Just a little of what we love about the South of France

Okay before I start talking about the South of France, Full Disclosure here. We have been to the South of France three times now, we love it, and you could say we are biased. I would say that there would have to be a reason for us to keep going back, so believe me when I say it's because, it’s that good!

There is so much to see in the places I will mention but I’m not going to tell you everything, even if I could. This is meant to be a little temptation to give you a reason to consider a visit to the South of France. The joy of travelling is not knowing everything you are going to see, but having the surprise of what you weren’t expecting to see.

And no kickbacks for what I am writing. Just my love for this beautiful part of the world.

This is not about the French Riviera or even Provence. I’m talking about the band that starts from Bordeaux and heads in a semi straight line heading slightly north towards Lyon and a little North and South of that line.

When is the best time to go to the South of France? This really is a personal choice. I don’t like big crowds, or hot days that leave you exhausted and too tired to do anything. Some people thrive in that type of environment. I like a sunny day where I’m not perspiring and I don’t feel the need for a swim. I like to sleep comfortably with a light blanket. If you are like me then you would be looking to travel to the South of France from early September to early November.

If you like hot days and you don’t mind crowds then you are looking for the peak season from June to August.

I haven’t travelled to the South of France in the spring or winter months but I would expect Spring to be similar to my favourite time in Autumn.

I like to stay in Airbnb or Gites so I can cook at home or eat out as I please. When looking for accomodation make sure you add your needs in the filters. Most homes are old and many don’t have air conditioning, but if they are stone built they will be surprisingly cool.

Depending on how long I am staying and the time of year I always add filters which include, free car parking, washing machine, dryer, wifi, kitchen and oven. I read the reviews and I’m looking to hear people say that the place was clean, has a comfortable bed, is in a great position and that the host was easy to communicate with.

When you are on holiday if what you are looking for is, great red wine (just saying, I don’t touch the white stuff, except for the occasional champagne), a little or a lot of Cognac, great fresh food markets, great food in general, the best bread you will ever eat in your life, lots of cheese and beautiful sunny days, keep reading.

Maybe you want to admire the beautiful honeycomb houses built into rock faces, or is it the hilltop villages with cobbled streets, steeped in hundreds of years of history that you have come to see, scenic bike rides through the country or you just want to visit chateau after chateau.

This is just a taste of what the South of France has to offer.

Whatever it is you are looking for in the South of France, you won’t be disappointed if you love food, beautiful scenery, lots of history and all things old.

If you just want to see the beautiful picturesque villages you can use the Beau Villages website to plan your holiday https://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/fr/.

This website will show you all of the officially listed Beau Villages in France, and they have a map so you can look for villages in the area you are visiting.

Even if what you crave is only the smaller beau villages keep your mind open, there are other places to see that are too big to fall into the category of a beau village, but these places can be just as beautiful, albeit different to a beau village and they really do deserve a good look. For the larger towns some of my favourites are Perigieux, Sarlat-al-Canada and of course Saint Emillion.

While travelling in the South of France one of my favourite things to do is to glide down the Dordogne river in canoe and take in the beauty of the area, and I think to myself, could life be better than this? The answer is always no!

My favourite canoe ride is from the town of Le Roque Gagaec. For my favourite canoe ride we used these guys and we did route 1 https://www.canoesdordogne.fr/

The current of the river will take you down stream so you don’t have to work hard, or you can paddle to get there faster if you want a bit of exercise. You can stop along the way for some lunch and maybe, just maybe, you will have the energy to walk up the hill to Beynac castle. It’s a bit of challenge, but when you make it up to the top you can reward yourself with an ice cream before entering the castle and admiring the view, which, well what can I say, is nothing short of spectacular.

When you finish at the castle its an easy walk down hill where you can jump back into your canoe and cruise to the end. When you finish the canoe ride, there will be a van that is waiting for you and any others who have sailed down the Dordogne like you, and they will take you back to where you started.

If you go to the South of France, just trust me, and keep a day aside for the canoe ride (you will need the day for this), you won’t be disappointed.

There are so many places to visit in this region. It’s not possible to mention them all, and I haven’t seen everything. It’s not possible to see everything in only three visits. So I will just have to keep going back. So let me just tell you a little about some of what my highlights of the South of France are.

Bordeaux

Let me start with Bordeaux, I have been twice and each time for less than a day. I need more time in this city. Rue Sainte Catherine is the longest pedestrian street in Europe and it is filled with shops that has something for everyone if shopping is your thing, but make sure you dart off to the side streets for a bite to eat or for some more shopping, if you haven’t had enough.

You are in Bordeaux so wine is in abundance, sample the wine or just have a glass in a cafe.

You can do walking tours, bike tours or a Segway tour. We did a Segway tour last time we were there and we all had the best time. The tour will take you a bit out of the centre so you get a feel for the town outside of the shopping precinct. Make sure you have a canele when you are in Bordeaux, you can get them everywhere in France but Bordeaux make the best canele’s. I warn you, they don’t look that great, but boy oh boy, they are delicious, and super cheap. Which can be a problem, because if your greedy like me, you will buy more than you should.

Saint Emilion

Follow the Dordogne from Bordeaux to Saint Emilion for more red wine.

This year we went in the motorhome and we stayed overnight in a small vineyard. It was magic! We got to watch the sunset over the vines and then we had a tasting at around 7pm, and of course we bought a bottle of wine to enjoy for that night.

In 2023 we did an e-bike vineyard tour which included lunch. It was expensive but worth every cent. We were a group of four and we had a great time. We met fellow travellers, had a good feed, some great wine and lots of fun.

https://rusticvinestours.com/tour/full-day-electric-bike-tour-saint-emilion/

They have options to take you from Bordeaux or you can meet them in Saint Emilion, which is what we did because we were staying in a little place near Beynac.

While you are in Saint Emilion you have to try a macron from Nadia Fermigier

https://macarons-saint-emilion.net/boutique-2/

The macron is said to have first started in Saint Emilion and Nadia is the only person who the original recipe has been passed down to. The original macron is nothing like the macrons you see at home and all over France. While you are there, even though I said that Bordeaux has the best canele, Nadia’s are second best, so you may need to try these too.

Saint Emilion is a medieval city. Don’t miss the view at the top of the town and then you can walk down to the bottom, have a wander around the town, and enjoy a nice glass of red wine before making your way back up. It’s all about the red, right? A word of warning, don't drink to much, the way back up is steep.

Now I’m not an expert on wine but you can spend a lot of money on wine over here or you can go to a supermarket and buy a really good bottle of red for around 5 euro or even less. It is pot luck. I don’t want to brag, but I will, beause I have a knack for almost always picking a good bottle of wine. I’m drawn to the label. If it doesn’t call out to me to buy it, I don’t. I can’t tell you what that call out is though. It just happens. Sometimes I even pay 7 or 8 euro a bottle. Shock - Horror! The wine that you buy for 5 euros will almost always taste better than the glass of wine you buy when you go to a bar, unless of course you are buying the good stuff.

I may sound cheap (and many would say that I am) but my second favourite drink in France is a Cognac (a bit classy I know), which is cheap over here compared to Australian prices but not so, compared to other spirits here. So I do sometimes enjoy a reasonable pricey drop when I have a drink, so you could say I'm not as cheap as I sound.

Sarlat

Sarlat is a beautiful Medieval town. Too large to fully enjoy in a day, and not big enough to spend a week. However, it is a great place to base yourself, and there is a lot to see within an hour of the town. If you like to eat out, there are restaurants in abundance to suit all pockets. It tends to be a favourite with most who travel to this area.

The market in Sarlat on Saturday morning, is a must go to, but be warned you will loose your Saturday morning strolling around and spending all of your money on great food, soaps and if you are like me, hats, and anything else that takes your fancy.

We prefer to stay in self-catering accomodation, so we can buy fresh produce and then cook at home. It is one of the highlights of our travels and Sarlat more than full-fills our needs. We just love doing this. I generally do my homework before going on holiday and I will try and eat out for one night in each place that we stay and the other nights I like to cook. I will have recipes already picked out and as much as possible I will have chosen meals from the region I am staying in, this way I find it easy to get the ingredients I need and I feel a little like I am immersing myself in the regional food culture.

From Sarlat you are within an hour of many places to visit. Honestly, too many to mention. Some of our favourite visits are Domme, La Roque Gageac, Beynac, Rocamadour, Montpazier, Martel and Carennac. There are so many more places, I couldn’t list them all if I tried.

Every one of these places will leave you wondering why you aren’t living in the South of France, and you will probably waste time trying to find a way of packing up everything you own and convincing your family that they should all come to the South of France and start a new life with you. I’ve tried, your wasting your time, they won’t come. If they haven’t been there themselves, they just don’t get it.

Martel

If you go to Martel make sure you visit the Saint Maur Church. You can’t miss it. It was built between the 14th and 16th centuries. I have seen many churches throughout Europe and the UK. Even more so than St Peters Basilica in Rome or 900 year old Saint Bartholomew the Great (hidden away in London and previously my favourite), Saint Maur would have to be the most beautiful church I have ever seen. Confession (excuse the pun), I prefer the smaller more intimate churches to the big gold and marble ones.

So obviously if it's my favourite church, it doesn’t have the grandeur of St Peters or the distinct feeling that you are in another time as you walk through the dark and often empty church of Saint Bartholomew the Great, but everything about this church speaks of the beauty of France.

There is a reason why all things beautiful come from France. The French do everything beautiful, from the language, to the fashion, the perfume, the wine, the food, 174 Beau villages and lets not forget Paris. This church typifies all things beautiful that is the very essence of France.

I haven’t seen every church in Europe or even in France, and frankly I think I would be bored if I did. But this church is something so special, and if you only see one church, for me, this is the one I would choose. No pictures and if you look them up, well that's just cheating, and I promise the camera just can't capture the image. You have to see it yourself.

When we walked inside this church it literally took my breath away, I had no expectations and we almost walked straight past the church without going in.

These are some of the moments that always draw me to my love of travel.

So what are you waiting for. Start doing your own homework and book that holiday to the South of France!