Places we love Part II: The Dordogne, France

Paris, Provence, Normandy, Bordeaux:  We’ve all heard of them and many of us have visited them as well.  The Dordogne, by contrast, is a bit off the beaten path in France, but it’s an area gaining increased attention as of late.

The Dordogne has beautiful French countryside, of course. The food is fantastic. And don’t forget some very good wine.  Put these all together and naturally you have a perfect place for a Travel Fever Tours Artist Trip.

Here is how this trip for 2023 came about:

The late Tony van Hasselt first brought the region to our attention as a plein air workshop location. Tony had been leading painting workshops in Europe since the 1960s and we are pleased that Tony took the time to mentor us on how to run workshops overseas. It was on Tony’s advice that we took ourselves to the town of Sarlat-la-Canéda to explore the Dordogne. 

We liked what we saw.

Sarlat is a lovely town with a well preserved historic center.  It’s big enough to provide a major cathedral, cafes, shops, restaurants and more. Plus there are two weekly outdoor markets and nothing beats a French market.  Sarlat is a lovely place to be and an even nicer place to paint.

We liked it so much that we returned last September to stay for longer, visiting the market several times, riding the elevator to the top of the renovated church tower, eating our fill of pastries, and generally soaking it all in.  We also explored outside Sarlat, climbing through a few castles, canoeing down the Dordogne river, and eating a whole lot more pastries.

For the general public, the Dordogne region is gaining notice thanks to the 15 murder mysteries written by Martin Walker. The books star Bruno as chief of police of a small French town. More than mystery, the books feature the food and wine of the region. Some have pointed out that the food and wine are the true stars of the series with the murders playing only cameo parts.

Here is a link to the full series of books on Amazon. 

Read a few books from this series and you’ll want to visit the Dordogne.  You just have to go.

So why are we offering a painting excursion to the Dordogne?  We only take groups to the places we love and Sarlat and the Dordogne definitely qualify.  We love it and know you will too.

So if you paint or draw (or would like to learn), please consider coming with us to France next year.  Our instructor, Lynn Zimmerman, will help your artistic abilities to shine. And bring your spouse or a friend, as we also offer adventures for those who don’t paint.

Read More About the Dordogne Workshop

Note: It is our policy to reward people who help spread the word about our trips. Receive a $300 discount when you bring a spouse or a friend, or otherwise send a friend to travel with us.  Read More.