Black Périgord Essentials Cycling Tour

Day 1: Arrival in Sarlat-la-Canéda
You will arrive in Sarlat, one of the jewels of Black Périgord. This classified City of Art and History was built around a 9th-century Benedictine abbey and is renowned for having the highest concentration of listed historical monuments in the world. You will explore its narrow streets, vaulted passages, cathedral and noble mansions.

Day 2: Sarlat – Les Eyzies (25 km; +350 m)
You will ride along the Vézère Valley toward Les Eyzies, the world capital of prehistory. Here Cro-Magnon man was discovered and you can visit numerous UNESCO-listed prehistoric sites including caves, rock shelters and deposits. The landscape of limestone cliffs and dense forest creates a dramatic backdrop for cycling.

Day 3: Les Eyzies – Sarlat (25–47 km; +400–650 m)
You will have two route options. The longer route follows the Vézère Valley past prehistoric sites to the famous Caves of Lascaux, where Palaeolithic artists created a priceless masterpiece of animal representations listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The shorter route returns to Sarlat by a different scenic road. Both options end in Sarlat, the gastronomic capital of Périgord Noir.

Day 4: Sarlat – Souillac (30–52 km; +160–500 m)
You will leave Sarlat on a cycle path tracing an old railway along the Dordogne Valley toward Cazoulès and Souillac. The longer option detours to La Roque-Gageac, one of France's most beautiful villages, clinging to the cliff above the Dordogne River. If energy permits, you can push further to Beynac or Domme, both equally remarkable.

Day 5: Souillac – Rocamadour – Souillac (42 km; +750 m)
You will ride a loop to the sacred city of Rocamadour, a medieval pilgrimage site clinging to a cliff 120 metres above the Alzou canyon. World-famous for its Basilica of Saint-Sauveur and the chapel of Notre-Dame sheltering the Black Virgin, Rocamadour is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Way of Saint James. You will return to Souillac through the village of Lacave on the Dordogne.

Day 6: Departure
After breakfast you will depart from Souillac.