A different, easy cave experience to see prehistoric…read more located 40 minutes walk into a large cave with very few stalactites. Easy because you ride a trai.n and the guide points out what to look for with the only light coming from the train. We lucked out. We knew to arrive early because tickets are only available at the entrance. We showed up 15 minutes early and got on the 10 AM tour with a very knowledgeable guide. Amazing artwork from 15,000 years ago, worth the drive. W/C is available, and there is a small gift shop.

This is most easy cave that we have visited. The cave is deep into the mountains. However, they…read morehave electrical train to take the visitors to the attraction. The cave engraving is around 8500 BC. This cave have a lot of mammoth carving. Because this is a lime stone, it is easy to carve here. There are total of 158 mammoths carving in this cave. At the end of the cave, it is the painting of other prehistoric animals. Bison, horses, rhino and more. The entire tour take 1 hours. They don't have preordered tickets. It is first come first serve. Each train take about 40 people. The wait time to train is roughly 1.5 hour. So plan 3 hours visit. The cave not allows photos, animal in the cave or touch the wall. Dress warm since the cave is a bit cold.

Le Bournat, 24260 Le Bugue http://www.lebournat.fr…read more 05 53 08 41 99 Situated on the banks of the Vezere, Le Bugue has much going for it, including Le Gouffre de Proumeyssac where one may do the descent into the cave by basket. Our trip on a dull Monday was to see Le Village du Bournat. Being early in the season, we missed out on most of the animations though we did we see a wood artist and a lace expert in action. This is really the reconstruction of a Perigord village from the early 1900s, complete with ladies washing by the water, a blacksmith's and a farmyard. Many other crafts are on display, though not all at the same time, and we also visited the windmill where in an adjoining cottage we found a nest of what looked like swallows, who were being fed by the parents. If you are hungry you may also sample some old style bread and more new style refreshments in the facilities. Kids are well catered for here with picnic facilities and many old style games to keep them occupied when they get fed up of the crafts and farm activities. Entry Cost for an adult is EUR12.00.

From the owner: Voyage en 1900 Il était une fois au coeur du Périgord Noir un village où le temps s'est arrêté au…read moredébut du siècle dernier : Le Village du Bournat. Un site à l'ancienne où parents et enfants font un voyage dans le temps pour y découvrir la vie de nos grands-parents, les traditions d'antan. Au rythme des saisons, à travers des animations et reconstitutions, le village s'anime et s'organise autour des visiteurs : la vie quotidienne, les femmes au lavoir, les enfants à l'école, les travaux des champs ... La journée au Bournat est rythmée entre l'atelier modelage et sculpture sur pierre ou les contes pour les enfants et une visite guidée dans le village décrivant la vie rurale en 1900. Tout l'été des visites nocturnes (20h30-22h00) sont également organisées sur le thème des Mythes et Croyances en Dordogne et sur le rôle de la femme en 1900.

A pleasant surprise. Josephine Baker's home for 30 years has been brought back to its former glory…read more The grounds and gardens are immaculate, with a troop of gardeners picking up every leaf and planting new flowers near the chapel. A falconry show begins at 11:15, with another at 4. Audioguides in numerous languages are available at the gift shop and start of the tour. The gorgeous chateau has an interesting history beginning in the 15th century, with gargoyles galore. Josephine, resistance fighter, humanitarian, and world renowned singer and dancer from the 1920s to the 60s, installed some amazing bathrooms into the chateau, which has lots of stairs. Great views over the valley and village. Pieces of her music are available on the audio guide. A woman-owned business about an amazing woman. Cafe and toilets are available. Free parking, but tickets are required to enter grounds.

Chateau Milandes was built in the early 15th Century, but it's most famous inhabitant (in my…read moreopinion) was Josephine Baker. She started renting the Château in 1937, then bought it and lived their till the late 1960s. This is where she raised her flock of adopted children (she had 12!). Evicted and swindled in her later years, she spent her final years elsewhere, dying in Paris in 1975. The Château was bought 20 some years ago, and the current owner and her daughter have brought back the Château and gardens in all their glory! The items on display map out Baker's tumultuous life, from her birth in Jim Crow Missouri to her rise to fame on the French entertainment world. Truly fascinating and a must see for any fan of Josephine Baker!

We took the 9 hour tour that visited the village of Saint-Emilion and a wine tasting in the town,…read moreChateau Bernateau on the right bank where we had lunch at picnic tables, then across the river to Magaux on the left bank to Chateau Prieure-Lichine, and Chateau Siran. We traveled in a tour van and our guide was very friendly and knowledgable. We tasted many wines and got a first hand view on wine making. We were very lucky because the wineries were picking and harvesting the grapes (it was later in September).

My friend and I did the Saint-Emilion Small Group Day Tour with Wine Tastings & Lunch. Our fabulous…read moretour guide, Ed, escorted us to two chateaus before doing a tasting in Saint-Emilion. The experience was absolutely lovely and a great learning experience. We were lucky to have stunning spring weather and enjoyed a picnic lunch with meats and cheese. We also got to visit the stunning sites of Saint-Emilion. I wouldn't hesitate to book another tour with Rustic Vines.

Despite the morning's torrential rain, we were out and down today. Down in Gouffre de Proumeyssac,…read morethat is. Driving through the rain and the heavy water on the roads was all made worthwhile by a visit to this spectacular chasm in the ground near La Bugue. The huge cave became well known after getting the nod from E.A. Martel in 1907 but its history goes back much further, the earliest mentions being in the 18th century. Early visitors went down in a cradle or basket and you can still do that today. I didn't and I'm sorry. In fact, nobody seemed to take it up, maybe because it cost close to double the EUR8.60 simple entry cost. The original entry hole, once used for dumping rubbish (including animal carcases) is used for the basket but the normal tourist is guided down a sloping tunnel and into the huge chasm to start his circular trip on the balcony. Then the lights go out and you see the basket descend. Music plays and the lights come up again reflecting off the dropping water (not too much of it!). Then you see the stalactites and stalagmites and columns and the little lake at the bottom. We were supplied with an audio-guide (5 or 6 languages are available) and this was certainly a help but you do miss the personality of the guide. Our helpful fellow raised a few laughs as he took us around. There are some huge crystallations, including one called the Medusa. The facility is well equipped with car parks, picnic areas and walks and, don't forget to go and see the original entrance, now with a small structure over it, from where the basket works.

Really great views, trip, and experience. Tour not available in English sadly but we loved it…read more Highly recommend.

From the owner: Paysages et nectar exceptionnels Introduite par les Romains, la viticulture a été développée au…read moreMoyen Age dans cette région fertile d'Aquitaine. Inscrite au Patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco en 1999, la juridiction de Saint Emilion offre des paysages entièrement consacrés à la vigne. Ses villes et villages comptent de nombreux monuments historiques de qualité. La région produit des vins renommés et appréciés dans le monde entier. Cette juridiction compte 8 communes : Saint-Emilion, Vignonet, Saint-Hippolyte, Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse, Saint-Laurent-des-Combes, Saint-Pey-d'Armens et Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens. Le site est classé au Patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco. Ci-dessous, la liste complète des monuments classés au patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco en France.

Wine tasting among castles in the French countryside? Sign me up! This tour was the highlight of…read moreour Bordeaux trip, specially the Saint-Émilion Afternoon Tour with Quentin. I was able to book easily via their webpage the evening before. Our tour group had 8 people and started at 1:45 PM, lasting 5 hours. The pickup point was in the heart of Bordeaux at the tourist office. Our tour guide Quentin spoke great English and was super personable. He also drove the mini van and used the hour of commute time each way to get to know us and share his knowledge. The first stop was a larger scale winery, Château Soutard, which is a Saint-Émilion Grands cru classés winery (in the top 10% of wineries in Right Bank). They had deep pickets and you could tell by the infrastructure. We rode a gigantic silent glass elevator for transporting barrels underground which they affectionately called "James Bond." Our guide here led us on a thorough tour of the indoor facilities and guided us through a tasting of two reds. Quentin also did a fun smell test with us. We spent 1.5 hours here. The next stop was the charming old town of Saint-Émilion, and the reason I booked the Right Bank tour over the Left Bank one. Over the course of an hour, Quentin led us through the highlights of the city including a wine cave (the oldest wine bottles I've seen!) and an old church. It rained on and off, but Quentin was prepared with umbrellas. Our third and final stop was a relatively smaller winery called Château Côte de Baleau. They had a picturesque castle on property, and the guide here welcomed us with glasses of Bordeaux blanc from another winery. Quentin showed us the grapevines and the traditional concrete aging vats. Then the female guide led us through a vertical tasting of two Saint-Émilion Grand Crus - 2007 and 2014. Compared to the first winery, I enjoyed the more laid-back vibe here, and the wine was almost as good and at a lower price point. We also had some small bites to pair - comté cheese, sausage, dark chocolate, almonds, and bread. I liked how both wineries didn't push buying the wine at all - no mention of sales and no price lists shown during the tasting. The cost of this tour was slightly more than other half day options I found (€94), but I thought it was well worth it for the longer time and included bites. It was also nice to not worry about a rental and driving ourselves an hour out to the wineries from Bordeaux where we stayed. Highly recommend this experience!

Warning for tourists: this is not a party bus and includes minimal wine (see more at bottom)…read more First, Quentin our guide was great! Super knowledgeable and friendly. We appreciated the conversation and him answering all our questions. We appreciated the snacks he brought and the tasting game he facilitated. Definitely continue that going forward! The tour was limited to 8 people. Both vineyards we visited were great. Everything was English friendly and it was an easy, relaxing day. However, as mentioned above, this is NOT a party bus with the wine tasting being extremely limited. You will only have 5 small tasters on the entire trip accounting for less than a full glass of wine. You will not get buzzed. To be fair, I haven't done any other wine tastings in France, but I have done many of them in California. Most in California include three vineyards with 5-6 tastings at each, so you get to try 15+ wines in a day. This has resulted in wine tours in the US becoming more like party buses for birthdays, bachelorette parties, etc. This is absolutely not the same here. You will only taste a small amount of wine so you won't need a designated driver after all. Again, we had a fun time but were surprised at how little wine we actually got to drink. So for us, 90€ turned out to be pretty expensive for a few sips of wine. We are glad we did it once but would not do it again like you would a wine bus in the US.