Eat, drink, shop, explore, visit, tour, cycle, ride, swim, walk, saunter, sightsee?

Click on the image to scroll through 18 different pictures.

What would you like to do? You’ll be spoiled for choice so will need to make some difficult decisions. Here are some suggestions though to get you started.

First there are the festivals.

• Gramat Country Festival
• Rocamadour Cheese Festival
• Jazz Festival at Souillac
• Walnut festival at Thégra
• Air balloon festival at Rocamadour
• Festival at St Céré (3 weeks of music, opera, chant)
• Strawberry Festival at Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne
• Country rock festival at Gramat

For up-to-date listing of all events and dates, this is a good site . The calendar is useful too.

Pretty towns and villages are everywhere but some of our favourites are:

• Figeac  – great market on Saturday mornings, pretty buildings and home of a contemporary Rosetta Stone
• Rocamadour – “houses above the river, churches above the houses, rocks above the churches and the castle on the rocks”
• 6 of the “most beautiful villages in France” – Autoire, Cerennac, Loubressac, Cardaillac, Capdenac Le Haut and St Cirq-Lapopie to explore at your leisure
• We would add Martel (a small medieval town) and Collognes-la-Rouge (the town really is made of very red sandstone)

This site may be helpful if you want to explore from the comfort of your own home first.

Then there are the brocantes and boot fairs. Churches and castles. Scenery and shops. Lakes and landscapes. Rivers and ravines. Sunsets and sundowners. Enjoy!