2026 Campervan road trip Pt2 Majestic Chateaux of the Loire and Dordogne

After a couple of days exploring the Normandy beaches, we continued heading south. We had a total of 12 days to get from Le Havre to Toulon where we had an overnight ferry booked for Sardinia. With fond memories of family holidays in Saumur, we wanted to have a few days visiting some of the majestic chateaux of the Loire Valley and the Dordogne.

Our first destination in the Loire Valley was the magnificent Chateau Villandry with it's exquisite formal gardens. Unlike the extortionate cost for parking at UK stately homes, there were a couple of large free carparks complete with spaces specifically for motorhomes which a bonus before we even got to the Chateau.

We are not massively into visiting the inside of these buildings, preferring the views and the gardens and wow! - these gardens are probably the most beautiful we have ever seen.

There are several structured, geometrically designed, colourful gardens around the front of the chateau that are best viewed from the raised gardens around the edge of the property. Each garden has a theme of the plants used - I particularly loved that most of the colour came from cabbages and lettuce! These gardens are perfectly sculpted and maintained.

Moving further from the chateau and up onto the terraces the gardens become slightly less formal with tree lined groves, water fountains and small lake. I couldn't decide if I preferred the formal gardens or the wonderful wildflower gardens that were a riot of colour with the most incredible array of pretty flowers all hidden behind tall hedges!

There is a great motorhome aire in the village of Villandry but we were in need of motorhome service facilities and a shower so opted instead for an ACSI campsite at Azay Le Rideau.

This was another really pretty town with an interesting Chateau that we had read about in Martin Dorey's 'Take the Slow Road in France book'. It rained the next morning so we didn't visit the Chateau but we did find a great Tabac cafe to sit and watch the world go by while we had breakfast. The prices in most cafes definitely had a 'tourist tax' on them with most saying €4 for a black coffee but the busy tabac did a 'cafe tartine' for about €3 - coffee, french bread, a pot of jam and butter - perfect.

The campsite was very basic and the facilities to be honest were not the greatest but it was only €17 and it did have a pretty aspect next to the river.

With black stormy skies and a day of heavy rain forcast we were not sure how the day would pan out, but we headed towards Chinon as Richard wanted to see the castle and take in some of the history in the town. As you can see from the photo's - it was very stormy but that did not detract from the beauty of the town. We were able to wander through the streets between the showers - it was very quiet with the rain and it being a Sunday afternoon.

Originally we had intended to stay in the Loire for a few days but we decided to push further south where the forecast was better and spend more time in the Dordogne.

Using Robbie Roams France guidebook for inspiration, we read about the tragic history of the small town of Oradour Sur Glane - Richard had heard about it previously and wanted to visit and it was on our route down.

Oradour Sur Glane

This is probably one of the most emotional places we have ever visited! On the morning of 10th June 1944 - just 4 days after the D-Day landings, a retreating German troop entered the village and gathered everyone into the village square. They then took all the men into the barns and shot them and locked all the women and children in the church and burnt the church down. 642 innocent villagers were massacred that day - only 7 people survived.

The town has been preserved as it was left that day. The German soldiers burnt many of the buildings which are now just streets of ruins. It is heartbreaking seeing places like the butchers shop complete with the weighing scales and other equiment just left as it was over 80 years ago. The cars now all rusty shells scattered around the village.

The site now stands as a memorial and a reminder of the attrocities of war and it is quite eerie walking around - it is silent - tourists just taking in the sights without speaking. We were surprised at the size of the town and fascinated by each building and the memories they held. A lone singer sewing machine still sat in the middle of a living room - a reminder that this was once someones home.

As I said, an emotional place to visit, but one that very much makes you think about the history that our families lived through in the war.

Still with no plan of where we were to stay that night and it was now after 7pm - we kept heading south. It was too late to look at booking a campsite so I searched the P4N app and came up with one of the best free 'village aires' that we have ever stayed at.

The village of Chamberet have a small area only a few minutes walk to the town centre that has 5 proper bays for campervans and small motorhomes - it is tucked in a walled area so was peaceful and private. There was a water tap available and even a clothes line. The town was really quiet the next day as it was a Monday but we managed to find a small cafe for a coffee before moving on.

It is quite unusual for us to be on a road trip and move on every day - which we had done for the last 4 days and we were looking for somewhere to stay for a few nights so we could have a base and explore an area more fully. Lots of our subscribers had recommended a town called Rocamadour in the Dordogne.

We did call in at the pretty town of Treignac on the way down - famed for its medieval bridge across the Vezere river. Just a quick stop off - but very photogenic.

Rocamadour

Rocamadour is a small medieval clifftop village most famously known for its Cité Réligieuse - a series of religious buildings, accessed via the Grand Escalier staircase. It perches majestically high above the valley floor and is definitely a town that has made it onto the tourist trail. And I can see why - it is absolutely stunning.

We stayed for a couple of nights at Camping Les Cigales - an ACSI campsite and at €19 a night a bargain, complete with a swimming pool and a nice bar/cafe area. The campsite is split in 2 - almost as though they have merged 2 campsites together and we based ourselves at the side that was closeset to the walk into town. It was a good 5 minute walk back to the reception and pool from our pitch but only a minute to the bars and restaurants of L'Hospitalet and so much closer to walk into Rocamadour which we did a couple of times during our stay.

We chose to do the cite walk through the cobbled streets of the town and up the stairs to the different churches. It is not an easy walk but there are alternatives - there is a lift from the town centre up to the top or you can drive and park up there. The walk really lets you take in the architecture and grandeur of a town built in medieval times and there is a bonus of a switchback walk that takes you through some of the pretty gardens and gives you some incredible viewpoints back over the town and the valley below.

We had a wonderful time at Rocamadour and could have stayed a few more days. Richard took the opportunity to get out on his bike exploring the area whilst I had a relaxing morning by the pool.

Our last stop over on this leg of the journey to the ferry at Toulon was in another town that has been voted one of the prettiest towns in France and for once we would absolutely agree.

Saint Cirq Lapopie

We had not heard of the town Saint Cirq Lapopie and were actually headed to stay overnight in Cahors, but we had called in at the tourist information in Rocamadour and the assistant in there was wonderful. She was really interested in our travels and was most insistant that Cahors was not the town for us - instead pointing us slightly of our route to the small hilltop village. She told us about the beautiful free aire that was beside the river in the valley that we could stay at and even recommended a slower more scenic drive for us to take to get there.

Oh Wow are we glad that we took her advice. The drive was stunning and the village absolutley gorgeous. There are a couple of different places that motorhomes can park for free up until the ned of May, one in a woodland shaded area or as we chose, directly next to the river. There is also a campsite if you were needing more facilities.

The town is a good 20 minute steep walk uphill from the park up and is set on the clifftops overlooking the river Lot. The views across the valley were magnificent and the town full of quirky little shops and lovely looking cafes and restaurants. The streets were cobbled and lined with vibrant flower baskets and quaint buildings. Under the shade of the trees in the busy town centre were dozens of hikers on part of the camino trail, eating ice-creams and cooling off from the heat of the midday sun before setting off again.

The journey through the Loire Valley and the Dordogne was a real pleasure, not a chore as we generally find our travels when we are rushing to get to a ferry or a specific destination. It has opened our eyes to the true beauty of mid France and there is still so much for us to see and do in the area. We made a decision that on one of our next road trips we would just focus on this area for the full few weeks.

In our next blog we visit Carcassonne, probably the most famous french medieval town and hike to the beautiful Calanques of Cassis.

If you have enjoyed reading the blog and haven't seen our video of this part of our road trip - I have included a link below.

Jackie and Richard