Château de Monsac

Forty acres of parkland in the Dordogne valley surround this four-star château near Monsac, its stone facade and shuttered windows overlooking an outdoor pool that replaced the old orchard terrace. Family rooms sit alongside standard doubles, each reached by the original stone staircase.

Breakfast is served in the vaulted ground-floor room; a small bar operates evenings for guests only. Free parking suits travellers touring the Périgord's bastide villages by car, with Bergerac's airport under thirty minutes away.

Monsac itself is a quiet hamlet, better suited to couples and families seeking countryside distance from Sarlat's summer crowds.