Local Amenities & Activities

Explore Eymet our local village, walking distance from your gite, with all services and several excellent restaurants.

About Eymet

Eymet is a lively mediaeval town, in the extreme south of the Dordogne between the towns of Bergerac and Marmande. It is situated around 100 kilometers (62 miles) east of Bordeaux. Back in the Middle Ages, Eymet’s central square served as the commercial hub and market place. That continues today. Indeed, all year around every Thursday it hosts a market full of the regions delicacies including foie gras and local cheeses, award winning wines, plus local crafts and lots more.

For stocking up on those essential holiday supplies, you will find two supermarkets within walking distance of the gite as well as a doctor’s surgery (with English speaking doctors), a dentist (English speaking), a pharmacy, a post office, several boulangeries for fresh breads and croissants, restaurants and bars, souvenir shops and tabacs for newspapers, a historic walking tour, local tourist office and a family-friendly park.

Eymet’s restaurants

Eymet offers a great choice of eateries, from traditional French cuisine to Peruvian. The following are some of our favourites:

La Cour d’Eymet: Fine French cuisine, indoor and outdoor seating in a romantic setting.

La Bastide: Authentic French cuisine, situated in the heart of Eymet

Andine: Peruvian restaurant, beautifully presented fresh food with organic dishes and wines

Eymet Pizzeria: if you like Italian foods this is the place to go. By far the busiest restaurant in the summer with indoor and outdoor seating situated in the Bastide

Maison d’Amour: French restaurant situated in the Bastide, indoor and outdoor seating. Relaxed feel, specializes in steaks and crepes

Les Pied sur Terre: moules & frites is their specialty. Situated along Boulevard National, parking at the front of the restaurant, family friendly, (American / French cuisine)

Take away pizza …. don’t be deceived by its appearance. This is a fantastic Pizza van. Call to place an order.

Le Pub – Gambetta. Live music and snack food

Café Tortoni – sports bar with large screen, serving excellent burgers, salads and English breakfasts

Café de Paris – Wine bar with outdoor seating over looking the chateau

Bar Aquitaine Le Garage – bar with live music most nights

Café des arts – coffee shop with tea and home made cakes displaying local artist’s works

Roses Salon de The – Tea shop with pretty setting on the river serving cream teas

Things to do

Eymet hosts regular festivals and cultural activities, including concerts and films, and most memorably has even hosted a depart stage of the Tour de France! In summer, there is a night market every Tuesday where locals and visitors gather to buy traditional food and other local produce. After shopping and browsing, dinner al fresco can be savoured in the central square. Or on a Thursday evening, in front of Eymet’s Chateau, live music can be appreciated as well as and locally produced gastronomy.

An annual mediaeval festival is held in Eymet in August attracting visitors from far and wide. For those who seek more sporty pursuits, Eymet’s local cricket and rugby clubs welcome visitors as spectators and players alike!

With so many vineyards in the vicinity, Eymet’s local brewery is available as a frothy alternative, and there’s also a foie gras specialist.

The Eymet guide gives many details of the above mentioned local activities and ideas for outings. It also gives details of some of the aforementioned listed bars and restaurants –https://www.france-voyage.com/cities-towns/eymet-6036.htm

In Eymet itself and the Dordogne region, there are many activities taking place all year round.

Year round Dordogne markets

With a market to visit every day in all seasons you’ll never tire of the pulsating Perigord towns and the delights to be seen and sampled. Here is our pick of market towns to visit throughout the week:

Monday: Saint Alvere
Tuesday: Riberac
Wednesday and Saturday: Bergerac and Sarlat
Thursday: Eymet and Saint Astier (spoilt for choice)
Friday: Souillac
Sunday: Saint Cyprian and Issigeac

Bergerac hosts an illustrious flea market on the first Sunday of every month. The following links offer more market choices and include seasonal and night markets –
http://www.northofthedordogne.com/dordognemarkets.php
http://www.franceforfamilies.com/france/dordogne/markets

Other local activities and useful information:

Eymet Tourist website – http://www.eymet-dordogne.fr/fr/information/14467/office-tourisme

Local beach –Lougratte – http://www.lougratte.com/enbaignade.html

Parcours /Accrobranche – Parc En Ciel – http://www.parc-en-ciel.com – an activity centre featuring many trails of zip wires, a super day out for the family (age six upwards) about 1 hour from Eymet.

Organic eco animal farm – http://chaudronmagique.fr/ a family friendly farm, children can make goats cheese, milk the goats, feed the new arrivals and adult goats

Fishing (Bergerac) – https://en.moulindedavid.com/the-nearby-activities/fishing-in-perigord

Golf (Bergerac) – https://www.seedordogne.com/eymet/golf/

Bergerac wine – http://www.bergeracwinetours.com/bergerac-wines/

St Emilion’s Petit Train Wine Tours – http://train-des-grands-vignobles.com/contact

Boat rides – Bergerac Gabarres – https://www.pays-bergerac-tourisme.com/fr/diffusio/fr/equipements-de-loisirs_bergerac/gabarres-de-bergerac_TFOLOIAQU024FS0001E

Caves – http://www.lascaux-dordogne.com/

Bergerac hosts an illustrious flea market on the first Sunday of every month. The following links offer more market choices and include seasonal and night markets – http://www.northofthedordogne.com/dordognemarkets.php
Accrobranches, amazing tree top climbing, zip wires and much more adventure for 3 to 99 year olds, only 20 minutes away www.accrobranche47.com

Other Bastide towns worth visiting in the Dordogne:

Libournais – http://www.tourisme-libournais.com/en/decouvrir.html

Sainte Foy La Grande – http://www.francethisway.com/places/sainte-foy-la-grande.php

Castillonnes – http://www.francethisway.com/places/castillonnes.php

Villeral – http://www.southofthedordogne.com/townsvillereal.php

Monflanquin – http://www.francethisway.com/places/monflanquin.php

Monpazier – http://www.northofthedordogne.com/monpazier.php

Castles to explore

Chateau de Bridoire – fantastic mediaeval castle and grounds to explore: http://www.chateaudebridoire.com/ (*note the castle closes from Nov to Easter)

Le Chateau de Monbazillac – a beautiful estate and home of famous French Monbazillac desert wines – http://chateau-monbazillac.com/en/ (closes for Jan)

Chateau de Duras – an imposing castle which takes your breath away, built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Dropt valley – http://uk.chateau-de-duras.com/heritage-duras/cote-de-duras/castle-visit.asp

Bergerac (30 Minutes)

Insect and reptile zoo at Mescoules, Cathedral Notre Dame, Cinema, Shopping, Bowling, Laser Play, Aqua Parc and much more. Please visit the local tourism website for more information – http://www.bergerac-tourisme.com

Bordeaux (90 minutes):

The infamous Water Mirror, splendid churches, wine and tobacco museums, a large zoo, a dinosaur museum, entertainment in the forms of cinema and theatre. With plenty to offer, Bordeaux is also home to the largest sand dune in Europe, the Dune du Pilat, it is great fun but not for the feint hearted, situated about 90 minutes from Eymet. Arcachon has beautiful beaches and pine forests to explore. For more information go to http://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/Discover-Bordeaux/Bordeaux-and-surroundings/Our-surroundings/Arcachon-s-bay-and-the-highest-dune-in-Europe

Spring time

Spring in the Dordogne region can be one of the most alluring and distinctive times of the year to visit the region. Hearing bird song in a back drop of beautiful blossoms, it’s the perfect time to visit many of vineyards nearby. We can organise wine tours and tastings to suit your pallet. Truffle hunting continues until March in the region, so after completing a Bergerac wine tour, it could be an experience to continue onto the truffle market in Saint Alvere near Bergerac to see what price a famed black Perigord truffle will fetch?

Spring is an ideal time to walk and cycle in the Perigord since temperatures are more favorable and the roads aren’t as busy as the summer period. We will be delighted to organize bikes for you and for those of you who like to do more than just peddle about, here is a link to the nearby cycle routes – http://www.mapmyride.com/fr/eymet-aquitaine/

On our doorstep, Eymet holds year round activities from writers workshops to children’s story time sessions to learn more about these please view http://en.eymetperigord.com/local_events.php

Summer months

July marks the start of the lively night markets in Eymet and the rest of the region. Every Tuesday evening local food delicacies, wines, crafts and souvenirs are on display and people come to browse on a pre or post dinner amble. Also on Thursday evenings in July and August, the family friendly gourmand festivals begin in Eymet, where local producers sell their wines and foods. Tourists and locals mingle for an evening of good food, wine and dancing, all within the grounds of the local parc, it’s quite an event. Throughout the summer, there are gourmand evening festivals and night markets in all the local towns, including Soumensac, La Sauvetat, Lauzan, Monteton, Miramont and Issiegac. Please see the following link, which is updated all the time for more information on the region – http://www.northofthedordogne.com/dordognemarkets.php

Mid July celebrates Bastille Day – 14th July – France’s national holiday, a very festive evening is enjoyed in Eymet culminating in a fantastic firework display. Another particular hi-light is the lantern night walk of Eymet, be taught the town’s history by candlelight!

A flurry of festivals welcome you to the area from a mediaeval festival, where you can try your hand at archery, creating tie dye fabrics and tool making, to a hat making festival in Monteton, a beautiful village set up on a hill, home to the largest local Christian Church, offering picturesque views.

If you are someone who likes to bag a bargain, in July Eymet hosts a huge Car Boot Sale – Vide Grenier. Quite a renowned event, the town population doubles and all kinds of antiques and bric a braclie waiting to be discovered.

Autumn/Fall

With temperatures still favorable in the Dordogne region in autumn, it’s a most picturesque and calm time to visit La Palanque, with the already famous patchwork landscapes of the area being more enriched by the autumnal tones. Reconnect with royalty and nobility; consider castle tours to the many chateaux of the region, some on the top of our list are Chateau Duras, Chateau de Bridoire and Le Chateau de Monbazillac. Visits to the historic towns of St Emilion and Bergerac provide fun days out for all, whether you do a tour of the unique vineyards of St Emilion on the petit train or after a stroll around Bergerac’s vielleville take a trip in a “gabarre” (a flat bottomed boat) down the Dordogne.

Or why not head to the stables and ride through walnut woods, just another feature which makes the Perigord region stand out. Walnuts are harvested in the region in autumn. For those who enjoy a gentle canoe, take a meander down the Dropt valley. We’ll happily prepare your picnic for your day out and book the experience for you, should you wish. The following is a link to activities just a short distance from the gite – http://www.guide-du-perigord.com/en/tourism/entertainment/leisure-activities/eymet-320.html

Winter

The charm of the festive season makes the Dordogne a fascinating place to visit during winter. Both the nearby towns of Bergerac and Sarlat have Christmas markets that can warm you up with their atmosphere and vinchaud. In Sarlat, there’s plenty to do for all age ranges with an ice rink, and magic shows and circus acts are put on to entertain all. If after the Christmas market in Bergerac, your little ones still need to expend more energy, why not head to Giga Parc, in Creysse nearby and experience a well-established fun, safe soft play. For more information see their website – http://www.giga-parc-loisir-enfant-dordogne.fr/

The historic caves of Lascaux which are still open throughout the winter months, for those who want to wrap up and explore. Lascaux is famous for its 2,200 prehistoric cave paintings which will fascinate old and young alike. For adults on your return we can arrange a feast before you slip into a charmed slumber in the comfort of our snug thoroughly heated accommodation.