In all the years I have lived in the Dordogne, I have been canoeing on the river Dordogne many times and absolutely loved the experience. Canoeing on the lesser-known river Vézère is just as good but in a different way.

The River Dordogne is very popular for canoe hire and you have great views of castles, La Roque-Gageac and Beynac. But at certain points it can feel like a bit of a canoe motorway. On the Vézère, for most of the time, we never saw another canoe. It was totally unspoilt, natural, peaceful and the tranquillity was amazing.

Once in the canoe, we spent just over four peaceful hours, slowly paddling down river enjoying the millions of bright blue dragonflies, Kingfishers, clear waters and silence. We canoed past the impressive La Roque-St-Christophe prehistoric cave, Maison Forte de Reignac and Le Village de la Madeleine troglodyte village before ending up back at Les Eyzies. We stopped twice, once for a picnic opposite the 55,000-year-old Roque-St-Christophe and again on an island in the middle of the river for a swim.

If you would like to read more about some of the Dordogne’s natural environment, you can pick up a copy of my book from several outlets in the town of Eymet or on Amazon.