Walking in Lot-et-Garonne and Dordogne, France

The whole area described in 'south of the dordogne' is a pleasure for walking in and around. In Lot-et-Garonne the roads are quiet, there are often no 'gift shops' in a town, and the towns are less crowded. A perfect place for walking.

There are a myriad of quiet roads, tracks and footpaths to follow and explore. Rather than try and list individual walks here - there are simply too many - I suggest that you visit the tourist office closest to where you are to get full details.

Wherever you are in the region the tourist offices will be able to provide you with details of lots of walks, from a 30 minute stroll around town to a 20 kilometre hike across open countryside.

One particularly useful book that we use is 'Les Sentiers d'Emilie dans le Lot-et-Garonne' by Jean-Pierre Siréjol (and subtitled '25 promenades pour tous'). All the walks are between about 1 hour and 2 1/2 hours in length and the book contains a good selection in the area. All those in the book have been chosen because they are considered to be safe and reasonably easy for all ages. I don't unfortunately know if an English language version is available or the book can be found outside France. Several other recommended walking books are to be found in the book store

Recommended Reading

Organised walking holidays

It is of course possible to book an organised walking holiday. These have a pre-arranged itinerary that passes through or around the area, usually with luggage carried ahead for you and accommodation in a different hotel or bed and breakfast each night. There are a lot of companies that organise these walking holidays in the Dordogne, fewer in Lot et Garonne - a quick internet search will find them.

These are possibly more suited to people who are new to the area since they are often going to focus on the 'key sites' along the Dordogne River, while seeing less of the 'undiscovered' parts.