Dordogne and Lot Road Trip from Bergerac: Castles, Lascaux, Rocamadour and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie in 4 Days

The Dordogne is the river and the department in south-west France where castles stand on the cliffs above the water and stone villages fill the valley floor. The Lot valley lies just to the south-east. This loop starts at Bergerac Airport. The airport lists six rental companies, among them Sixt, Europcar, Hertz and Avis, and it is 61 km from Beynac, the first castle. Bordeaux airport has more flights but is 208 km from Beynac, a long first day. Brive airport is just as close (54 km), so if you fly there, pick up the car and join the loop at Sarlat. Driving from the Netherlands or Germany? Join there too.

The loop runs up the Dordogne to Sarlat-la-Canéda, spends a day in the Vézère valley around Lascaux, crosses into the Lot department for Padirac, Rocamadour and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, and comes back through Cahors. It makes about 425 km in four days, all on ordinary roads. Many sights close or shorten their hours from November to March; each day says which.

Day 1 — Bergerac Airport to Beynac, Castelnaud, La Roque-Gageac, Domme and Sarlat (89 km)

Pick up the car at Bergerac Airport and drive east along the Dordogne to Beynac. The Château de Beynac stands above the village. It stays open in winter with shorter hours: in 2026, from 2 November to 18 December it opens daily from 10:00 to 17:00; the 2026 season began on 7 February, so expect it shut for part of January.

Cross the river to the Château de Castelnaud, which now holds the Museum of Medieval Warfare: a large collection of weapons and armour and life-size copies of the most powerful siege engines of the time, with a view over the valley. It is open every day of the year, and children under 10 go in free.

Drive on to La Roque-Gageac. Its houses stand in a row at the foot of a south-facing cliff, facing the river. Stairs cut into the rock lead up to a troglodyte fort in the cliff, with a history of more than 1,000 years. In the 19th century, boats called gabarres carried goods on the Dordogne; boat trips now leave from the Place du 8 Mai, so check whether they are running out of season.

Then climb to Domme, a bastide, a planned medieval town, standing about 150 m above the bends of the Dordogne. At the Porte des Tours, Templar prisoners were long believed to have been held in the 14th century. End the day in Sarlat-la-Canéda and sleep there for two nights. Its market is held every Wednesday and Saturday morning, and the covered market is inside the former church of Sainte-Marie.

Day 2 — Lascaux IV and Les Eyzies, back to Sarlat (74 km)

The Vézère valley has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979: 147 prehistoric sites and 25 decorated caves. The most famous is Lascaux, found in 1940, with some 100 painted animals. Drive north to Montignac for Lascaux IV, the international centre for cave art. It opened in December 2016 and holds a full, exact replica of the cave. It is open all year apart from a few days in January. From 2 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 it opens from 10:00 to 18:00, with the last entry two hours before closing. An adult ticket costs €23 in 2026.

Drive down the Vézère to Les Eyzies for the National Museum of Prehistory, then drive back to Sarlat.

Day 3 — Sarlat to Padirac, Rocamadour and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie (128 km)

Drive east up the Dordogne valley into the Lot department and on to Padirac. The Gouffre de Padirac is a chasm 75 m deep, discovered in 1889. The visit goes down to 103 m below ground, where guides take you by boat along the underground river. It is closed in winter: the 2026 season ran from 28 March to 1 November, so skip it from November to late March.

Continue to Rocamadour. Stop first at the viewpoint at L’Hospitalet, above the town. From the main street, the Grand Escalier climbs 216 steps to the sanctuaries, seven chapels built half into the rock in the 12th century; lifts are the other way up. In the chapel of Notre-Dame is the Black Virgin. The sanctuaries are open all year.

Drive south through the Causses du Quercy regional nature park to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. The village hangs on a cliff, and the Rocher des Lapopie viewpoint is about 100 m above the Lot. 13 of its buildings are listed historic monuments, and in 2012 TV viewers voted it the first “favourite village of the French”. The surrealist André Breton found it in 1950 and made the old Auberge des Mariniers his summer home. Parking is paid. Sleep in the village, or drive on 26 km to Cahors if you find nothing open.

Day 4 — Saint-Cirq-Lapopie to Cahors and back to Bergerac (134 km)

Follow the Lot downstream to Cahors. Its Pont Valentré was begun in 1308 and finished around 1380: 172 m long, with 8 arches and 3 towers rising more than 40 m above the water. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, as part of the pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela.

Then follow the Lot west past Puy-l’Évêque, and turn north through the countryside to the Dordogne and back to Bergerac Airport.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your dates. France has no vignette, and this loop uses no motorways, so you pay no tolls on it; only the drive in, if you come by car, may use toll motorways. Budget for accommodation, fuel for about 425 km, car rental, parking (paid in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie) and tickets for Beynac, Castelnaud, Lascaux IV (€23 for an adult in 2026) and Padirac. Winter tyres: France’s mountain rule (Loi Montagne) requires winter tyres or chains from 1 November to 31 March, but only in communes that each prefect lists. The Dordogne is not one of the mountain departments, and the Lot prefecture says no commune in the Lot is covered, so the rule does not apply anywhere on this loop.

This trip is also in the free Roadcut trip planner: change the number of days and where you sleep each night, pick your vehicle to see the fuel cost, check the weather on the road, and open each day in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze.