A wealth of treasures - the Domaine de Rochebois puts France’s Périgord Noir region on the tourist map

Les Jardins Du Manoir D'eyrignac (Picture: Eric Sander)

As the country’s third-largest region, it has perhaps the highest concentration of national gems – from time-weathered chateaux and archaeological marvels to troglodyte sites (cliff-carved dwellings), grand gardens and of course, the 480km Dordogne River meandering through its heart.

The Black Périgord area is one of four "colours” of the region, along with green, purple and white, and is just over an hour’s drive from Toulouse airport. Luckily, we arrived at our “maison” for the next few days, the Domaine de Rochebois Hotel, located a short distance from Dordogne’s medieval capital of Sarlat, at cocktail o’clock. We sipped a “Josephine Baker" inside the decadent, velvet-dipped Art Deco surrounds of the Josephine Bar. The cocktail is made from a heady mix of cognac, champagne and orange essence and created in tribute to the superstar French-American cabaret dancer, who lived a stone’s throw away at Château des Milandes.

If Baker was still alive – she died in 1975 – she would have loved to kick up her heels here, the only hotel in the region to hold the coveted five-star rating. Since being built in 1850, the elegantly imposing honey-hued limestone villa has had a spell as a religious centre, an orphanage and a noble family’s residence.

Today’s incarnation, co-owned and run by the Pruneyrac brothers (who were born into a Turkish hotel dynasty), boasts 40 luxury rooms and suites featuring décor in the calming Périgord colours. Other highlights include a nine-hole golf course set in part of the sprawling 33-acre grounds, an open-air swimming pool in the front of the hotel at the foot of a sweeping grand, balustraded stairway, and panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. But the headline act is the fine-dining experience in M restaurant, where executive chef Jean-Philippe Vecco is fast courting Michelin stars with his gastronomic alchemy.

Vecco has worked alongside industry legends such as Alain Ducasse and we sampled a seven-course tasting menu – five and nine courses are also options. The melt-on-the-tongue langoustine with watercress cream, enlivened with citrus and wild myrtle, will live long in the memory, as will the dark chocolate dessert, featuring a surprising hit of wild fennel (it works). The lion’s share of ingredients is sourced from local producers, such as Wilfred Bardet Bordeaux for exceptional meat and chocolatier Nicolas Berger Choisy-le-Roi, provider of the chocolate used in imaginative ways for our dessert. You can also use the excellent sommelier service to add perfectly paired wines.

Speaking of food, the area is also a go-to destination for truffle (the “noir” in part reflects this delicacy) and foie gras lovers. While the latter may be unpalatable for some, the quaint cobbled streets of Sarlat are lined with delicatessens offering every type under the sun. Thousands of wines are also produced in the Dordogne Valley and are all widely available too.

People also flock from as far as 200km away to rejuvenate at Domaine de Rochebois’ 400m2 Nuxe Spa, a franchise of the renowned Parisienne brand, which houses a private hammam and an aqua therapy pool. After experiencing a sublime deep-tissue massage with a selected Nuxe oil, we can vouch for the treatments on offer. And glitzy A-listers are catered for with a private jet service, four helipads and villas with separate quarters for their entourage. Yet the atmosphere is far from intimidating: there’s an intimate, relaxed vibe throughout.

As tempting as it was to stay cocooned in the luxury of the venue, we wanted to explore some of the many treasures on the hotel’s doorstep. First on our list was a visit to Lascaux IV, International Centre of Cave Art, a perfect replica of the Lascaux cave which four teenagers famously stumbled upon in the 1940s, making one of the century’s most important archaeological discoveries in the process.

Today, the more than 600 prehistoric paintings and engravings of animals such as bison, horses and deer, seemingly “dancing” across the cave walls,are housed in a 9,000 sq m complex representing 90 per cent of the original cave.

Thought to have been painted by nomadic ancestors more than 17,000 years ago, their technique of using bird bones to spray ochre and manganese pigments throughout, daubing red dots to mark acoustic sweet spots (apparently, they loved a good old jam – whistles and percussion instruments were found nearby) and the perfect strokes used to depict the creatures all point to a surprisingly evolved and sophisticated society.

We also learnt that one theory about Lascaux’s purpose is that it functioned as a sort of shamanic cathedral, where prehistoric believers came to worship and dream – they didn’t live there.

A short journey and fast-forward through time took us to La Roque Saint Christophe and revealed exactly how the so-called troglodytes, or cave-dwellers, of the 16th century lived. Five levels carved out of the sheer cliff face still contain clues such as indents where timbers were attached for lean-to homes and a sunken baptismal font in the grounds of a small church.

La Roque overlooks the tranquil Vézère river, which flows into the Dordogne river near Le Bugue and offers a bird’s eye view of the remarkable landscape. Punctuated with ornate chateaux, swathes of chestnut fields and rocky outcrops, it could be plucked straight from the pages of a fairytale. We also spied tiny canoes making their way up and down the river – the rivers are a popular tourist route and operators offer packages whereby your luggage is transported to hotels along the way.

We came full circle by ending our trip with a visit to Château des Milandes, where Josephine Baker lived in her “Sleeping Beauty” castle for 30 years. Ahead of her time in many ways – Baker not only became the first African-American woman to star in a motion picture, she refused to perform for segregated audiences in the US – she created the original “rainbow” family long before Angelina Jolie made it a Hollywood thing.

During the 1950s, Baker adopted 12 orphans from all over the world, partly to prove that human beings of any race could live together”. Today, visitors can view some of the children’s rooms at Milandes, stroll around the well-kept grounds and see several of Baker’s striking stage costumes, including a version of her famous banana skirt.

Of course, the fêted performer was also known for throwing a bash or two in her heyday and if she’d needed extra accommodation for visiting Hollywood glitterati, we’re pretty sure that Domaine de Rochebois would have been just the ticket.

Stays at Domaine De Rochebois start at €175 for low season and €375 for high season. Visit www.rochebois.com

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