The Dordogne and Lot valleys

Your journey begins where the Vézère flows into the Dordogne. Walk up through the old gates to the church, then come back down to the water, where boatmen once loaded wine. A glass of La Lutine walnut beer makes a fine pause before you go on to Beynac.

Beynac sits beneath its medieval château, which you can visit all year. Afterwards, take the river front and look across the water to Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, where you are heading next.

At Castelnaud, the fortress now holds a museum of medieval warfare, a good way to fill the afternoon. If you have energy left, the Château des Milandes, once Joséphine Baker's home, is nearby. Stay the night here and look back across to Beynac in the evening.

The second day begins under the cliff at La Roque-Gageac. Stroll the riverside, find the exotic garden of banana trees and figs, and consider a gabare trip on the Dordogne before the road climbs to Domme.

Domme stands high above the river. Enter by the Porte des Tours, look for the graffiti left by imprisoned Templar knights, then walk to the edge for the view over the great bend of the Dordogne. After that, continue to Collonges-la-Rouge.

The red sandstone of Collonges-la-Rouge glows warmly at the end of the day. Visit the church of Saint-Pierre with its white-stone tympanum, walk past the covered market hall and the Maison de la Sirène, and stay the night here. In August the market hall oven is lit for a bread festival.

The third day climbs to Turenne, once the seat of a near-independent state. Walk the lanes of old noble houses up to the tower of César and the Clock Tower, and look out over the valley below. Then it is on to Carennac.

Carennac is a place to slow down. Step into the cloister of the old priory, find the carved Entombment, and look up at the tympanum of the church of Saint-Pierre. If you want one more stop, the Château des Doyens has a free exhibition on the Dordogne valley; then continue to Loubressac.

Loubressac perches on a rocky prow, and it is where you settle in for the evening. Walk through the fortified gate, then go to the château park and watch the light over the Dordogne valley towards Castelnau-Bretenoux.

Autoire sits in a cirque of limestone cliffs, with a waterfall dropping just above the houses. Walk up towards the falls and climb the stairway to the Château des Anglais, now a ruin, before you set off for Rocamadour.

Rocamadour clings to its cliff in tiers, and the pilgrims' stairway leads up to the sanctuaries. Visit the Black Virgin in her chapel, then look down on the gorge from the top. Try the small goat's cheese that shares the village's name before moving on to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie.

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie closes the trip on a sheer cliff above the Lot. Wander up through the lanes to the Romanesque and Gothic church, call at the Maison Henri Martin on Place du Carol, and settle in for the evening. A towpath by the river is a pleasant way to walk off dinner.