The Cirque de Floirac along the Dordogne river

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Between cliffs and river, undergrowth and rocks, a beautiful walk awaits. The Floirac cirque, the banks of the Dordogne, the cliffs of Gluges and the village of Floirac.

Details

n°860835
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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 13.50 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate
  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 246 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 240 m
  • ▲
    Highest point: 309 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 109 m
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Photos

caillon stream
Château de Floirac
Copeyre cliff
Floirac Valley

Description of the walk

Park in the village of Veyssou next to a pretty stone building.

(S/E) Take theGR®652(white and red markings) heading north-northwest.

(1) At the fork, take the left path following theGR®652. Above Soult, join a road and follow it to the left. Continue until you reach the P sign.

(2) Continue straight ahead to discover the viewpoint over the Floirac valley. Turn back to the P sign.

(2) Take the path on the left. Be careful as the descent is dangerous. Then follow the railway line and cross under a bridge. Continue along the path until you reach a walnut grove on the left and a meadow on the right. At the intersection, take a narrow path on the left. Cross the D43, leaving a small bridge on your left, and continue along the path opposite.

(3) Follow the banks of the Dordogne, following the yellow markings. On the left, you will see the Copeyre viewpoint. Continue following the yellow markings.

(4) Admire the Château de Mirandol and continue to follow the yellow markings. Turn right to leave the banks of the Dordogne and reach the hamlet of Sous Castel. Turn left at the cross and follow the road to the Château de Floirac.

(5) Continue along the road until you reach the D43. Turn left and follow the railway line (yellow markings). At the start of a slight left-hand bend, leave the road and turn right onto the path leading uphill through the woods towards Rul, following the dry stream bed of Caillon. You will reach theGR®652crossroads.

(6) Turn right towards Floirac and continue climbing. You will reach Rul.

(7) At the intersection, turn left towards Veyssou. A beautiful climb leads to a tarmac road. Follow it to the right. Then turn onto a wide track on the left, following the yellow markings. You will reach an intersection between the hamlets of La Taillade and Escapasse

(8) Stay on the right-hand path, then turn left onto the road for about 150 metres.

(9) Turn right towards Soult. Pass the turn-off to Baylac on your right, then the turn-off to the hamlet of Soult, also on your right. After about 250 metres, turn right to reach the crossroads you passed on the way out.

(1) Take theGR®652opposite to return to the car park where you started (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 221 m - Hamlet of Veyssou
  2. 1 : km 1.12 - alt. 255 m - Crossroads of the loop
  3. 2 : km 1.76 - alt. 257 m - Sign P
  4. 3 : km 3.68 - alt. 111 m - Bank of the Dordogne - Dordogne (fleuve)
  5. 4 : km 5.19 - alt. 113 m - Viewpoint overlooking Château de Mirandol. Confluence with - Tourmente (ruisseau) - Affluent de la Dordogne
  6. 5 : km 6.48 - alt. 144 m - Château de Floirac
  7. 6 : km 7.45 - alt. 143 m - GR652, on the right
  8. 7 : km 7.96 - alt. 161 m - Rul, on the left
  9. 8 : km 9.82 - alt. 287 m - Intersection, on the right
  10. 9 : km 10.64 - alt. 302 m - Fork, on the right
  11. S/E : km 13.5 - alt. 220 m - Hamlet of Meyssou

Notes

Special feature: don't forget to order your bread when you arrive from the local baker, Mr Ricoux (Au Four à Bois), it's absolutely delicious.
Good walking shoes.
Shops in Floirac.
Water source in Floirac.

Worth a visit

The Floirac Cirque.
The banks of the Dordogne.
The Château de Floirac.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

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Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 25 reviews
Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
JMB46
JMB46

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike on a beautiful October day. The descent at the start of the hike is a bit challenging, so you need to stay focused. Apart from this section, there are no major difficulties for hikers who are used to walking in the Lot region.
Magnificent views throughout the route.

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joe 46
joe 46

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Superb hike, thank you!

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Catherine Du Fayet de la Tour
Catherine Du Fayet de la Tour

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 24, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very beautiful hike between the limestone plateau and the valley. Very easy. I recommend it

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dindons
dindons

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 25, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Already done it, but happy to do it again to accompany a group of 15 people to some beautiful viewpoints and the Caillon waterfalls, which are a must-see. Thank you again for this hike

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dodolooping
dodolooping

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A lovely outing. A varied and pleasant route with beautiful autumn sunshine to accompany us and bring out the first golden hues of the season

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bernard coulomb
bernard coulomb

Overall rating : 4.5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 28, 2024
Reliability of the description : Not used / Not applicable
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Lots of walnut trees, a beautiful walk along the Dordogne and a superb stream cascading from pools to pools carved into the limestone.
No problems with GPS.

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jeanphidrums
jeanphidrums

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant hike despite construction work along the banks of the Dordogne River.

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noelle martin
noelle martin

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

We couldn't find the path leading to the banks of the Dordogne, even after asking locals for directions. There were lots of paths crossing each other, all marked in yellow, which made it difficult to follow.
After the descent at (2), we passed under the railway bridge, and there were several paths there. We couldn't figure out which one to take and made our first mistake at that point. We reached Floirac, then on the way back, we couldn't find La Taillade but ended up back on the path we had taken on the way there, which was already wrong.
Despite all our mistakes, the walk was pleasant with a beautiful view before the big descent. It's a shame, I think we missed out on some of the interesting parts of this circuit. However, thank you.

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Celineetfrederic
Celineetfrederic

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 15, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant hike on a beautiful winter's day. Accurate description. For added safety, we also use the GPS app.
There is a mini market with excellent organic cheese on Saturday mornings at the starting point of the circuit.
Thank you for sharing.

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marcgilles82
marcgilles82

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 13, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

beautiful hike, shame there's a bit too much road and too many crossings. It would have been useful to have different colours to indicate different routes, otherwise very beautiful views...

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la strada
la strada

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 06, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Magnificent paths lined with low walls, especially when leaving Veyssou. Leaving the viewpoint, paragliders take off at point 2, so take great care when descending the path. We had a storm two days earlier, which made the paths very slippery. You can picnic on the banks of the Dordogne, particularly between points 4 and 5, at the hairpin bend, turning right before arriving at SousCastel. We returned via the GR. In fact, we set off from the port of Gluge, a motorhome area. We followed the GR 46 to Montvalent. We took the St Jacques trail, GR 652, to Veyssou. Allow for an extra 7 km. On the way back, when we arrived in Veyssou, we took the D11 and turned off at point 214 towards La Feyssole and then Queygui. We returned to the port of Gluges via the GR 46 at point 121. Allow for an extra 5 km...Total 23 to 24 km. It's fine because overall the entire circuit is not too difficult. And it's great. That's why we came back down via the GR when leaving Floirac, which is more direct. A superb day. Thanks to the scout.

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Hachelo
Hachelo

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A beautiful start to the route, but the end on roads (with very little traffic) seems endless and uninteresting. I think it would be better to shorten it and return to the starting point by following the GR from the hamlet of Le Rul (turn right towards Veyssou instead of continuing straight on as indicated)

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pistolero19
pistolero19

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 03, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A beautiful hike with stunning scenery. There is a fairly steep and slippery descent that my shin still remembers! You need to be well equipped and, in my opinion, it is not recommended with children. There were a few issues with the signposting, but it was a very enjoyable hike that I would happily do again.

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claudina19
claudina19

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 26, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very beautiful hike that we were unable to complete because our stop on the banks of the Dordogne was so welcome and lasted longer than expected (due to the intense heat). At point 2, it would be worth adding that before tackling the (very difficult) descent, there is a paragliding launch site with a panoramic view of part of the cirque and the village of Foussac. You may be lucky enough, as we were, to meet an enthusiast waiting for favourable winds who will share their knowledge with you and show you their equipment.
At point 4, we lost track of the route. On this beautiful Sunday, the area was completely occupied by more than twenty family vehicles that had come to enjoy the good weather. We therefore continued along a carriage road that led us to the intersection of the SNCF railway line and the D43. We finished our loop by returning via the GR652. (Not recommended for those who are tired at the end of the route.) It is a very long and steep climb, but wider than the descent from point 2, with scenic views of the cirque and Floirac.
Thanks to the designer of this walk, which is highly recommended.

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R44TB10
R44TB10

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 14, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Nice route, beautiful views, a bit of tarmac on the way back

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