larger village of Tocane St Apre with its general store, chemist,
boulangerie and post office is 7km and
has a supermarket and many more shops. For hypermarkets, sports shops,
gifts, and clothes shopping, Perigueux (the cultural, and gastronomic
capital of the Dordogne) is easily accessible - about 20 minutes to
the hypermarkets, 10 minutes more into the town centre.
The nearby town of Brantome, known as the Venice
of the Dordogne, is truly delightful. An early evening visit is
recommended - dine at Moulin des Abbayes. The local village and chateau
of Bourdeilles is also worth a trip.
market days
Monday morning - Tocane St Apre
Saturday morning - Perigueux
Friday morning - Brantome, and Riberac
Saturday and Wednesday morning - Perigueux - plus a small fresh produce market held every morning.
local produce and wine
The Dordogne is one of the gastronomic centres of the world, famous
for its foie gras, duck, truffles and mushrooms. There are many
excellent, inexpensive restaurants in the area that use traditional
cooking recipes. The famous vineyards of Medoc and St Emilion are close
by and the local wines of Bergerac, Yquem, Monpazier and Cahors are also
excellent. See www.bordeaux.com for details of the vineyards around Bordeaux.
The vineyards of Bergerac - via
Bergerac to Montbazillac (see the chateau) and then to Pomport to a wine
tasting at Chateau Belingard, Sigoules, Saussignac, Duras and then back
via Eymet (eat at Restaurant des Italians).
The vineyards of St Emilion -
via Bergerac and Saint Foy Ia Grande to St Emilion, stopping on the way
at Velines LFB to buy Limoges porcelain at excellent prices. Lunch at
L'Hostellerie de Plaisance in St Emilion or if not on the way back at
Port Sainte Foy.
the Dordogne region
The Dordogne is rich in pageantry. The English ruled Aquitaine for 300
years in the Middle Ages under the Plantagenets and there are many
castles, bastide towns and fortified churches to visit. See the old town
of Bergerac and take a small trip on the Dordogne by
boat. Antique market the first Sunday of the month until 12 noon. Or
visit the cathedral town of Perigueux with a Roman theatre.
prehistoric cave art
The Dordogne and Vezere valleys are world famous for the art of
prehistoric man and are known as the 'birthplace of art'. The region has
over a hundred prehistoric painted caves up to 22,000 years old, the
most accessible including Lascaux II, Fonte-de-Gaume, Rouffignac,
Cougnac and Peche Merle in the Lot.
golf & sports
The area has an excellent choice of courses including Chateau des Vigiers
at Saussignac (27 holes). Marsac at Perigueux. There are a variety of other activities to
choose from including horse riding, canoeing, bicycling and fishing and, of course, walking.
Kayaking
Wonderful kayaking through Brantome, Bourdeilles from our local river venue at Renamon in Grand Brassac
Cap du Ferret
This is the largely undiscovered (except by the French) sandy, pine ridged peninsula jutting south of Bordeaux. Wonderful waves for surfing to the west and gorgeous, estuary/mucking about on boats beach life to the east among the oyster beds. All contained in an area 30km by 8km. Two hours from Grand Brassac to its sandy tip with views across Le Bassin du Archachon towards Pyla, Europe's largest and mountainous sand dune stretching 2kms along the coast.