In the holm oak forest at La Roque-Gageac

Come and discover this beautiful town with its 19th-century houses along the Dordogne. Then set off among the holm oaks, walking alongside old stone walls, dry stone huts and a wash house, with numerous views of the Dordogne as your guide. At the end of the walk, plan a short trip on a gabarre to admire this town from a different angle.

Details

56334394
Creation:
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 10.19 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 397 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 398 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 232 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 65 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking is available in the Halle car park: the starting point of the route.
During the high season, park wherever you can find a space, bearing in mind that parking is highly regulated in and around the town.

(S/E) Leave the car park and walk along the Dordogne on your left. When you reach Château de la Malartrie, turn right and then immediately left to walk along Chemin des Choucas to the viewpoint and back.

(1) Back at the previous crossroads, turn left onto Route Pablo Picasso towards Leyssinardie. At the Crose d'Auzière junction, keep right and take Chemin de la Cariette. When you approach a road, take the hairpin bend to the right and you will reach a crossroads.

(2) Turn left and follow Route Jean Jaurès towards the north-east. When you reach a track on the left, just before a crossroads, turn right onto a path. Continue eastwards on a faint track across the field until you reach Route des Veysseries (on the way, note the Manoir des Veyssières on the right - private property).

(3) At the road, turn right twice and descend into the woods until you reach a Y-shaped crossroads. Turn right and continue downhill. After passing the entrance to the Font de la Côte farm, you will reach a crossroads.

(4) Follow the Route des Sources to the right. Pass Labrot on your right and continue to the wash house.

(5) Turn right onto the road that climbs uphill. Pass Roquecombe then Les Combes, ignoring a path on the right. Continue downhill.

(6) A path on the left leads to Le Bos. Turn right onto a grassy path. Cross Les Combes-Basses, continuing along the path, and climb up to a track. Follow this track on the left. View of the Dordogne.

(7) At the information terminal, descend to the left along old ruined walls. Cross a road and enter Gageac. Turn right in front of the gate of a house. Continue right at the next crossroads and follow the path.

(8) At the fork, the path turns left. In front of the Botanical Garden, continue to the right and arrive in front of the Manoir de Tarde. Make a sharp left turn. Pass in front of the church and the town hall. Immediately after the town hall, go down the stairs to access the landscaped roof of the Tourist Information Office (BIT) then follow the Allée des Bananiers to reach the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 69 m - Parking at the Halle - Dordogne (fleuve)
  2. 1 : km 0.95 - alt. 71 m - La Malartrie
  3. 2 : km 2.8 - alt. 225 m - Route Jean Jaurès
  4. 3 : km 3.76 - alt. 220 m - Route des Veysseries
  5. 4 : km 5.17 - alt. 106 m - Route des Sources.
  6. 5 : km 5.66 - alt. 97 m - Labrot wash house
  7. 6 : km 7.15 - alt. 111 m - Le Bos
  8. 7 : km 8.1 - alt. 205 m - Information terminal
  9. 8 : km 9.07 - alt. 133 m - Junction with the gabarre route
  10. S/E : km 10.19 - alt. 69 m - Parking at the Halle - Dordogne (fleuve)

Notes

What is a gabarre? For 2,000 years, river transport was carried out by small sailing boats with very shallow draughts. They were called gabarres and were used to transport goods along the rushing waters of the Dordogne River.

Worth a visit

La Roque-Gageac is thethird most visited site in France after the Eiffel Tower and Mont Saint-Michel. This small town nestled between the cliff and the Dordogne played an essential role during the Hundred Years' War between the French and the English. Its fort, carved naturally into the cliff, is once again open to the public after extensive restoration work.
All the inhabitants of La Roque-Gageac remember 17 January 1956, when a section of the cliff collapsed, destroying several houses.

The Hanging Gardens of Marqueyssac: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardins_de...

Reviews and comments

4.7 / 5
Based on 12 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.7 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
User 2459813

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 03, 2026
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A pleasant route, with just the right amount of elevation and variety, even in freezing winter weather; difficult to know if it is very busy on 2 January... but in any case, well maintained.

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fortunedemeragitée
fortunedemeragitée

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 15, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant, without any particular difficulties.

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Marianne et Heidi
Marianne et Heidi

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant walk with lovely paths through the woods. We started at point (1) (small car park). The route is easy to follow as it is very well marked in yellow. We didn't really see the point of the short detour to point (2). Between points (5) and (6), we took a shortcut at Les Combes by turning right onto the Roman road. We quickly (100 or 200 m) rejoined the trail, which surprisingly came up on our left, and continued along the Roman road. Crossing the village at the end to return to point (1) was a nice reward.

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Lamyc
Lamyc

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant circular walk from La Roque Gageac. Varied landscapes and routes.
We didn't see any point in going down to Lauzier and then back up again at Les Combes. We turned right off the old Roman road to rejoin the route a few hundred metres further on: a very pleasant path.
As with many walks in Périgord, there are no picnic tables along the route.
The Labrot farmhouse inn no longer serves meals in September! It's a shame, as it would have been a nice place to stop for a break!

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fortunedemeragitée
fortunedemeragitée

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Good hiking route.

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KWC096
KWC096

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very shaded circuit with a magnificent finish at the top of Roque Gageac between the cliffs and the Dordogne River

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André GUILLEMIN-LABORNE
André GUILLEMIN-LABORNE

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route with a little bit of tarmac. A reasonable elevation gain on pretty, fairly shaded paths.
In terms of views, nothing exceptional except for a nice finale on the descent to La Roque-Gageac.
Perfectly doable with teenagers or Sunday hikers.

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Carabaffe
Carabaffe

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 13, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant and shaded. Lots of fairly challenging climbs, few panoramic views but beautiful countryside.
It's worth noting that we stopped at a farm selling foie gras and other specialities directly to the public, which was on the route.

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Cyril Drion
Cyril Drion

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Superb walk in the woods with magnificent oak trees!

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Aperigord
Aperigord

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 04, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

We have combined our route with another one.

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Mumu52800
Mumu52800

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Well-marked route

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fever
fever

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful hike with views of the Dordogne and its valley at the start and end. The entire middle section takes place further inland, mainly in the forest. The landscapes are nevertheless varied and the walk is very pleasant.
Having done it on a hot summer's day, we took the route in reverse. I don't regret it because the beginning of the route is more shaded than the end. This meant we could do the most open part in the morning before the sun got too high and too hot.

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