B R A N T Ô M E

                             Ancient, Mystical, Sacred

                I N S I D E R 'S  G U I D E

Typical Dordogne summers can be extremely warm, so knowing where to go to cool off is essential, especially if you don’t have a pool where you are staying.    Map of Swimming areas

Swimming in the Dronne river

The river Dronne has some small riverside beaches and cordoned off areas where it is considered to be safe to swim.  Near Brantôme, there are a few places to swim that have river beaches:  Lisle is about 25 minutes away, and has a little beach next to the Pont du Moulin restaurant; further away, the pretty  river beach in St-Aulaye about 45 minutes from Brantôme.

La Jemaye

The lake at La Jemaye is less than an hour’s drive south-west of Brantôme, a little further than Riberac.  This beautiful lake is set in the middle of a huge forest, and has its own beach, a children’s play area, picnic areas, several restaurants, and showers to clean up after a swim!   A floating platform in the lake is perfect to dive from, or you can hire pedalos, and even do some bird watching!

Grand Etang Saint-Estephe

The lake at Saint-Estephe is about half an hour by car north of Brantôme, and also has a white sandy beach, lovely café bars, and beautiful walkways around the lake.  You can fish, go boating, play tennis, go horse riding and ride a bike trail. Read more 

Renamon

Nearby Lisle, just 20 minutes from Brantôme is the summer river spot Renamon, where you can swim, picnic, hire canoes, and listen to music of live bands in the evening. To find it, go to Lisle and before entering take the road to Grand Brassac, you'll see it signposted on the right.

Etang du Bos Leisure park

Further away towards Les Eyzies you will find the Etang du Bos, a smaller water and leisure park built around a lake in a pretty woodland setting.  The park has a lot of activities available, including huge inflatable water toys, pedalos, swimming pools, water slides, sand pits, swings, electric cars and boats.  It costs about 8€ to get in. Read more

Cycling 

You can hire bicycles in Brantôme itself for about 10€ for an entire day or at 'A Velo', located in St-Julien-de-Bourdeilles, about 5 minutes out of Brantôme. Go to the 'Bar Glacier' Saint-Sicaire. 0646894810/0553082893

Golf 

Perigueux golf club 0553530235 has 18 holes and is relatively flat, and is crossed by a small stream. You need to book at least 48 hours in advance. Website.  The chateau of Vigiers 0553615033has a golf course set in the middle of vineyards, woods and lakes.  Website 

Canoeing Map

Canoeing in Brantôme

One of the most entertaining things to do in Brantôme is to hire a canoe and circumnavigate the town, braving the weirs in both directions!    It only takes an hour or so but is a hugely amusing experience, especially if you get stuck on the weir where waiting tourists take photographs of your plight!

There are plenty of places to hire canoes in Brantôme, as well as nearby Bourdeilles.  If you want to go for a little longer, they will take you North of Brantôme and let you paddle the boat down, otherwise you can take the boat downriver to Bourdeilles and see its beautiful chateau as you reach the town.  Canoeing costs about 7€ per person for an hour and usually not much more for a half-day.

Canoeing the Chateaux circuit

There is a great canoe trip to do a little further out of Brantôme, which takes you on the river L’Isle which has pretty sights including a couple of chateaux.  You drive to St Astier and then they take you upriver where you take the canoe down the river, admiring the beautiful scenery along the way.  The 14km journey takes about half a day and costs around 12€ per person for a shared canoe.   They offer it every day in July and August but only on weekends in the shoulder season.

Another magnificent canoe trip can be made year round near St-Cyprien and Beynac, that takes you down the valley of the chateaux (Montfort, Domme, La Roque Gageac, Castelnaud, Marqueyssac, Beynac, Les Milandes) Read more

Canoeing Map