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Where to buy Dordogne property (a price guide)

Written by: Graham Gilbert

So where to buy your Dordogne property? It helps if you’re aware of Dordogne’s four colour-coded areas: Périgord Noir (black) in the south east; Périgord Blanc (white) in the centre; Périgord Vert (green) in the north and Périgord Pourpre (purple) in the south west.

Property for Sale in South East Dordogne

The most expensive Dordogne property is typically found in the Périgord Noir which boasts the most celebrated historic castles and officially designated ‘plus beaux villages de France’ (‘most beautiful villages of France).

The ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Périgord Noir, and dazzling all who behold it, is the capital Sarlat (or Sarlat-le-Canéda to give it its full name). With its honey-hued medieval houses set in a maze of cobbled streets lit by atmospheric gas lighting the town casts a magical spell over every visitor. Do not miss Saturday’s food market where colourful stall holders ply their trades from stalls groaning under the weight of foie gras, confit de canard, truffles, walnuts, cheese and wine.

Sarlat property prices in 2024 ranged from €1161/m2 for houses needing renovation up to €2934/m2 for the top end ‘ready to move in’ properties. The Périgord Noir is a ‘buy to let’ dream - stick a pin in a map and you have world-famous tourist hot spots in every direction. With 3 million tourists every year full occupancy is assured near spectacular 12th century chateaux such as Beynac and Castelnaud which perch imperiously atop dramatic cliffs on opposite sides of the densely wooded valley of the river Dordogne below.

Or look to the many pretty riverside villages beneath the cliffs and warring chateaux - especially those ‘plus beaux villages’ which also face south such as Beynac (property between €2010/m2 and €2669/m2) and La Roque Gageac (€1658/m2 to €2588/m2). Equally pretty (and with jaw- dropping views over the Dordogne valley) the medieval bastide (fortified) village of Domme is well worth its ‘plus beaux’ status. Here renovation properties are available from just €1234/m2 but the cachet of the village means top end Domme property commands up to €2955/m2. Smart money can buy into the natural beauty of the Vézère valley and simultaneously tap into the huge tourist draw of its many prehistoric villages and cave dwellings. The valley is a UNESCO world heritage site welcoming a million visitors a year. The village of Les Eyzies - home to the National Prehistory Museum - is the perfect base for exploring the nearby Troglodyte dwellings of La Madeleine and La Roque Saint-Christophe. Les Eyzies property prices vary greatly from €1155/m2 to €2518/m2 while the utterly charming ‘plus beaux village’ of Saint-Léon-sur Vézère also has an aquatic centre allowing visitors to explore the very same attractions by canoe. Saint-Léon-sur Vézère property is a little more recherché at between €1715/m2 and €2733/m2.

But possibly you are buying for yourself and do not want to be surrounded 24/7 by tourists? Happily, away from the tourist trail property prices fall away dramatically so this is a ‘win-win situation’. Look to those authentic towns and villages where people still hold down ‘real’ jobs, where you can still find a hardware shop on the high street and where you only hear French when you mooch around the market! Places like Saint-Cyprien! Yes, there is a charming medieval old town climbing up to the 12th century church but there’s also a bustling commercial centre with supermarkets and a charming high-street Rue de la Fontaine with more upmarket shops, bars and cafés. There are daily trains transporting you to Paris in four and a half hours. Saint-Cyprien property comes in at between €1011/m2 and €3070/m2.

Or Montignac which also has a foot in both camps! A delightful riverside town straddling the Vézère there is a twice weekly market, fine dining, a choice of bars and even a cinema. You are a leisurely 30 minutes’ drive along empty roads to Sarlat and a mere 5 minutes’ walk from the world-famous UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lascaux (the prehistoric cave network and wall paintings discovered in 1940)! Montignac property to renovate starts at an affordable €987/m2 and rises to €2612/m2 for the finished article.

Property for Sale in South West Dordogne

The Périgord Pourpre (Purple Périgord) lies in the South West of Dordogne. Gone are the dramatic cliff-top castles overhanging thickly wooded river valleys below; here, the gentle slopes and warmer, drier climate favour the cultivation of the grapes that give this area its name!

Bergerac - the second largest town in the Dordogne after Périgueux - is the area’s capital and sub-Préfecture. It’s a lively working town but Bergerac also enjoys a pretty riverside location on the banks of the river Dordogne and a medieval quarter so atmospheric that you expect to bump into Cyrano de Bergerac at any moment! Best of all it has its own airport with budget operators offering low-cost flights to and from the UK.

Bergerac property prices range dramatically from just €967/m2 to €2,371/m2 for more desirable quarters. Bergerac is surrounded by vineyards and you mustn’t leave without tasting the full- bodied dry reds of Pécharmant and the white dessert wine of Monbazillac which, from the right vigneron, can rival a Sauternes.

There are many pretty villages along the river leaving Bergerac in the direction of Sarlat. You will pay a premium for the cachet of a property close to Sarlat or for proximity to Bergerac airport. So why not find a pretty, riverside village halfway between the two far away from the bustle of business, aeroplanes and tourists? Lalinde is just such a place! Just 20 minutes’ drive from Bergerac airport this delightful ‘bastide’ town (built in a grid system around a central arcaded market) is a visual symphony of honey-coloured dwellings with dormer roofs and dovecots. Lalinde property prices range from €882/m2 to €2,123/m2.

Further south on the border with Lot et Garonne, Monpazier is a perfectly preserved bastide town with all its arcaded walkways around the medieval market square intact. Enjoy the town’s alfresco dining and café culture while admiring the architecture of another ‘plus beaux village de France’. Monpazier property varies between €1,153/m2 and €2,345/m2.

Also bordering Lot et Garonne is Eymet, a town so beloved of the English that they now number 20% of the population! Don’t miss Thursday morning’s market or the night time markets on Tuesday evenings in July and August. Eymet property prices in 2024 ranged from €986/m2 for renovation properties to €2543/m2 for top end properties.

Property for Sale in North Dordogne

Driving north from the tourist hotspots of Périgord Noir, the Périgord Vert offers a more open prospect, with pleasant views over gently rolling hills. Irrigated by the rivers Dronne, Bandiat, Auvézère and Isle this is indeed the ‘Green’ Périgord! This is an unpretentious area, it is less touristic, quieter and property represents better value for money. You are just an hour away from Périgueux and Limoges airports (the latter with its budget international flights) and the same distance again from Angoulême airport where you can pick up a TGV and be in Paris in just over two hours!

The quiet town of Nontron is the area’s capital and sub-Préfecture, it’s ‘a real town for real people’ that passes the high street hardware shop test! It is famous for the manufacture of pen knives. It also falls within the Périgord-Limousin Natural Park where you can walk, hike, run, cycle or mountain bike to your heart’s content either solo or in organised groups. This is the ‘Great Outdoors’ on an epic scale, the ‘Grande Boucle du Parc’ is a 200km loop taking over a week on foot and at least three days by bike! Strategically placed public transport and chambres d’hôte allow you to break your journey.

Nontron and many surrounding villages are also on the 400km Flow Vélo cycle route between Sarlat and La Rochelle with optional onward journey to the islands of Aix and Oléron! Nontron property prices in 2024 started at a very affordable €559/m2 rising to a modest €1382/m2. Verteillac is a similar working town with a butcher, a baker and a candlestick maker! Don’t miss Saturday’s lively market, or the Brocante on the first Sunday of the month when all the ex-pat Brits from miles around converge on the town to meet up and catch up on the gossip! Verteillac property ranged from €717/m2 to €2175/m2 last year while nearby Ribérac - where many of those Brits live – came in at between €721/m2 and €1908/m2.

And so to Brantôme! Midway between Nontron and Périgueux, the spectacular ‘Venice of Dordogne’ emerges in all her ethereal splendour seemingly from the River Dronne itself! Still dressed in the gleaming white limestone from which she was hewn by monks in the 8th century, the Benedictine Abbey, the old bridge and the riverside setting make Brantôme the most romantic tourist attraction of the Périgord Vert. Brantôme property for sale in 2024 ranged in price from €1090/m2 to €2181/m2.

Property for Sale in Central Dordogne

The Périgord Blanc, so named because of its chalky bedrock and white limestone buildings, occupies the central horizontal strip of Dordogne. At its centre lies the capital and main administrative Préfecture of the Dorgogne, Périgueux. As the largest town in the Dordogne, Périgueux affords all the opportunities for retail therapy, fine dining and café culture that you might expect. It also has more cultural attractions than you can shake a stick at. Enjoy the medieval quarter’s narrow winding streets radiating out from the imposing 12th century Gothic Saint-Front Cathedral (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) or immerse yourself in the town’s even older, Roman past in the Cité quarter. Here are the Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum (with viewing galleries suspended over the remains of a well-preserved Roman villa), the 2nd century circular Vesunna Temple and the remains of a Roman amphitheatre. With Périgueux Bassillac Airport just 10 km away, Périgueux property is a good investment with good long-term letting potential to the locals or a healthy supplementary income from summer tourists. Périgueux property prices in 2024 ranged from €1157/m2 up to €2682/m2.

ALL PROPERTIES | CHATEAUX | MAISONS DE MAITRE | EQUESTRIAN | WITH LAND | WITH SWIMMING POOL | CHEAP PROPERTY | BUILDING PLOTS | WHERE TO BUY (A PRICE GUIDE) | HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN HOUSE

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