When it comes to choosing a holiday destination for camping in France, the Dordogne has plenty to offer. Because of the geology of the region, some of its most famous attractions are actually under the Dordogne in some of its many cave formations.
The Dordogne departmente in western France is a lovely area of countryside. With the Camping les Granges campsite at Grolejac and two sites at Sarlat, taking a camping holiday here means being close to a number of interesting tourist spots.
The Lascaux Caves
There is almost as much to see underground in the Dordogne as there is above land. One of the notable attractions is at Lascaux where there are surviving cave paintings from the Palaeolithic era. This UNESCO protected World Heritage Site is home to ancient images, mostly of human figures and animals like horses, bulls and deer, that are said to be over 19,000 years old.
It is worth planning ahead, however, as this attraction is often closed for maintenance because of the degradation to the art caused by cave visitors. This includes a fungus that needs to be removed regularly because of the lights and the air conditioning. This means that although you get to see some of the thousands of paintings during a camping holiday in France, you may be looking at reproductions rather than the originals. An interesting piece of trivia about the Lascaux caves is that the original prehistoric treasure was discovered by four boys and their dog, Robot.
La Roque St Christophe
This is a limestone cliff next to the Vezere River that may have been home to the same artists that decorated the Lascaux Caves. At La Roque St Christophe you can learn about the history of troglodytes in this region and the lives of cave dwellers through the ages. The way the cave men made a home here is remarkable, carving openings and chambers in the fissure of the cliff, so it appears like they lived in the hillside upon a balcony of stone.
The Grotte du Grand Roc
A fifteen minute drive along the valley is another rock formation to visit while camping in France s Dordogne region. Although the Grotte du Grand Roc is not as enclosed as the Dordogne s other cave formations, it is equally dramatic. Simply put, the Grotte du Grand Roc is a large cliff face of striped rock that appears to lean outwards overhead. What makes it more peculiar is that there is a whole street of houses built under the overhang so that one side of them is sheltered by the rock face. It is an incongruous sight, and might cause a little neck ache as you crane to take it in.
The Fortress Castle at Castelnaud
Thankfully, not all the best things to see while camping in France are underground, and this particular rock formation in the Dordogne also happens to be man made. The chateau at Castelnaud assumes the perfect defensive position at the top of a hill overlooking the steep winding lanes of the quaint village below. Now more picturesque than military, the chateau would look at home in the Swiss Alps. Its walls and keep are built into the hilltop so that the grassy slope of the hill continues inside of the castle. From the top of the walls you can get a great view of the valley, looking down upon the beautiful wooded hillside and lake at the bottom of the hill.
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