Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Dordogne and the Lot

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Dogs at dinner

Dogs on terraces are normal everywhere here and often inside at the owner's say-so. Hotel dining rooms are the thing to check by name. Le Vieux Logis and Le Pont de l'Ouysse say yes, Domaine de Rochebois says no, and most others don't publish a rule.

Sights that say no

Lascaux IV at Montignac bans all pets apart from guide dogs. The Gouffre de Padirac doesn't admit pets and points owners to boarding kennels, including one in Gramat about 12 km away. The Château des Milandes says no with no exceptions, because of its birds of prey.

Sights that say yes

The Jardins de Marqueyssac and the Jardins d'Eyrignac take dogs on a lead, apart from Eyrignac's Pique-Niques Blancs evenings. The Château de Beynac welcomes clean dogs on a lead. The Château de Castelnaud's own site welcomes dogs on a lead inside and out, though staff may ask you to carry a small one.

Canoeing

Dogs can come in the canoe on the Dordogne. Canoë Dordogne, on the La Roque-Gageac and Vitrac stretch, says dogs are welcome, and Safaraid Dordogne carries the Qualidog label. On the Lot, Kalapca at Bouziès takes animals, while the Base Nautique de la Plage at Saint-Cirq-Lapopie doesn't.

River swimming

There's no beach calendar because there's no coast. The Dordogne banks round Vitrac and La Roque-Gageac and the Groléjac lake are where dogs swim. Keep them out of the few marked supervised bathing zones in summer, which is a rule for those zones, not the river.

Weight limits and room rules

Château Hôtel Edward 1er takes one dog up to 15 kg and Ostoria takes dogs up to 12 kg. Hôtel du Centenaire takes dogs in balcony rooms only, and La Chartreuse du Bignac in ground-floor superior rooms, deluxe rooms and suites only. Hôtel de Bouilhac takes up to two dogs per room.

Getting there

Dogs can't fly in the cabin into the UK, so most UK and Irish owners drive, by Eurotunnel or a Channel ferry and then about 900 km from Calais to Sarlat. Once here it's car country, the villages, châteaux and river bases aren't joined up by useful public transport.

Vets

The Vallée de la Dordogne tourism board lists Okivet Clinique Vétérinaire Valldor in Souillac and the Clinique Vétérinaire du Causse in Gramat. We haven't found a 24-hour vet, so ask the hotel for the out-of-hours number when you arrive.

Best walks

The Voie verte from Sarlat to Cazoulès, a flat and shaded old railway line that runs through Carsac. The Voie verte along the Isle through Périgueux. The Canal de Lalinde towpath from Mauzac, and the Cingle de Trémolat above it. The whole garden walk at Marqueyssac on a lead. In the Lot, the Alzou canyon path below Rocamadour and the Ouysse valley past the Cougnaguet mill, and the Lot riverside and the Pont Valentré in Cahors.

When to go

May, June and September are the best dog months. July and August are hot in the valleys, and the limestone lanes of Rocamadour, Domme and Sarlat hold the heat, so walk early and swim in the river in the afternoon. Many hotels close from November to March, Le Pont de l'Ouysse and La Métairie among them, so the winter choice is much smaller.