Nouvelle-Aquitaine A Week in Brantôme in the Perigord

[Pauline]

A Night in Vichy​

We spent three weeks in Switzerland and wanted a week or two in France before we headed home to Dorset. We left Lenk at the end of September and spent one last night in Switzerland in Nyon near Geneva. From Nyon we drove west towards Brantôme and spent a night in Vichy.

Vichy is on the UNESCO Great Spa Towns of Europe list. We’ve been to Bath, UK, Baden-Baden, Germany and Montecatini Terme, Italy. We’ve been to Vittel, also in France, but it didn’t make the list.

From UNESCO: This transnational serial property comprises eleven spa towns, located in seven European countries:
Baden bei Wien (Austria);
Spa (Belgium);
Františkovy Lázně (Czechia);
Karlovy Vary (Czechia);
Mariánské Lázně (Czechia);
Vichy (France);
Bad Ems (Germany);
Baden-Baden (Germany);
Bad Kissingen (Germany);
Montecatini Terme (Italy);
City of Bath (United Kingdom).

Vichy is much bigger and nicer than Vittel, but not as fabulous as Baden-Baden or Bath. Even though Vichy is a popular tourist destination the hotel selection is somewhat dreary. We stayed in a nice 3 star in the historic center that had a tired elegance (Hotel Les Nations) and very friendly staff. We had a corner room with a small balcony.

It was only a four hour drive from Nyon so after arriving we had plenty of time to do a long walk along the river, visit one of the water sources and explore the historic area. The main historic area is not large and some buildings are abandoned but it is a pleasant town. For dinner we got takeout from an Indian restaurant.

Vichy has another interesting part of their past which I didn’t see much mention of. They were the headquarters for Nazi controlled France in WWII.

View from hotel balcony.

Hotel Les Nations.

One of the water sources.

 

[Pauline]

10 Nights in Brantôme​

It was a short three hour drive from Vichy to Brantôme. The area we drove through was beautiful. A row of extinct volcanoes goes through the Vichy area and the whole way to Brantôme was heavily wooded. Our GPS app (Waze) took us on a strange route north from the town of Perigeux, possibly avoiding traffic? We ended up on country lanes but I know there was a direct route.

The Airbnb we rented is in a rural hamlet two miles from Brantôme. The owner left the key in a lockbox for us and arrived 10 minutes later. More about the gite later.

We drove to the Carrefour, 5 minutes away, and stocked up on groceries. There is not much in the restaurants here for vegetarians so we planned to do most of our meals at home.

The next day we got ourselves organized and walked in the nearby woods.

On the next day, Thursday, we walked into Brantôme, walked around the small town, then walked home.

Friday was the market day and we drove in, easily found parking, and enjoyed the market.

The River Dronne splits and surrounds the historic center of Brantôme.

The large abbey dominates the western side of town. The trail we took comes into town through the woods you see above the abbey.

The back of the abbey is right against the cliff and some things are built into it.

Beautiful houses.

Cats on an awning! The first thing we saw walking into the market.

A perfect cafe crème with a croissant from a booth in the market.

Another view of the woods on the edge of town.

The angled bridge (16th century) and the abbey.

The abbey was built in the 8th century, destroyed by Vikings in the 9th century and rebuilt in the 15th century.

The ancient bell tower is Romanesque (11th to 12th century) and might be the oldest bell tower in France.

 

[Pauline]

Hiking in Brantôme​

The long distance trail GR36 runs through Brantome. This trail starts in Ouistreham in Normandy (near Caen, where the ferry goes to the UK) and runs south east the length of France to the Pyrenees where it meets the official start of the Camino de Santiago! The trail runs close to the gite where we are staying. It is the trail we walked into Brantome.

We are here for 10 nights but halfway through our time I got a vicious cold so we did not do as much hiking as we wanted. We walked into the woods and along lanes from the house several times, we walked into town on the GR 36 then returned on a shorter route. And one day when I convinced myself I was better we did a big hike from Brantome. I wasn’t better and got much worse but it was worth it.

Boucle des Puys, 6.4 miles, 3hr15min, 724ft ascent. The hike is well signed. The hike starts at the big car park south of the river and makes a loop on the east side of Brantome, going along lanes and forest paths, passing through hamlets. This is one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done. The forests are full of chestnut and oak trees. Magnificent forests! Moss covered stone walls. Hamlets of stone houses. It was cool and sunny the day we did the hike, leaves just starting to turn and the forest paths littered with fallen chestnuts and acorns. There is a lot of up and down but nothing too steep.

Boucle des Puys - Brantôme en Périgord

La petite ville de Brantôme, « Venise du Périgord », est située entre deux bras de la Dronne. Ville-porte du Parc Naturel Régional Périgord-Limousin, elle est célèbre pour son patrimoine architectural, historique et gastronomique.

www.dordogne-perigord-tourisme.fr

There is another hike that goes in a loop to the west side and passes near our gite, Boucle de l’Abbaye. It is a similar length. We only walked part of it.

Boucle de l'abbaye de Brantome - Brantôme en Périgord

La petite ville de Brantôme, « Venise du Périgord », est située entre deux bras de la Dronne. Ville-porte du Parc Naturel Régional Périgord-Limousin, elle est célèbre pour son patrimoine architectural, historique et gastronomique.

www.dordogne-perigord-tourisme.fr

There are other loop hikes from nearby towns. I purchased a map from the tourist office with nine hikes. You can probably find them on the tourism website and download the GPX files to your hiking app.

This site has a list of hikes in the whole area.

Promenades et randonnées | Dordogne Périgord Tourisme

La meilleure façon de marcher… c’est sans doute de mettre un pied devant l’autre, mais aussi de lever la tête pour découvrir ce qui fait le Périgord :

www.dordogne-perigord-tourisme.fr

I think there are very good hiking opportunities here. Even the lanes are good to walk with hardly any traffic.

Hiking in the woods.

I think this is a hunting area. We saw hides and cages in the woods, then this weird sign. Best to find out about hunting times when hiking here.

The most amazing woods.

Hiking signs. There were red and white markers along the trail.

Hamlet.

 

[Pauline]

Weather​

We left Lenk with the leaves turning, wet weather and temperatures in the low 60s, even into the 50s. We wore the cold weather clothes I always pack when going to Switzerland. It was warmer in Nyon on Lake Geneva but not that warm. As we drove across France it got warmer.

When we arrived in Brantome on the last day of September it was sunny and in the low 70s. We had several good sunny days before a storm system came through coinciding with when I got sick. Last Saturday it rained all day, sometimes very heavy. The next day was cooler but by Monday it was sunny and warmer again. It’s been like that all week and looks to remain that way. We are leaving tomorrow.

When I got sick we thought about leaving early, in case Steve got this too, but this gite is very comfy and the weather was good. We did easy walks and sat out in the sun. It is extraordinarily peaceful here. I am starting to feel better, less coughing, less sneezing. I did a Covid test today - negative - and Steve is fine. It is just a cold for me.

 

[Pauline]

Where We Stayed​

When booking this trip all I knew was that I wanted to be in the northern Perigord near Perigueux. I looked at some list of beautiful towns in France and saw Brantome. I liked the look of it so looked for a rental nearby. I booked with Airbnb because they were offering free cancellation and I wasn’t sure we would want to extend the trip after Switzerland.

Home in Brantôme · ★4.97 · 2 bedrooms · 3 beds · 1 bath

Beautiful comfortable cottage, jacuzzi, Brantôme

www.airbnb.com

The Petite Maison is in the hamlet of Les Combes (2bed/1.5bath). It is attached to a larger rental with the same owner but is completely separate because it faces a different way and has its own private area. No one was in the other rental but if they were it would not have impacted us much. The owner lives 10 minutes away. There are a few other buildings in her compound that are not used (in need of renovation). It looks like there are two or three other habitable houses in the hamlet but we only saw people in one - an English couple who own a second home.

The Petite Maison is very private. It has nice views out to fields and woods. Furnishings are good, bed is comfortable. My only complaint is the pots and pans (the typical holiday rental thing of a few frying pans and two pots one with no lid). But everyone except us would eat most meals out, or do a fry up, and anyway I managed to cook all our meals. Next time I’ll bring another pot.

From the house you are on the GR 36 in 7 minutes, or can walk in all directions on lanes. By car you are in Brantome in 5 minutes. Two bakeries, one on each end of town, have parking areas so it is easy to dash in for croissants in the morning. Or you can walk - 1 hour on the longer route, 40 minutes on the short route.

The owner is good to deal with. We will probably stay here again. I want to do the hikes we missed!

The Petite Maison. On the right is a storage shed.

Buildings behind.

I think this is part of her compound too. It’s been in her family for generations.

Hard to see but the hamlet is there.

The lane from the house leading into the woods.

The nearby lanes we walked.

 

[chachalaca]

WOW, Pauline! What a great review and a fabulous trip. We visited Brantome from Salignac, just for lunch and shopping, but now I want to go back!

Thanks for all the details and links,
Laura

 

[jonathan]

Super report, thanks Pauline! Like you, I've been previously to the Périgord Noir, but never explored the Vert - and these pictures, together with the useful hiking links, all help to persuade me that it's definitely on the cards for next year's solo trip. (And as an omnivore foodie, Parigi's tips from earlier this year are very appealing!)

That gîte looks beautifully restored, though I think I might go for one in Bourdeilles: over the years, I've come round to preferring a location where I can walk to the boulangerie every morning (I don’t mind driving to other shops, but the pre-breakfast bread walk is something I look forward to!).

 

[phirhon]

Nice report, Pauline. We visited Brantome as a day trip from our gite a bit further south, and enjoyed it and some of the villages such a Bourdeilles and St Jean de Cole. This was back in 2008 on our second trip to France, and my memories are very vague. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then! as we made our ninth trip earlier this year. Did you go down into the crypt? A couple of years ago we watched a programme about Brantome and it was mentioned. We did not know about it when we were there.
I usually do a trip report but life has got in the way this time and our trip seems a distant memory. We are not sure we will return to France - getting old - but the area around Brantome has been on our list and P is already looking at gites , so maybe we will. See what the next year brings.

 

[TomandKathy]

Great report thank you! We stayed nearly a week in Brantôme in the spring and loved it... took a very nice airbnb right in the town and wandered a lot (even did the boat trip down the river) as well as driving out to villages nearby. Particularly liked Bourdeilles with its fabulous castle and river walks. Spring 2026 we head to Colmar/Strasburg area which I've been looking at for ages...

 

[Pauline]

over the years, I've come round to preferring a location where I can walk to the boulangerie every morning

The bakery in Bourdeilles was closed for vacation when we were there, as was the one just north of Brantome. We ended up going to one on the southern edge of Brantome and it was good.

 

[Pauline]

Did you go down into the crypt?

We didn’t even go into the abbey! After a few days I caught a bad cold and we didn’t do much except easy walks and sitting in the sun. I heard many other people coughing like I was!

 

[Pauline]

took a very nice airbnb right in the town

Can you tell me where you stayed? I saw a few listed in town. It would have been nice to be closer to town but I did love the peacefulness of where we were.

 

[TomandKathy]

Can you tell me where you stayed? I saw a few listed in town. It would have been nice to be closer to town but I did love the peacefulness of where we were.

We stayed in an Airbnb simply called "Maison, centre historique" (House, historic center) It was quite near the river in a rather tight lane (tight for our car) on the other side of the island from the market place. It was being managed by a lovely young lady called Samantha who also worked in one of the cafe/bars on the river along from the lovely abbey. It was pretty cool when we were there but there were lots of heaters (most of which worked) and a good kitchen so we were happy. Only thing missing was a balcony or outside area to sit but it was too cold for that while we were there anyway. Overall we were happy with the apartment and loved Brantome and the whole area.

 

[jonathan]

The bakery in Bourdeilles was closed for vacation when we were there, as was the one just north of Brantome. We ended up going to one on the southern edge of Brantome and it was good.

I'll be there in late June, so hoping that it's it the time of year that the bakery will be taking a vacation!
(BTW, and totally off topic, we're just about to head off for a hike this morning around Flagstaff Mountain, just west of Chautauqua Park, Boulder. Beautifully sunny & clear, though chilly: 1C at the moment, 9.30am) (And for others wondering why I'm posting about Colorado: Pauline & Steve were close neighbours of ours in Gloucestershire for many years, but also lived briefly in Boulder County, where our son & his family are based)

 

[Pauline]

BTW, and totally off topic, we're just about to head off for a hike this morning around Flagstaff Mountain, just west of Chautauqua Park, Boulder

I loved the hiking in Boulder! Lucky you!