10 things to do in Dordogne with teens

I’m the father of two teens aged 13 and 15. Having already traveled a few times with them around the world, I know this is not easy to awake their curiosity for the regions of their own country. « Not enough exotic ! » is what they often say, as their memories are full of great moments they had in Tanzania, Laos, Sri Lanka or Canada…

So each time I plan a trip in France for my own family, I really put all my efforts into finding exciting and funny adventures, as « wowing » my children becomes a real challenge for me.

Here are my favorite 10 things to do in Dordogne with teens around Sarlat-la-Caneda, most of them having been tested by us in summer 2019. Sarlat is a beautiful small and medieval city and undoubtedly the best « base camp » for a family stay in Dordogne, as it’s close to both rivers Dordogne and Vezere, to beautiful and perched villages and castles, and deep and impressive painted caves…

Beynac and Castlenaud La Chapelle castles are located only 1 kilometer as a crow flies one from each other, each on a different bank of the Dordogne river, perched on rocky promontories, as most of the medieval castles had to be, to play their defensive and protecting role. Both offer an extraordinary view on the river.

My kids preferred Castelnaud, as it has more interactive displays in some rooms, and it hosts a fabulous collection of 250 medieval weapons, from sharp spears, crossbows and halberds to impressive catapults and trebuchets. Throughout the year, a program of additional events runs at this castle so it is worth reviewing before choosing a day to visit.

It sounds like a fairytale, as the original cave was discovered in September 1940 by a young boy called Marcel Ravidat and his dog Robot, who was chasing a rabbit… Robot fell in a hole, then came out again one hour later, so Marcel returned to the scene with three friends, all determined to explore what was under the ground. What they discovered with their simple ropes and small pocket torches on that day was going to change their lives… and reveal to the world a uncomparable gem of cave paintings. This is the kind of stories that my kids love!

The first replica, Lascaux 2, was built in 1983 and was very close to the original. Then came Lascaux 4 in 2016. But there’s much more to Lascaux 4 than the replica. It’s a whole new experience, very interactive, with the benefit of 30 years of archaelogical research and new technologies of information. On arrival we were given a tablet computer that contains all the information about the various displays, in French or other 10 languages. With these tablets we were able to interact with displays for more information, take photographs and record information. My kids really played the game and we left them for nearly 1 hour, strolling in the huge room where the Great Hall of Bulls and the Painted Gallery are replicated.

To be honest, my kids are not real foodies (nor am I…), but they could not resist to the tasty strawberries and sweet walnuts of Dordogne, that we could find by loads on local markets. Sarlat’s is probably the most important one, as it spreads twice a week (on Saturdday and Wednesday) all over the streets of the city, with hundreds of pop up stalls offering an abundance of delicious fresh food. We loved to buy our own choice of products and make an invigorating pic nic on one of the lively squares of the city, admiring acrobats or street jugglers, or hearing a local music performance.

Whatever their age and nationality, there’s nothing like fresh water to bring fun to children and make them happy, especially when the temperature outside reaches 35° C (95° F). So it was not hard to convince my two boys to go for a canoe excursion on the Dordogne river. A lot of itineraries are available, not only on the Dordogne, but also on the other rivers around (Vézère, Auvézère, Dronne…). All will offer somptuous views on the cliffs and perched villages you will pass by.

We opted for a 4 hour excursion between Vitrac and Beynac, and though we could have done it in 2.5 hours only, we took our time to make stops on the numerous beaches, or jump directly from the canoe. Not easy to get on board again!

Our favorite stop was La Roque Gageac where we had a nice pic nic break, stunned by the view on the impressive cliff where the village is nestled.

Univerland Park is an amusement park around 30 minutes drive from Sarlat. It offers 4 distinct activities: the Aquarium du Perigord Noir, the Labyrinthe Prehistorique, the Jungle Golf and the Big Bird. We were really impressed by the variety of fishes and reptiles at the Aquarium. We were put a huge reticulated python our our shoulders (the most difficult was to convince my wife to be on the picture with us…). There are shows with animals every 30 minutes and, having a VIP pass, we were allowed to go behind the scenes with the healers and feed the gentle and almost blind coypus from South America. My boys loved to be cage housed with the animals, and be observed by the dozens of visitors behind the glass windows! Then we went to the Big Bird, an adrenaline arial ropes climbing course which reaches 22 meters above ground at its highest point! Its the highest of its kind in Europe. There are 75 agility challenges and activities to complete and we had not time enough to try them all ! We did not try either the Prehistorical labyrinth, as it’s more for younger kids aged under 10. The Jungle Golf was attractive, but it was a bit crowded at that time, so we decided not to go. Pre-booking tickets is really recommended!

Well, if Lascaux 4 must be on the bucket list, there are at least 4 or 5 other caves that deserve to be in the top 10 as well! Rouffignac is one of them!

We loved it because we boarded an electric train to visit the cave and see the huge galleries with more than 250 animal figures, among which the famous mammoths. This is very rare, as these pachyderms are seldom represented by prehistoric artists, generally to the benefit of horses and bisons. Among the 350 ornamented caves that are known in Western Europe, more than a third of the mammoth representations are found in Rouffignac. That is why the place is commonly nicknamed “the 100 mammoths cave”.

Some children don’t like chocolate, but my two boys are simply addicted to it…and that must be genetic, as I’m a cocoa fan too (though I try to restrain my attraction for it…).

So we went to a small village called Terrasson-Lavilledieu (around 50 minutes drive from Sarlat), to visit Bovetti chocolate factory and its Museum. There we could discover and understand better the full « bean to bar » process of chocolate production. There are even cocoa trees on the greenhouse ! My kids could get involved in a small chocolate workshop, and they could make a chocolate sweet with a moulding, and keep the moulding after the workshop to use it again at home!

The Parc du Thot brings together in one place a museum space, an animal park and modules of “prehistorical” workshops This visit to the discovery of the Man/ Animal relationship invites to travel to the prehistorical era and allows the visitor to discover the man of Cro-Magnon, both a hunter and a talentuous animal painter.

With my elder son, we decided to live the exciting « VIP wolf caretaking experience » : during more than 2 hours early in the morning (actually before the park opens to the public), we entered the skin of Cheynenne, Taiga and Django, the three wolves of the park. Guided by a passionated healer, we could go behind the scene, prepare the food rations for the animals, understand the social behavior of wolves and be able to ask directly our questions to our guide.

I’ll be honest with you… we’ve not tested this activity, as it’s more than 250 USD per person, and our teens would have paid the full price, since they’re over 12. So it was a bit too expensive for us, considering all the other activities we wanted to try!

But I’ve no doubt that this is definitly a memorable moment to live, as the amazing cultural heritage and landscapes of Dordogne reveal their beauty and even become surreal when seen from above. You can either join a group of 8 people, do a private flight, choose your departure point and rough itinerary (though it’s the wind who decides at the end), make a sunrise flight…and even try a blimp flight, with a small propellant engine that makes it easier to direct.

Opposite Lascaux, Rouffignac and many other painted caves of the region, the Padirac chasm is nothing other than an immense, vertical, vertiginous doorway that invites us to pass, in a few minutes, from the outside world to the underground world. Though there are no paintings or carvings inside, it’s a unique natural curiosity that is really worth to be put on your bucket list if you travel with kids (and even you’re only adults!).

As we went down the stairs, the light dimmed, and the temperature fell to 13°C. Then we started an incredible crossing along an underground river in a small boat, leaving the daylight and the sky to enter the vertical fissures dug out in the rock over the last 2 million years. At one moment, we came into a vast water area called the Rain Lake. It’s called like that because there’s a continuous and intense seepage process, that makes the water of the lake evaporate, then come to the thinner and fissured ceiling…which let the raindrops fall again, consistantly replenishing the lake. The raindrops carry dissolved limestone, which they deposit in the form of stalactites that, over the centuries, have come to form spectacular decorations.

We then continued the journey on foot, and came to a second lake called the Lac des Gours (the lake of Dams), as there are calcite platforms that appear in a succession of obstacles, until a peaceful pond is reached. These obstacles forced the first explorers of the cave a century and a half ago to carry heavy boats before they continue their way on the water. Finally we reached the Salle du Grand Dôme (Hall of the Great Dome), a natural and rocky underground cathedral, undoubtedly the most majestic viewpoint of this memotable visit.

Its ceiling reaches a height of 94 metres and it is one of the largest underground halls open to visitors in France!

Who could imagine that, only a few tens meters above the dome, the vegetation, the life and its noises and smells are present in the open air at the surface!

To be honest, there could be at least more than 10 things to do in Dordogne with teens: the fascinating Museum of Prehistory in les Eyzies, the fabulous gardens of Marqueyssac, the bucolic village of Saint Leon de Vezere… So pick your favorites and contact us for a truly customized family trip in Dordogne!