Upstream from Sarlat, the abbey-church of Souillac offers remarkable Romanesque carvings, while the nearby pilgrimage town of Rocamadour, set halfway up a cliff face, is equally compelling.

9 Rocamadour Cliff-side pilgrimage town which will take your breath away – if you avoid the peak-season crowds.

The principal northern gateway to the Dordogne and the Lot is the charming city of Brive-la-Gaillarde (usually shortened to Brive), whose cosy café culture exudes the spirit of the south, a hint of pleasures to come. West lies Périgueux, where an extraordinary Byzantine-style cathedral stands

Cahors. It may lack the higgledy-piggledy charm of Sarlat or Bergerac, but compensates with a pleasingly workaday atmosphere and a wonderful riverside location. It also boasts the best example of a fortified medieval bridge left in France, the Pont Valentré, while the country round about produces an extremely distinctive dark, almost peppery red

The village of LA ROQUE-GAGEAC, on the Dordogne’s north bank 5km east of Beynac, is almost too perfect, its ochre-coloured houses overlooking the lazy-flowing river and sheltering under dramatically overhanging rust-coloured cliffs. Regular winner of France’s prettiest village contest, it inevitably pulls in masses of tourist buses, and since the

The focal point of the Périgord Noir region is its capital, Sarlat-la-Canéda. Though this medieval town boasts no great monuments, Sarlat is not to be missed, with a warren of old lanes, hidden courtyards and fine architecture – the background for many a period drama – not to mention its excellent weekly markets.

11 Sarlat-la-Canéda Lose yourself in Sarlat’s intriguing maze of narrow medieval lanes, and try to make your visit coincide with the fantastic Saturday market.

and chambres d’hôtes from Gîtes de France ( gites-de-france.com).

Further downstream things begin to quieten down again as the valley flattens out towards Villeneuve-sur-Lot. Despite unattractive modern suburbs, the town has a decent supply of hotels and restaurants, and with the river sliding through