Sarlat and the Périgord Noir in 4 days

Wednesday morning and all day Saturday: foie gras, walnuts, goat's cheese, strawberries in spring, ceps in autumn and truffles in winter.

The first town restored under the 1962 Malraux law, with late medieval and Renaissance mansions, stone-slab roofs and a 12th-century lantern of the dead.

Sixteen kilometres of calm river past Domme, La Roque-Gageac, Marqueyssac and Castelnaud to Beynac, with pebble beaches for stops and a shuttle back.

A hilltop bastide founded in 1281 on a plan that follows the plateau, with caves under the market hall and a viewpoint over the river.

A single row of houses between river and a sun-warmed cliff that shelters an exotic garden, with a cave fort above reached by stairs.

Hanging gardens laid out after 1861, with 150,000 hand-clipped box shrubs and over 6 km of paths to a viewpoint 130 metres above the Dordogne.

A 13th-century fortress facing Beynac, home to a museum of medieval warfare with full-size trebuchets and siege engines on its terrace.

A 12th-century clifftop fortress once held by Richard the Lionheart; the keep's summit gives the best view over the valley.