Canoes below the castles, river beaches with lifeguards, tree-top courses for three-year-olds upwards, a steam train on a cliff ledge and a dawn balloon flight. What we do with our own children.
Checked 11 September 2026. Hours and prices change, so follow the links to the official sites before you set off. Distances are from Sol du Mazel.
The pool, the play fort and four acres of meadow keep most families busy for the first two days. When you are ready to explore, this is what is within an hour. Distances are approximate. Check the official site for hours, prices and age limits before you go.
On the river
Canoeing the Dordogne is the classic Périgord day. The river is slow and shallow in summer, and the operators drive you upstream and let you paddle back past Castelnaud, Beynac and La Roque-Gageac. Two-seat and three-seat canoes take a small child in the middle.
Canoës Butterfly
Base at Les Milandes below Castelnaud, with shuttles from Carsac, Cénac, Vitrac and Castelnaud.
Closest to the house. Runs of one to four hours.
Canoë Détente
Base at Port d'Enveaux, Saint-Vincent-de-Cosse. Runs from Vézac (7 km), La Roque-Gageac (14 km) and Carsac (28 km).
The 14 km run from La Roque-Gageac passes every castle.
Canoës Loisirs, Vitrac
Routes of 9 to 25 km with bus transfers back.
Good for a full day with a picnic on a gravel bank.
Gabarres de Beynac
Fifty-minute trips in a flat-bottomed river barge, April to October.
For grandparents, toddlers and anyone who would rather be rowed. One child free per adult on morning departures.
Gabarres Caminade, La Roque-Gageac
Boat trips from the cliff village, April to early November.
The commentary covers the castles and the history of the river trade.
River beaches and lakes
Le Roc Percé, Groléjac
A sandy river beach with lifeguards in the afternoons from mid June to the end of August.
Shallow entry, a small charge, under sevens free.
Plan d'eau de la Cayre, Cazals
A lake with supervised swimming in the school holidays, pedalos, paddle boards, canoes and a playground.
Free, and in the Lot direction when the river is busy.
Tree tops, bikes and horses
Airparc Périgord
Tree-top courses on an island in the river at Saint-Vincent-de-Cosse, open April to mid November.
A "pitchounets" course for ages three to six.
Indian Forest Périgord, Carsac
Six courses in the woods five kilometres from Sarlat, March to November.
Graded courses, so a mixed-age family all get something.
La Forêt des Écureuils
Eleven courses and fifty zip wires at Saint-Vincent-le-Paluel on the Sarlat to Souillac road.
The biggest. Paintball and via ferrata by reservation.
Bike Bus, Castelnaud
Electric and children's bikes delivered to your holiday house, since 2002.
The valley road from Castelnaud to Beynac is flat and pretty.
Ferme Équestre de la Fontaine
Rides by ability from a farm on the Lot border.
Ponies for beginners, hacks for riders.
Up in the air
Périgord Dordogne Montgolfières, Castelnaud
Dawn and evening balloon flights over the castles.
The single most memorable hour of the holiday, if the budget stretches.
Montgolfière et Châteaux
Flights launching from Saint-Vincent-de-Cosse.
Same view, different basket.
Animals, dinosaurs and a steam train
Réserve Zoologique de Calviac
About 200 animals in a wooded park east of Sarlat, open from April.
Lemurs, wolves and walk-through enclosures. Shady.
Aquarium du Périgord Noir, Le Bugue
The largest private freshwater aquarium in Europe, with an alligator park.
The rainy-day answer, an hour or two under cover.
Forêt des Singes, Rocamadour
Barbary macaques roaming free in twenty hectares of oak wood, March to November.
Combine with the cliff town of Rocamadour.
Parc aux Dinosaures, Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère
Life-size dinosaurs on a woodland trail, February to November.
For the dinosaur years.
Le Bournat, Le Bugue
A working recreation of a 1900 Périgord village with craftsmen, animals and old fairground rides, April to September.
Slow, gentle and good for three generations at once.
Train à Vapeur de Martel
The Truffadou steam train runs an hour along a cliff ledge above the Dordogne from Martel, in the Lot.
Open carriages, tunnels, a drop to the river. Summer season and October dates.
Jacquou Parc, near Le Bugue
A small amusement park, open July and August only.
Rides for the under twelves.
With small children
Questions we are asked
- What is the minimum age for canoeing on the Dordogne?
- Six, and every paddler must be able to swim 25 metres. Buoyancy aids are compulsory. Some operators set the age at seven. Under sixes can go on a gabarre boat instead.
- What can we do on a rainy day in the Dordogne?
- The aquarium at Le Bugue, any of the caves (book online), the museum at Castelnaud, and the covered market halls at Sarlat.
- Is there a beach near Sol du Mazel?
- Yes. Groléjac has a sandy river beach with lifeguards in the summer afternoons, about 25 minutes away, and Cazals has a supervised lake in the school holidays.