There’s not a whole lot to do in the southwest village of La Roque Gageac but it is still worth a day trip to see how pretty it is. It is just 9 kilometers (about 6 miles) from Sarlat, which is a perfect base (we think anyway) to explore Dordogne. La Roque Gageac is one of the 149 “Most Beautiful Villages of France” and rightly so.

La Roque Gageac just out from the base of an ochre cliff.

As a vertical village, exploring it would mean climbing narrow, steep and twisting paths against the sheer cliff and the medieval stone houses squished against rock.

If you have acrophobia (a fear of heights), you can still enjoy the view of La Roque Gageac from below or from a boat ride in the Dordogne River – but! The view from above is spectacular.

Above La Roque is the 12th century Fort Troglodytique. It’s position and height were ideal to be able to withstand all of the British assaults during the 100 Years War. It’s 5 euros to enter the fort. Hours to visit: April – August 10:30am to 7pm; Sept – November 10am to 6pm; Tel: 05 53 31 61 94.

Tags: france, travel, la+roque+gageac, dordogne, perigord, southwest+france, most+beautiful+villages, acrophobia