Castles, gardens, rides, visits… Our ideas for outings for January 1, 2025 in Dordogne

No respite for the fairgrounds in Périgueux: the bumper cars, rides for children and thrill attractions installed, for the end-of-year celebrations (and until Sunday January 5 inclusive), on the Tourny alleys, will be open for this New Year's Day, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

2 An exhibition of photos of exceptional athletes

Time to bite into your chichi bought at the funfair and you will have already arrived. Still in Périgueux, we advise you to open the doors of the former Banque de France to discover the photographs of the greatest champions, from Zinédine Zidane to Léon Marchand via Usain Bolt, taken by Lionel Hahn. This sports fanatic who covered the Olympics, the Football World Cup, among others, is from Périgord. Free entry, exhibition and sale open every day (until January 4 inclusive) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Place Franklin-Roosevelt.

3 Lascaux, the Sistine of prehistory

From one year to the next, it's always the right time to go back through the centuries and millennia, to discover or rediscover the formidable talent of our ancestors which was expressed on the walls of the Lascaux cave. In Montignac, Lascaux 4, with its facsimile of the famous Sistine Chapel of prehistory, is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., until Sunday January 5 inclusive. Better to check it on the site or by telephone, at 05 53 50 99 10, but the visits, free or guided, for the afternoon of this Wednesday 1st were not all reserved when we tried our luck. Prices: from €14.50 to 22 euros (free for children under 5 years old).

4 Discovering endangered animals

Animal lovers, young and old, should appreciate this proposal: start 2025 as close as possible to red pandas, otters or even a pygmy hippopotamus. These are the protected people of the Calviac zoological reserve, in Périgord Noir, a haven for endangered species. The site is open every day from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. until the end of the Christmas school holidays. Prices: from €10.50 to €16.50 (free for children under 3 years old).

5 Two unmissable fortresses

These two fortresses are among the must-sees of Périgord that you can visit and revisit without getting bored. The castle of Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, with its museum of war in the Middle Ages, but also a Playmobil nativity scene for the holidays, is open every day of the year. In January, it's from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., with prices from 6 euros to €11.90 (free for under 10s).

Its neighbor Beynac can be visited this January 1 and until the end of the Christmas holidays, without interruption from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., before its annual closure. Prices: from 7 euros to €11.50 (free for children under 10).

6 Winter gardens in Périgord Noir

Again and again in Périgord noir, two of the most beautiful gardens in Dordogne remain open this January 1: Marqueyssac in Vézac and Eyrignac in Salignac-Eyvigues. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the first, with prices between €5.50 and €10.90 (free up to 10 years old). From 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. until nightfall for the second, with entry prices from €6.50 to €13.90 (free for children under 5 years old).

7 A village and a cliff castle

In Peyzac-le-Moustier, the troglodyte village of La Roque Saint-Christophe will be open from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The opportunity to immerse yourself in a history that began 55,000 years ago but also, for these festivals, to see the life-size nativity scene by the artist Carina Tornatoris, in the old sheepfold.

Very close to La Roque, we recommend an additional walk: head for the Maisonforte de Reignac, in Tursac, or the cliff castle, open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Prices: from 4 euros to €10.90 (free for children under 8 years old) for each of these two sites, free visit, with the possibility of a combined ticket. Reignac suggests downloading a mobile application to add a challenge to the discovery.