Fly from Nice to Brive

And so your journey to the Perigord begins with… a city! On horseback between the Perigord and Limousin, Brive-la-Gaillarde, both charming and welcoming, is a good first step for those who come to this part of the Southwest. And it’s ideally located at the crossroads of many paths. Limoges, the capital of porcelain, is only an hour away. Sarlat, the pearl of the Black Perigord, is even closer. And these are just two remarkable sites among many others. This land of culture leads its guests on an exceptional journey through time. You can discover cavemen and knights, and suddenly history is celebrated. This can be experienced as a family, concluding this walk through time with a few more fun activities. Or it can be experienced as a couple, enriching it with the spectacle of nature and the flavours of an irresistible land.

• Mingle with the people of Brive during the market, beneath Brassens Hall. This building is named in honour of the man that created Hecatombe, a song that pays tribute to the cheerfulness of the local housekeepers. And feast your eyes, if not even more so, on fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, truffles, salted products and other types of foie gras.
• Discover Sarlat-la-Canédat, one of the best-preserved medieval cities in the country, known for housing the highest concentration of historical monuments. It is beautiful and is also very cheerful thanks to the Festival and Games Theatre, which, for a significant part of the summer, hosts outdoor shows.
• Creep through the world's most famous prehistoric cave, Lascaux Cave. Or at least a replica. The Montignac-Lascaux International Centre of Parietal Art has reproduced the famous cave and paintings that the Cro-Magnon men left behind, in its entirety and right down to the smallest detail
• Climb to the top of Rocamadour, a fabulous village that has hung on to the Alzou canyon for centuries, to find the Black Virgin, the subject of one of the oldest pilgrimages in France. You’ll also find Durandal Sword which Roland de Roncevaux never managed to break.
• In Rocamadour again, enjoy an incredible experience in contact with wildlife at Monkey Forest, with its 150 free roaming macaques, and the Rock of the Eagles, where birds of prey from all over the world, including a majestic condor, soar freely just a few metres above your head.
• Descend into the bowels of the earth, more than a hundred metres deep, to explore the Padirac Sinkhole. This is an outing to an underground river with a stalactite that is 60 metres high and rocks with spectacular topography. This is a hole to be remembered.
• Take on the Castle of Castelnaud, a beautifully preserved medieval fortress. It houses a large collection of Middle Age weapons and shows you how to use a trebuchet, which is closely related to the catapult.
• Visit the most beautiful villages in France. All around Brive and in the Perigord region, you’ll discover picturesque streets and the century-old façades of Donzenac, Collonges-la-Rouge, Curemonte, Roque-Gageac, Beynac-et-Cazenac and many other charming cities.
• Row on one of the most beautiful rivers in France, the Dordogne. Many professionals organise beautiful canoeing trips down the rivers. Or take to the skies in a hot air balloon to fly over the Dordogne Valley, its castles and villages.
• Enjoy local cuisine without moderation. There’ll be plenty of time for a diet after you get back from your holiday. In the meantime, try out fillets, foie gras, truffles, mushrooms and strawberries, accompanied by a Montbazillac or a walnut wine.