Les Cottages en Périgord

If you’ve a taste for a tipple or two, you’ll no doubt want to plan to visit a few of the local vineyards for tours and tastings – it’ll take you half an hour or so to drive to the hubs of Saint-Émilion and Bergerac, or around 40 minutes to get to Monbazillac to sample the dessert wines. If you’d rather leave the car behind, hire bikes on site to pedal off to more local châteaux and wineries within half an hour. There’s more to both major towns than just drinks though – Saint-Émilion’s well-preserved medieval centre has led to it being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and there are some interesting underground tours to show you what lurks beneath the streets. Meanwhile, Bergerac’s a great place to board a river trip on a traditional gabarre boat. Need to work up an appetite for the famed Périgord cuisine? The Dordogne river is 20 minutes away by car, and a fine place for a canoe paddle en famille. There are also walking and bike routes through the surrounds from the village of Saint-Rémy if you’d prefer to stick to dry land.