The Dordogne Collection · JBHBV
The Dordogne Collection · JBHBV
The Cradle of French Heritage
The Dordogne is a landscape of rolling hills, ancient forests, and the golden stone of a thousand castles. It is a region of quiet prestige and gastronomic excellence. Our residences here offer a peaceful retreat in the heart of the Périgord Noir, where every sunset feels like a journey back in history.
See the residencesThe valley of a thousand castles. Explore centuries of history etched in golden stone, from fortress ruins to perfectly preserved villages.
Indulge in the world’s finest truffles, foie gras, and local markets. A region where gastronomy is not just food, but a way of life.
Slow down along the Dordogne river. Whether kayaking at sunset or cycling through ancient forests, peace is the only constant here.
Around the House
Cadouin is not a base camp — it is the destination. A village of golden stone where the week is measured in market days, where lunch runs long, and where the finest vineyards of the South West lie within an easy morning’s drive.
01
A Cistercian abbey founded in 1115, whose flamboyant Gothic cloister — built three centuries later — is among the finest in France. Cadouin was a stop on the pilgrim roads to Santiago de Compostela, and the abbey carries UNESCO World Heritage listing on that account. You can walk there in a minute.
02
Most of what you eat here can be bought from the people who made it. The Moulin du Chély at Lalinde, a quarter of an hour away, presses organic walnut oil and opens its shop by appointment. At the Ferme du Lac Noir, near Saint-Avit-de-Vialard, you walk through the duck sheds and buy at the door — and in May and June, their strawberries. Cheese comes from Les Fromages Bortolin at Carves, who also keep a stall on the Friday market at Le Buisson. Two names worth reading on a label: Noix du Périgord AOP and Fraise du Périgord IGP.
03
Black truffle, foie gras, confit de canard, cèpes gathered in autumn woods, and the walnut in every form — oil, cake, liqueur. This is one of the few places in France where the produce on your plate was almost certainly grown within twenty kilometres of it.
04
To the west, the Bergerac vineyards: structured Pécharmant reds, and the golden sweet wines of Monbazillac. Further south-east lies Cahors — Malbec in its historic home, long before Argentina. If you make a day of it, our own address there is Domaine du Prince, run by the Jouves family at Saint-Vincent-Rive-d’Olt: ask for the Lou Prince or the Rossignol.
05
The Vézère valley, thirty minutes north, holds the painted caves of Lascaux and the shelters of Les Eyzies — the densest concentration of prehistoric art in Europe, and another UNESCO listing.
06
Downstream, the Dordogne is lined with fortresses facing one another across the water — Beynac, Castelnaud, Domme on its cliff, La Roque-Gageac pressed against the rock. Best seen slowly, from a canoe rented at Limeuil, where the Vézère meets the Dordogne. The same spot has a shaded river beach — on a hot August afternoon, worth more than any monument.
« The village is really very pretty, with many small restaurants. We especially enjoyed the Wednesday market and the village festival on Thursday. » — Marie-Anne · Germany · Airbnb, August 2026 · translated
What to Do
The valley is dense: castles, caves, gardens and river beaches sit close together, and almost nothing worth seeing is more than three quarters of an hour from the door. Times below are driving times from Cadouin. Hover a point on the map for its name and distance, or click it for a route.
Cadouin and the Périgord Noir · Open a larger map
Cloisters, caves, castles and an aquarium — ten places that work whatever the weather.
Cadouin · 3 min
The cloister of Cadouin, UNESCO World Heritage — a flamboyant Gothic cloister two minutes on foot from the houses.
Le Bugue · 15 min
The Aquarium du Périgord Noir, one of the largest freshwater aquariums in Europe. Open all year, and reliable on a rainy afternoon.
Saint-Avit-Sénieur · 15 min
The village and its fortified abbey church, also UNESCO-listed on the pilgrim roads. Free to walk into; guided tours in summer.
Monpazier · 20 min
The finest bastide in the South West, its square arcaded on all four sides — and nearby the Château de Biron.
Towards Beynac · 30 min
Three castles within a few kilometres: Beynac, Castelnaud, and Les Milandes, Josephine Baker’s house, with its birds-of-prey display from April to November.
Les Eyzies · 25 min
The Château de Commarque and its escape game, and the Grotte du Grand Roc with its mineral forest.
Audrix · 15 min
The Gouffre de Proumeyssac, an underground cathedral of stone you can descend into by basket.
Tursac · 30 min
PréhistoParc, daily life in Neanderthal times, and the Maison Forte de Reignac, a castle built into the cliff.
Peyzac-le-Moustier · 30 min
La Roque Saint-Christophe, a prehistoric village carved along a kilometre of rock face. Open all year.
Montignac · 45 min
Lascaux IV — the full-scale facsimile of the painted cave, which the original can no longer show. Book ahead.
River beaches, gardens, bastides and a balloon. Nine for the fine days.
Limeuil · 10 min
Where the Vézère meets the Dordogne — a river beach made for picnics and swimming. Above it, the panoramic gardens and their outdoor escape game.
Le Bugue · 15 min
Three things children remember: the Bois des Lutins, the prehistoric labyrinth, and Parc le Bournat, a reconstructed Périgord village of 1900.
Domme · 35 min
A thirteenth-century bastide on its cliff, with the finest panorama over the valley — and, in summer, an escape game in the fortified gate.
Saint-Félix-de-Reillac · 25 min
Jacquou Parc, rides and a water park, for a day that belongs entirely to the children.
Marzac · 25 min
An escape game inside the Château de Marzac, on the road to Les Eyzies.
Castelnaud · 30 min
Hot-air balloon flights, taking off at the foot of the castles of the Périgord Noir.
Beynac-et-Cazenac · 30 min
A gabarre — the old flat-bottomed river barge — down the Dordogne beneath the castle.
Vézac · 32 min
The Jardins de Marqueyssac: six kilometres of walks through clipped box, suspended above the valley.
Salignac-Eyvigues · 45 min
Eyrignac and its gardens — green sculpture, botanical paths, and on summer Monday evenings the picnic in white.
Canoes, bicycles, horses and a waymarked loop from the village.
Cadouin · 3 min
La boucle de Cadouin, an easy waymarked loop on foot, starting from the village.
Limeuil · 10 min
Canoe down the Dordogne — the classic descent, and the gentlest introduction.
Lalinde · 14 min
Bicycle hire for the towpath along the Dordogne, flat and shaded.
Pays de Belvès · 10 min
Horse riding through the woods, and ponies for the youngest.
Domme · 35 min
Canoe, on the stretch that passes the castles.
Beynac · 30 min
Canoe, with Beynac and Castelnaud facing one another above the water.
Carsac-Aillac · 38 min
Bicycle hire, close to Sarlat.
Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère · 35 min
Canoe on the Vézère — narrower, wilder, quieter than the Dordogne.
La Roque-Gageac · 34 min
Canoe, the full castle run, for those who want the long version.
The week here is measured in market days. There is one every morning, and every one of them is within forty minutes of the door — the nearest is on your own square.
Monday
Les Eyzies
25 min
April to October
Tuesday
Le Bugue
15 min
Beaumont
18 min
Wednesday
Cadouin
on foot
July and August
Thursday
Monpazier
20 min
Friday
Le Buisson-de-Cadouin
10 min
Saturday
Sarlat-la-Canéda
40 min
Beaumont
18 min
Sunday
Saint-Cyprien
22 min
Le Buisson, Monpazier, Saint-Cyprien, Le Bugue, Beaumont and Sarlat hold their markets all year. Le Bugue has a second market on Saturday mornings and Sarlat a second on Wednesdays. In July and August there are evening producers’ markets at Le Bugue on Tuesdays and Les Eyzies on Fridays.
Our Addresses
These are the tables we book, the bars we sit at and the shops we use when we are here — not a list copied from a guide.
In the village, on foot
Every table in Cadouin is worth your evening, and each has its own turn of character. You can walk to all of them.
Café des MoinesCadouin · 1 min on footOur favourite
A minute from the houses, and where breakfast happens: coffee, pastries and the place to pick up your bread. A drink there at the end of the day works just as well. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Les Terrasses de la Côte RougeCadouinOur favourite
The fine-dining table of the village, and the one we suggest for a first evening. Ask for a seat on the terrace, with its view over the valley. Order the four-course menu gourmand and let the beauty of chef Raf’s cooking surprise you; his partner Marieke is your gracious host, and speaks every language needed to explain the delights you are eating.
Restaurant de l’Auberge de CadouinCadouin
On the square by the cloister, under the plane trees. Fully organic, local and seasonal, and very well executed — and a short walk home afterwards.
Le Comptoir de l’AbbayeCadouin
Facing the cloister. South-West cooking, generous and unfussy, with the day’s dishes on a slate — and half the room given over to a shop of regional produce, if you want to take some of it home.
Du côté de chez Cathy et PauloCadouin
Pizzeria and village brasserie on the same square. Salads, a Périgord menu and proper pizza — the easy answer on an evening when nobody wants to cook.
Worth the short drive
Auberge de l’EspéranceLe Buisson-de-Cadouin · 10 min
The best table for miles, and the only one around here in the Michelin guide — Gault&Millau give it a toque as well. Classic Périgord cooking, foie gras and soufflés, in a country inn where the welcome is as good as the food. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Mondays too in winter. Book ahead.
Chez Julien — Restaurant de l’AbbatialePaunat
Beside another Romanesque abbey, in a hamlet of twenty houses. The kind of address you would never find alone.
Mamie’MLimeuil
In one of the most beautiful villages in France, where the Vézère meets the Dordogne. Generous, local, creative.
L’AbreuvoirLe Bugue
Straightforward and reliable, on the main street. Good for a relaxed lunch after the market.
Wine
Julien de SavignacLe Bugue
Growers and merchants since 1983 — their own Bergerac alongside the best of Monbazillac, Pécharmant and Saussignac. Our first stop for wine.
Before you arrive
Bergerac & the Dordogne ValleyOur local office
The tourist office for Cadouin and the villages around it — market days, opening hours, and what is on while you are here.
Lascaux & the Vézère ValleyPrehistory
For the painted caves and the valley of the first artists — Lascaux, Les Eyzies, and the sites that need booking ahead in summer.
Dordogne-PérigordThe whole department
The official tourism board for the Dordogne, if you want to look further than our valley.
Our Selection
Cadouin · Dordogne · France
Historic UNESCO village Double Townhouse, Garden & Terrace
In the very heart of Cadouin, a few steps from the UNESCO-listed abbey, La Maison de l’Abbaye brings together two historic townhouses in golden Périgord stone. Five bedrooms across three floors, three separate lounges — one with an open fireplace — a gourmet kitchen, and a private garden with its own terrace. Village life on the doorstep, and complete quiet behind the door.
Cadouin · Dordogne · France
Fantastic Townhouse in friendly UNESCO Village
Steps from the UNESCO-listed Abbaye de Cadouin, this elegant maison de maître offers a rare opportunity to live within living history. Generous terraces, vaulted ceilings, and curated interiors blend seamlessly with the medieval village atmosphere. Ideal for families or groups seeking a culturally rich escape in one of the most storied corners of the Dordogne.
JBHBV Realty & Rentals
English · Français · Nederlands
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