Information about the Dordogne and the Périgord Noir in Aquitaine
Cadouin, the village where our bed & breakfst is situated, lies in the Dordogne department, also known as Le Périgord, of which Perigueux is the capital. The department has been divided in four areas, namely Périgord Vert (capital Nontron), Périgord Blanc (capital Perigueux), Périgord Pourpre (capital Bergerac) and Périgord Noir (capital Sarlat). In this last area, in the south east, you will find Cadouin, near (appr. 40 km) Bergerac, Perigueux and Sarlat. The Périgord Noir is characterised by many castles, medieval villages, caves with frescoes, engravings, monoliths, stalagmites and vestiges of the way of life of people from prehistoric times, the river the Dordogne, the medieval villages, the picturesque boroughs, several markets (each day in a different village), many restaurants and the local gastronomically phenomena, the foie gras, cêpes (a variety of mushrooms) and its rare truffles (also known as the black diamonds).
The most well-known places in Le Périgord Noir are Sarlat (with its medieval town centre), Les Eyzies (which houses the National
Museum of Prehistory), Cadouin (with its abbey), Montignac (with its exact replica of prehistoric
caves in Lascaux II), Belvès (honeycombed with subterranean caves and ), Domme (with its stupefying and overwhelming view on the Dordogne and panorama on Roque Gageac), Beynac (where
you can find a splendid castle – where parts of the film “Jeanne d Arc” were filmed), Saint Cyprien (with its abbey of the Augustins). The logo of Le Périgord Noir is an aurochs, which is taken
from a mural painting in the caves of Lascaux. Since 1989, Lascaux II (the facsimile of Lascaux) has been nationally recognised as the most visited place, in the field of archaeological
attractions and museums.
