Charming Brantome Holiday Rental Gite, 10 acres parkland, Pool, BBQ

Beautifully furnished 2 Bedroom Brantome Holiday Cottage situated 700 metres from centre of Brantome. Available for rental throughout the year.

Brantome known as the 'Venice of Perigord'is host to numerous cafes and highly recommended restaurants including the Moulin de l'Abbaye, Au fil du Temps, and LaRecre Gourmande. Be sure to visit the 11th Century Abbey with the oldest bell tower in France which dominates the town and overlooks the River Dronne.

The commune started to develop on an island encircled by a sweep of the river Dronne next to the Benedictine Abbey of Brantôme, which was founded in 769 by Charlemagne; according to legend he donated relics of Saint Sicarius (Sicaire), one of the infants in the Massacre of the Innocents. Those relics attracted pilgrims to the abbey, who also brought a certain affluence to Brantôme, but in spite of St. Sicaire's protection, the abbey was laid waste in 848 and in 857 by Viking rovers who had advanced along the Dordogne and Isle rivers to the Dronne. The abbey was rebuilt towards the end of the tenth century and again in 1465 and in 1480 after the end of the Hundred Years' War.

Its Romanesque bell-tower is a competitor for the title "oldest in France" and developed a high reputation. Here Bertrand du Guesclin, battling the English Angevins, apprised that he had been made Constable of France by Charles V. Pierre de Mareuil, abbot from 1538–56, built a right-angled bridge, the Pont Coudé, over the river, which connected the elegant Renaissance abbot's lodging he built for himself with its garden, which lay on the opposite bank. He was succeeded by his nephew, Pierre de Bourdeille (abbot from 1558–1614), a soldier and writer better known by his title as Abbé Brantôme, whose diplomacy saved the abbey and its commune from the Huguenot forces of Gaspard de Coligny on two occasions in 1569 during the Wars of Religion. At the French Revolution, the abbey was secularised as a bien national, the last seven monks pensioned and its rich library dispersed.

There is so much to see in the surrounding area, including the many chateaux closeby, the nearby villages of Bourdeilles The Château de Bourdeilles is a castle located in the commune of Bourdeilles in the Dordogne département in southwestern France. A castle may have existed at Bourdeilles in the 9th century, but the oldest parts of the current castle date from the early 14th century. The castle consists of an octagonal keep, connected to a two-story building of which only the outer walls remain. Next to the old castle, a Renaissance palace was built at the end of the 16th century. Much of the interior decoration has been preserved. The castle and the palace are surrounded by a wall. The entrance gate is protected by two round towers. Since 1919, the château has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture. Villars boasting the The Château de Puyguilhem, also called Puyguilhem Castle, is a château in the commune of Villars in north of the Dordogne, France. Built between 1514 and 1535, the Renaissance style castle like that of the Loire castles was classified as a historical monument in 20 March 1912 and the grounds, woods, and outskirts were registered in 19 May 1945. It is owned by the state of France. It is open to the public and the prehistoric caves Grotte de Villars.The Grotte de Villars was discovered in 1953 by the Perigueux Potholing club. During a visit you will explore about 500m of this incredible underground network but in fact it extends over more than 13km and is the largest in the Perigord region.  As you meander through the channel carved out by the river you can admire literally thousands of stalactites and stalagmites. Various chambers have also been hollowed out and at one of these you can admire a sound and light show where groups of stalactites and stalagmites are illuminated rendering them even more impressive.

Brantome holds its own street market on Fridays offering local cheeses, wines and fresh veg etc, the largest market in the Dordogne can be found at Piegut Pluviers. Sarlat is within a 2 hour drive where Market day is Saturday when the medieval square becomes bustling with the wares of the stallholders. You may also choose to eplore the vineyards of Bordeaux.