Freeway-Free in France: Dallying in Domme
Domme is a medieval island perched on top of a bluff, too remote from normal four-lane roads to have been changed much by the advent of the automobile. As we trudged up the winding road, we were wishing for a donkey cart!
But when you get to Domme, it’s worth it. It’s like a visit to Brigadoon, if Brigadoon had a three-star hotel featuring gourmet cuisine, 15th century ramparts on three sides , a view out over the whole of Scotland on the fourth side, and a comprehensive walking tour which included a famous author’s home, a prison whose stone walls are covered with graffiti carved by imprisoned Knights Templar, and a subterranean cavern where the peasants could hide in case anyone made it past the ramparts or scaled the bluff. Plus a very good ice cream shop.
Above is the view from the bluff which protects the side of Domme which looks over the Dordogne River.
After doing the city walk, nothing could be better than returning to the Hotel Esplanade, which sits on the main square of Domme next to the promenade along the bluff. Not only did our room have a view to die for (see above) but the food was superb. I don’t usually publish pictures of meals I have eaten, but I can’t resist showing you these beautifully presented dishes:
At breakfast, we found our buffet of lovely edibles presented in the sitting room above, with the early morning view of the valley just clearing from low-lying fog. One almost did expect this fairy-tale place to vanish in a puff of vapor as the sun rose!
Allyson Johnson 