We were in this part of France on a bike trip in 2011, and on this trip we wanted to return to some favorite spots. Today we revisited the castle at Beynac, and also went for the first time to a large clifftop garden at Marquessac.
Here's Beynac from a distance:
The castle was built in the 12th century. Today you can see many of its rooms and defensive features, but you need to imagine most of the interior furnishings. The kitchen, however, has some good detail; we especially liked the long hooks hanging from the ceiling, where food was hung to keep it away from the rats:
I don't know how much the castle has been renovated over its long history, so perhaps these steps have not actually served thousands of feet for hundreds of years. But they make for a good mood shot:
To provide good defense, castles like this were built on cliffs or high ridges. The views from Beynac down to the Dordogne river and the surrounding area are pretty spectacular:
From Beynac we drove across the river (and then up a twisty road) to a large garden at Marqueyssac, which also has a small chateau dating from the 17th century. Because the garden runs across a high ridge, its views are similar to those from Beynac, i. e. beautiful. The gardens themselves are largely trees and shrubs of many varieties, with some good flowers as well. An outstanding feature is the huge number of boxwoods, all meticulously trimmed. Here's the chateau and a small fraction of the boxwoods:
And here's a whimsical slope that seems a bit out of place, but we liked it:
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