2. Chateau de CastelnaudCastelnaud La Chapelle The Château de Castelnaud is a medieval fortress in the commune of Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, overlooking the Dordogne River in Périgord, southern France. It was erected to face its rival, the Château de Beynac. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
3. Lascaux IIMontignac Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne in southwestern France. Over 600 parietal wall paintings cover the interior walls and ceilings of the cave. The paintings represent primarily large animals, typical local and contemporary fauna that correspond with the fossil record of the Upper Paleolithic time. The drawings are the combined effort of many generations, and with continued debate, the age of the paintings is estimated at around 17,000 years . Lascaux was inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1979, as element of the Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
4. Chateau des MilandesCastelnaud La Chapelle The Château des Milandes is a manor house in the commune of Castelnaud-la-Chapelle in the Dordogne département of France. Built by Francois de Caumont around 1489, it was, until 1535, the main house of the lords of Caumont, who preferred to live in this manor house instead of the large, uncomfortable medieval castle of Château de Castelnaud-la-Chapelle. In 1940, the entertainer Josephine Baker rented the château and then bought it in 1947.It has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1986. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
6. Chateau de BeynacBeynac Et Cazenac The Château de Beynac is a castle situated in the commune of Beynac-et-Cazenac, in the Dordogne département of France. The castle is one of the best-preserved and best known in the region. This Middle Ages construction, with its austere appearance, is perched on top of a limestone cliff, dominating the town and the north bank of the Dordogne River. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
There are two routes to Noirmoutier Island, Vendee, France from the mainland; a modern bridge and a road at sea level. The bridge is just a short span at the southern tip of the island, and just a few hundred metres long; whereas the original road passage on the eastern side of the island is several miles across open sea to the island; and apart from a three hours window at low tide is submersed under water.
For practicality, the bridge is the obvious choice, but at low tide the French love queueing up in their cars to make this treacherous road journey; I guess just for fun, and the experience. On the mainland there is parking and several café’s where you can park up at low tide to have a bite to eat and a drink while you watch the fun.
For our part we always used the bridge when getting to and from the island, but we had to navigate there using an atlas as our TomTom (satnav) always insisted on trying to take us across the impassable road crossing; even when our car was just one side or the other of the bridge and in spite of the fact that the bridge was showing up as a valid road on the TomTom maps. We’ve always felt our TomTom has attitude, and this is a prime example.