SPACIOUS SELF CATERING DORDOGNE
HOLIDAY COTTAGE RENTAL
Payzac, Dordogne, South West France
Sleeps 8 plus Cot
Castles and Châteaux
Hautefort Château , 30 minutes away
One of the most prestigious châteaux in South-West France and classified as a historical monument. Hautefort château is perched upon a promontory of rock with spectacular views over the surrounding landscape. The interior of the château is in perfect condition with a tour in English through a wide range of rooms full of beautiful furniture and paintings. The building is surrounded with lovely formal gardens. Try and leave an hour at the end of your visit to walk around the wooded garden at the opposite end of the promontory. The village around the foot of the château is an attraction in its own right with plenty of shops and places to eat. This one is a must do and see!
http://www.best-of-perigord.tm.fr
Château de Jumilhac, 30 minutes away
Another historic fortified château and historic monument, Château de Jumihac is still lived in. A good variety of rooms are open to the public via a guided tour lasting about an hour. The great wood-panelled lounge, with a parquet floor "à la Versailles", enlivened with hunting scenes, the magnificent Louis XIII stairs, the terrace gardens, the museum of gold and alchemy, all contrast with the austere atmosphere of the Chambre de la Fileuse in the feudal dungeon, where Louise de Hautefort was incarcerated for 30 years. The Renaissance roofs of the château with its cones, pepper-boxes, and pyramids adorned with dormer windows weaving seigniorial allegories (unique in France), earn the château it's name of "Perle Noire" (the black pearl) of the Haut Périgord. The courtyard opposite the château has two good alfresco restaurants for lunch. Be aware that the nearest one can be very slow when busy!
http://www.best-of-perigord.tm.fr
Château de Puyguilhem, 45 minutes away
Château de Puyguilhem is near Villars in the northern part of the Dordogne department. It is in a lovely setting, with the open valley in front and oak forests behind. Built in the 16th century (on the site of an earlier castle) Puyguilhem is a fine Renaissance castle, with a spiral staircase, steep rooves and splendid fireplaces. It is said to be the Dordogne château that is most similar in style to those in the Loire Valley. After falling into severe disrepair, large scale restoration began after the Second World War, and the château is now alive once again with the tapestries and furnishings of the period. Sadly the lake that was once in the valley below the Château de Puyguilhem is there no more - but the views down the valley from the chateau remain very attractive all the same. The guided tour lasts 45 minutes and costs under 6e. The château is just outside Villars and near to Brantome so well worth a visit as part of a day out.
Château de Bordeilles, 70 minutes away
Just past Brantôme is the Château de Bourdeilles with a medieval castle and a renaissance château, on the same site, built on a rampart overlooking the river Dronne. The medieval castle dates from the end of the XIIIth century to the beginning of the XIVth century with an unusual octagonal keep 35 metres high, a seigneurial mill, a bridge with cut water piers, terraced gardens and extensive fortifications. The XVIth century Renaissance palace has an impressive and important collection of nearly 700 items of antique furnishings; tables, sideboards, tapestries, chairs, pewter, Spanish dowry chests, Catalan triptychs all displayed in its state rooms which include the gilded salon on the first floor which Ambroise le Noble of the Fontainebleu school decorated. There is also a 16th century entombment with life-sized statues from the Rhineland.
