8-day tour, ( with a 5 day tour option), incorporating a visit to the exciting Circuit des Remparts classic car races in Angoulême,with 4 days in the Dordogne visiting beautiful villages. Our tour starts with an overnight ferry from Portsmouth to St.Malo and then on scenic back roads takes us to the Dordogne with an overnight stop at a sumptuous 4-star chateau hotel in the Loire Valley. Our main hotel for the next 3 nights is in the pretty medieval village of Bourdeilles, just 5 miles down river from Brantome, one of France's prettiest towns but, due to the popularity of this tour, we will also be using other local hotels too.On Saturday morning we visit Brantome and then drive to nearby Champagnac de Belair where we treat you to a wonderful gourmet lunch in the Moulin du Roc a stunning Michelin * restaurant and converted 16th century water mill that never fails to impress.After lunch we drive to Angoulême to watch the preparation for Sunday's street race which uses the same circuit along the old streets of this walled town that it did in 1939 when the "Circuit des Remparts" first started.We also drive a couple of laps around the circuit on saturday evening and visit the paddock to look at the cars.On Sunday we drive back up to Angouleme to watch the nostalgic and exciting classic and vintage car races.On Monday our 5 day tour returns to Caen to catch the afternoon ferry back to Portsmouth.Our 8 day tour participants leave our hotel and drive down to enjoy a leisurely lunch in Sarlat, Europe's best preserved medieval town, stopping off on route to visit the beautiful gardens at Eyrignac Manoir.After lunch we visit two more of France's most beautiful villages; Beynac and La Roque Gageac both of which overlook the river Dordogne,before arriving at our overnight hotel perched on a cliff top in nearby Domme, another "beau village".The following day we visit the stunning gardens at Chateau Marqueyssac where the views over the river Dordogne are quite breathtaking.We then visit nearby Chateau Castelnaud an impressive fortified medieval chateau followed by lunch at Chateau des Milandes the former home of the American singer and dancer, Josephine Baker.On our return back to Bourdeilles we stop off at another of France's most beautiful villages, St Leon sur Vezere, for a coffee before arriving back at our hotels in Bourdeilles for our final night in the Dordogne.On Wednesday our return trip takes us back through the Vienne Valley to the Loire Valley via Oradour Sur Glane and Chinon to our final overnight stop,where once again we stay at the magnificent Chateau de Rochecotte.On Thursday,our final day, we leave the Loire Valley and drive up to Caen where we catch the afternoon ferry back to Portsmouth.
5-day version of the above tour available
Photos from our 2010 tour, please click on the link below. http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/classiccartoursinternational/ANGOULEMECIRCUITDESREMPARTSRACESDORDOGNETOUR
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