7 nights/8 days - The first and last nights are spent in a comfortable hotel (2*) in Souillac town centre with a delightful setting. The last night is on a B&B basis to allow you to test one of the towns many first class eating establishments. A fine, attractive hotel (2 * logis) in Rocamadour has outstanding views from the restaurant terrace. Two nights are spent in the centre of Sarlat in a very comfortable family run hotel (2 *). The second night is on a B&B basis giving an opportunity to try one of the town's superb restaurants. Our (3 *) hotel for your fifth night is in Les Eyzies and is set into the rock face! It has a superb swimming pool, a first class restaurant, and a central situation. A (2*) hotel in Montignac offers comfortable rooms and a chef who takes pride in his menu in the best French fashion; you are sure of a great meal

Itinerary:
Day 1. Arrive in Souillac. 

Day 2. Souillac to Rocamadour: 20 miles
A gentle start to the week by heading due south towards the villages of Lacave and Cales and then dropping down into the spectacular valley that runs towards the citadel of Rocamadour. You enter the town at its base and wonder at the magnificent architecture towering above your head.

Day 3. Rocamadour to Sarlat: 31 miles
It is gently downhill for the first 6 miles of today, followed by a brief climb, and then another long trip down to the Dordogne floodplain. You cycle along the broad tree-lined Dordogne, passing the elegant Chateau de Fénelon, which can be visited. A former railway track ensures a gentle gradient as you enter the Renaissance streets of Sarlat.

Day 4. Sarlat Circular tour 20 miles (optional)
Sarlat combines fine Renaissance architecture and delightful specialist shops in what is nevertheless a bustling little county town. Spend the morning here before cycling across the Dordogne via the fairytale chateau de Montfort, to the fortified mediaeval town or "bastide" of Domme, perched above the river. Return via the ancient village of La Roque Gageac, built into the riverbank.

Day 5. Sarlat to Les Eyzies 30 miles
Leaving Sarlat, cycle through woods and fields to visit the Chateau de Beynac, which towers above the Dordogne on the North bank, glowering at the Chateau de Castelnaud, which has an interesting Museum of Mediaeval Warfare. Crossing the river here you continue past Les Milandes, a chateau made famous by the dancer Josephine Baker. At St. Cyprien you turn North to reach the R.iver Vézère and the village of Les Eyzies, nestling beneath white cliffs pock-marked with the dark openings of caves.

Day 6: Les Eyzies to Montignac 20 miles (+ optional canoe trip)
Continue along the Vézère, to canoe beneath the dramatic troglodytic cliff-face of La Roque St. Christophe, inhabited from pre-historic times until the 17th Century. At the pretty village of St. Léon, a Romanesque church is built on the foundations of a Roman villa. Continue to the ancient town of Montignac, which has existed astride the Vézère since pre-Roman times.

Day 7.  Montignac to Souillac 27 miles
Cycle out to visit the famous caves of Lascaux, which has been called "the Sistine chapel of Pre-historic Art". Continue past the carved stone houses of St. Geniès, and the Chateau de Salignac. The Italianate gardens of the Manoir d'Eyrignac can be visited en route for Souillac.

The Bikes

Road bicycles with flat handlebars are provided, equipped with a handle bar bag, water bottle, tool kit, rear carrier with elastic (bungee), pump and lock. Helmets are available on request, but for fitting and hygiene reasons we recommend that you bring your own. You should also bring your own waterbottle for the same reasons.
Cycle hire fee 90 Euros per week payable at the start of the tour