Canoeing
The Dordogne is France's leading department for recreational canoeing (External link) , whatever your age. With the only 4-seater family canoes on the market (the famous C4 canoes) available on the Dordogne, Vézère and Dronne rivers, visitors can explore the delightful valleys of the Périgord (the “Vallées de la Préhistoire” and the “Vallée des Châteaux”) from spring all the way through to the autumn, making the Dordogne a perfect destination for recreational canoeing! Over 5,400 boats are available for hire.
Hiking
Dordogne-Périgord is the ideal place for a hiking excursion (External link) . For nearly 400,000 years, it has seen generations of hunters, hikers and pilgrims pass... For your encounter with nature, history, culture, and rural and built heritage, the Périgord provides 1,130km of long-distance footpaths (GR) and 7,000km of short-distance footpaths (PDIPR). On the Compostella route, 200km of the GR 654, marked in white and red, cross the Dordogne from north to south, through the towns of La Coquille, Thiviers, Sorges, Périgueux, Bergerac and Monbazillac.
Biking: the new cycle route around Périgueux
From Périgueux (Trélissac) to the border with the Gironde (Le Pizou), the Véloroute Voie Verte offers over 100km of trails for individual cyclists, roller-bladers and families to enjoy. It's dotted with rest and play areas as well as impressive footbridges spanning the River Isle. Along the route, visitors can admire superb landscapes, unspoilt nature, historic sites (castles, charterhouses, churches and abbeys) in addition to sampling the best of Périgord’s gastronomy. In the near future, the route will become part of the major trans-European trail, the Véloroute Voie Verte “V90”, passing through the centre of France and extending via the Dordogne to the Aquitaine’s Atlantic beaches.
Stopping points and places of interest along the route:
• Domaine Huso, the caviar farm in Neuvic-sur-l’Isle
+33 (0)6 51 38 67 51 / +33 (0)5 53 80 89 58
www.caviar-huso.com/fr (External link)
• Moulin de la Veyssière in Neuvic-sur-L’Isle
A 16th-century water mill where walnut and hazelnut oil are produced by the Elias family using traditional methods.
Accommodation along the route:
• Annesse-et-Beaulieu: Château de Lalande, a 4-star hotel-restaurant
www.chateau-lalande-perigord.com/fr/index (External link)
• Saint-Astier: Le Pontet, a 3-star campsite
www.camping-le-pontet.com (External link)
lesrivesdelisle.com (External link)
• Saint-Front-de-Pradoux: Château la Thuilière B&B
Perigueux Tourism: Ideas of activities (External link)
Sporting events for your diary
• March: Marathon des Forts du Périgord (http://marathondesforts.wix.com/perigord (External link) )
• April: 100km de Belvès (http://clubathletiquebelvesois.fr/100kmbelves/index.html (External link) )
• May/June: Val Natura, a hiking trail for seniors with a focus on nature and culture(www.val-natura.com (External link) )
• September: the Dordogne-Périgord marathon by canoe and kayak
• October: Vélosilex de Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère (mountain biking and hiking) (http://velosilex.com (External link) )
• October: La Ronde des Villages in Salignac-Eyvigues (www.larondedesvillages.com (External link) )
• October (last Sunday of the month): Rand’Auvézère in Genis (https://fr-fr.facebook.com/paysdauvezere (External link) )