Village Life® France

• Exclusive journey to Bordeaux and charming villages of France with opportunities to meet locals and learn about daily life.
• Created in our tradition of innovative programming and educational travel.
• Included excursions throughout your program.
• Four UNESCO World Heritage sites — Bordeaux, Port of the Moon; village of Rocamadour; Jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion; and prehistoric sites of the Vézère Valley, including Rouffignac cave.

Arrive at Bordeaux International Airport and transfer to the deluxe Hotel Burdigala in Bordeaux.

Settle into your room and enjoy lunch on your own. A Gohagan & Company representative will be available at the hotel Hospitality Desk to assist with restaurant recommendations, as well as suggestions for touring in the area with maps provided.

Join your fellow travelers for a Welcome Reception & Dinner at the hotel this evening.

Wake this morning to breakfast at the hotel, followed by a walking tour of historical Bordeaux, also known as the “port of the moon.”

Located on the Garonne River, the ancient city of Burdigala (now known as Bordeaux) was founded on the site of a 20,000-year-old Neanderthal settlement. The Celts set up a village here around the third century B.C., which was then conquered by Julius Caesar in 56 B.C. The Romans operated from Burdigala for three centuries, establishing a wine trade that brought great wealth to the empire. The evolving metropolis continued to have a colorful history in the centuries to follow, from a series of Barbarian invasions to a famous shift in 1032 when it fell under the Duchy of Aquitaine. Eleanor of Aquitaine became duchess of this newly independent country at age 14, but her marriage to the King of England meant the city was linked to the English crown for the next three centuries. Bordeaux was reclaimed by France in the 15th century but did not enter its golden age until the 18th century, when port trade flourished, and such grand monuments as the Église Notre-Dame church and Grand Théâtre opera house were built — many of them contributing to Bordeaux’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Today, this storied city is also considered one of the world's wine capitals.

Your stroll through the city includes the neoclassical Golden Triangle district and such historical landmarks as the Palais Rohan, Bordeaux Cathedral and the Grand Théâtre opera house. Along the way, you will stop for a tasting of Cannelés, a delicious vanilla pastry the region is known for.

After the tour, seek out a local café for lunch on your own.

Spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure exploring the city at your own pace with dinner on your own this evening. Be sure to savor some delicious Bordeaux wine. For maps and recommendations, you may stop by the hospitality desk.

Check out of the hotel after breakfast and enjoy a scenic drive from Bordeaux to the Dordogne region, stopping along the way for a visit to the Saint-Émilion vineyards.

The UNESCO World Heritage-designated jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region comprises eight medieval villages, each filled with chateaux and endless vineyards where grapes have been grown and harvested for centuries. Saint-Émilion was named after Émilion, a monk who fled his hometown of Vannes to seek shelter in the area’s underground caves in the eighth century. Stories of miracles he performed resulted in religious followers, placing Saint-Émilion among Europe’s most iconic pilgrimage sites.

Enjoy lunch at the vineyard as you explore these verdant winelands. Continue your journey to the medieval village of Sarlat-la-Canéda, where you will check in to the enchanting Plaza Madeleine Hôtel & Spa. Settle into your room and explore the hotel’s amenities, which include a heated pool with a terrace and sun lounge.

Rejoin the group for dinner at the hotel this evening. 

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel this morning before setting out on a tour of Rocamadour.

The UNESCO World Heritage‑designated Rocamadour has one of the most dramatic settings of any village in the world, essentially carved into a grand sheer limestone cliff. During the Middle Ages, pilgrims flocked here from across Europe to perform penance by ascending the 216 steps of Le Grand Escalier on their knees — seeking miracles from the sacred 12th-century statue of the Black Virgin and Child, a walnut carving more than 1,000 years old. Embedded in the cliff above the doorway to the Chapelle de Notre Dame is a sword said to be that of the heroic knight Roland.

Enjoy lunch with the group in the area before driving on to visit the spectacular Italian renaissance gardens of Eyrignac, a 17th-century manor house. Filled with elaborate topiaries, water features and sculpted boxwoods, this site includes seven gardens and is considered a national historic monument.

Return to the hotel and enjoy dinner on your own this evening.

After breakfast at the hotel this morning, you will head out on a walking tour of Sarlat-la-Canéda.

Author Henry Miller called this pre‑French Revolution capital of Périgord Noir “the Frenchman’s paradise.” It is a bon vivant’s dream — renowned for truffles, wild mushrooms, strawberries, walnuts and duck — and close enough to Bordeaux to procure the finest wines directly from vintners’ cellars. Its historical old town has one of Europe’s greatest concentrations of medieval, Renaissance and 17th‑century façades. A market is held in the village’s Place de la Liberté every Wednesday and Saturday — a tradition dating from the Middle Ages.

Stroll along cobblestone streets as you immerse yourself in the heart of the village. See the 16th-century, Italian Renaissance-style house where French writer Étienne de La Boétie was born in 1530. Admire the 16th-century Cathedral Saint-Sacerdos with its uniquely shaped bell tower, see the Chapel of the White Penitents and explore the Place de la Liberté, the cultural heart of the village.

Get to know this gastronomical hub while sampling culinary delights, including wine, cheese and local produce at the bustling Sarlat market. 

After lunch on your own and time to explore at leisure, join the group for a scenic drive to the famous Lascaux cave simulations near the village of Montignac. In 1940, a quartet of schoolboys stumbled onto the Lascaux cave, a UNESCO-inscribed repository of stunning prehistoric art. Although the original cave is no longer accessible to visitors for the sake of preservation, the state‑of‑the‑art International Center for Cave Art at Lascaux offers a meticulous reproduction — opening a three-dimensional portal into the history of the site through 600 wall painting facsimiles.

Explore the Lascaux legacy with a visit to the International Center for Cave Art, where you will enjoy an immersive experience into the heart of prehistory.

Return to the hotel and join the group for dinner at a local restaurant. Later this evening, experience local culture with a folklore dance presentation at the hotel.