Local knowledge Périgord/Dordogne

[curtis]

We are coming to the Périgord/Dordogne region (24470 Saint-Saud-Lacoussière) in July. My wife is booked in for a Yoga/Ayurvédique retreat but I shall be out and about.
Before researching I thought I would see what you locals might recommend for visiting/eating.
Merci à l'avance.

[Char]

The yoga/ayurvédique retreat sounds interesting - but I can't help with places to eat and visit as I've not visited that area yet, so I'm just really bumping this thread up in case it's been missed by some of our lovely members.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll enjoy it there anyway.

[Bayleaf]

We know the lake at St Saud pretty well - we used to take the children there, but we learnt to be the early birds if you don't like crowds! They have lakeside showers/loos, and a café/restaurant at the top of the slope overlooking the lake. Hopefully it wasn't one that was killed off by covid lockdowns.

There's a fancy restaurant in St Saud itself that friends rave about - never eaten there myself. It's pricey, and depends on your taste of food. From photos of their meals, I'd say you're paying for the prettiness on the plate, rather than a substantial meal!

St Saud is close to some very pretty villages for just driving about and enjoying - St Jean de Cole for one (I've only tried one restaurant there - courtesy of some friends, and again, pretty food rather than tasty, but that's my personal opinion!). Thiviers is a thriving town with excellent markets every Saturday (again, they used to have!).

The only eating place I'd personally recommend around here would be Planete Wok in Périgueux! If you like Chinese food, this is heaven - help yourself buffet of all sorts of wonders!

[curtis]

Many thanks.

[DominicBest]

That’s a way away from the usual Dordogne hotspots. I would suggest a trip to Bourdeilles if you like medieval architecture and while you’re down there stop in at Brantome if you’ve never been there before. I would certainly visit St Jean de Cole and Jumilhac Le Grand as they’re both places I like and not far away. Both places have reasonable restaurants. Which car are you taking? There are some lovely driving roads in the area.

[curtis]

Just reviewing the comments as we go next week.
Sorry I didn't reply Dominic;
In fact it will be my SUV, nothing interesting from the driving point of view.
From choice I would take my TR3A.

[Lori]

Enjoy your trip Curtis. The weather these days has been very nice. Not too hot with these last few days being downright cool. We are about an hour or so slightly southwest of Saint-Saud, so not sure if they have the same weather, but I imagine it isn't all that different.

Agree about Brantome. You might even want to delve out to Hautefort (an hour from Saint-Saud). It has a lovely chateau. I find the town quite charming and there are several restaurants to choose from (though we have not tried them yet, several looked interesting).

[curtis]

Merci, Lori.

[DominicBest]

I had a short stay in Saint Léon sur Vésère a couple of weeks ago. That part is within day trip distance for me but it was good to spend more time in the region. Enjoy your visit wherever you end up.