Among the Most Beautiful Villages of France and the founder of the organization with the same name, is the small town of Collonges-la-Rouge.
The town is sometimes referred to as the Ruby of the Dordogne Valley, due to the characteristic red color of its buildings.
They are made from red sandstone that has a high concentration of iron oxide in it, which is atypical for most areas of France but somewhat common in parts of the Dordogne region.
The village is located sort of mid central in the country of France, about two hours away from Toulouse and two and a half hours from Bordeaux.
The village was first established in the the 8th century and the entire town became a historical monument in 1942.
We spent a long weekend in the Dordogne region back in June and made a brief stop over in Collonges-la-Rouge while on our way to our first destination, Sarlat-la-Canéda.
We arrived very early in the morning (before 9am) and there weren't a lot of people in town so for a brief moment it almost felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.
The village is quite small so we didn't stay for too long, but I did see that it has quite a few restaurants and artisinal shops that make it a worth while stop over if you're in the area or passing though.
There are also a few camp grounds located near by and plenty of hiking trails in the area if you're the outdoorsy type.
We mostly just wandered the streets a little, taking photos while we waited for the shops and cafes to open.
We loved all of the flowers throughout the town, and the grape vines.
We stopped at a cafe for a coffee and a croissant once things started to open up.
I believe that we also got ice cream on our way out. It was still super early in the day but it's never too early for ice cream. Especially on weekends or when you're on vacation!
After we finished our ice cream we jumped back in the car and drove to Sarlat, which was only about an hour away.
As you can see, the dog was super excited, so much so he could barely keep his eyes open or hold his own head up.
Omg, my heart stopped when I saw your post. I promised a friend based in the Philippines to create a painting as a gift for his birthday. He asked me to paint his hometown, Collonges La Rouge since he was stuck in the Philippines with his family and misses France very much. I have never visited this beautiful town but have done my research. I just started it when he passed away from Covid. I never got the chance to give it to him and I had no idea how to finish it. Your post would help me a lot as I intend to complete it anyway and give it to his family. Thank you.
I'm sorry to hear that your friend passed away. That's really sad. It's nice that you are going to finish the card for their family. The town is really pretty and I'm glad the photos will help with your project :)
I just hope I give the place justice and long to visit it one day. He fondly talked about Sarlat as well along with Rocamadour. I look forward to reading your next post.
That is very cool that you now have so many beautiful pictures of this place to help you with the painting for your friend's family.
Hello Sara, I'm so happy to see these photographs and read about their serene morning visit there. The place is even more charming than I have imagined and the photos brought this beautiful village to life.
Thanks for your comment, this is a beautiful story, and very sad also, but I truly appreciate your sincerity :) cheers!
Hello @edprivat, thank you for your message. He is definitely missed. We all are living at a really weird time, take care always and cheers :)
I have no idea why I am saying this, but it reminds me of a village in Minecraft, but if you don't know the game, it won't make sense. 😁
I know they have pink houses around Toulouse, it's called "La Ville Rose", I wonder if it's somewhat the same type of stone, good question!
Can't wait to see the next post, until then, cheers!
Thats interesting. I know the game but I've never actually played it so I'm not sure if you're referring to a particular village or just that Collonges-la-Rouge looks like belongs in the minecraft world.
La Ville Rose sounds interesting. I've never heard of it.
That is a great post with such gorgeous photos! One of my favorite places in all of France.
Did you eat at "Le Cantou" by any chance? Is it even still open with all this COVID crap?
Wow nice painting! I don't think that I've seen that one yet 🤔.
No we didn't eat there. We were there super early in the morning and only had breakfast. Is it a good restaurant? It must be if you're mentioning it.
It's a great little family restaurant with regional specialties (dependimg on season) and, oddly, a cute store with hats, gloves and such. Very homy, a bit set back from the street.
You walked right by it and even photographed it - the photo right above "There are also a few camp grounds..." on the left. 😀
The painting is from an older post and a much older memory. Time to return - after freedom day if it ever comes in France.
Sounds like a nice restaurant.
France is completely open though, it's been open for quite a while now?? Sorry, I'm a bit confused. As of last week people are starting to not even wear masks in doors now, except at the grocery store. Many still do but I'm noticing less and less mask wearing.
Vaccination or test required to get in. Vaccination or test required for many venues. Masks must be worn in many circumstances. Even though I could get in easy via a smaller border crossing, I will not partake in this travesty of a "free" society.
Don't mistake the French people's natural penchant for insubordination with real freedom. Sure, they don't like the bullshit either and many ignore it. With a foreign license tag I'm bound to be checked and the fines are steep. There are many cool freedom-loving cops, but a lot of assholes, too.
Freedom will return soon enough. The people are tired of this fake, trumped-up laboratory-pandemic - the signs are everywhere, as you indicated yourself. But resistance and testing the limits of the law is not something I want to do in a foreign country, but rather at home where I understand the law and legal documents 100%.
Oh yes, we definitely have that as a requirement, the pass sanitaire or covid passport. It's basically required everywhere now. I'm so used to it I don't even think of it anymore, it's become normal to me. I guess I've been indoctrinated as well as vaccinated hahaha
Probably. Despite all modern enlightenment, people can't stand states of limbo. Prolonged situations of ambiguity create cognitive restlessness, so they opt for plausible, manegeable knowledge w/o a reliable basis, handily delivered by politics, big pharma, and media - the profiteers of this so-called crisis.
Not everybody is a retired old fart like me, who can spend hour upon hour looking at all the science and whatnot. So the people believe what they're told and fall victims of confirmation bias. The masses cannot bear an existence in permanent hypothesis.
Except, this time, instead of looking for possibilities of falsification as one should, they collect easily served up verifications. Good, convincing reasons never to leave the path once taken. So they can't w/o damaging their image of self. They would have to admit to themselves that they acted unwise and irrational. After a week, you can still forgive yourself for something like that, but after 18+ months it becomes nearly impossible for the vast majority.
This is why it's so difficult for freedom loving people like me to wake up their fellow man, why it's so hard to shake the profiteer's narrative, why our societies are split down the middle. Despite the fact there are no bodies piling up in the countries that are fully open - such is the power of confirmation bias.
Today is election day here. One party is for an end to this BS, all others want to keep feeding the German angst. It'll be a long time until things get back to normal, but they will. Otherwise I'm outa here.
Think about it and have a nice Sunday. Say "Hi" to the wife and that cute dog of yours for me 😀
LIKE THE WONDERLAND!!!!! WOOOW 🤗
Wow what a beautiful place and I love that you were up early and had the place to yourself. Gorgeous reds and greens and blue sky. Love it. Going to bookmark it for my places to visit someday.
Yeah it's far from our house so we left at like 3am, which is normal for us when we travel hahaha but yeah we got there very early.
Wow wow wow that's such a beautiful French village that I could only see on the movie. And I love the last photo of your cute dog.
I'm glad you liked it.
Dang that's a lot of cover images. iheart chihuahua's 'guilty.'
chihuahuas, you either love them or hate them haha
What fascinates more is those classic building and their architecture. I was captivated by the one that had a beautiful road with those full blooming pink flowers.
I also like the pink flowers. Flowers can have a pretty big impact on the look and feel of a town.
That sure is a beautiful looking town! That would be cool to visit sometime, that is if I ever go to France, lol!
It's a pretty town but also small and off the beaten path so it's a difficult spot to visit while vacationing in France. But if you go to the Dordogne region then it's definitely possible.
Who knows!! Touch wood! If you do, don't hesitate to swing by!
Best feeling is when you wake uo early and all you have to do is explore around places you've never been. Your photos are so beautiful, and the village is so adorable. But I have to admit that your dog is the cutest ever. Hope you're having a lovely weekend. 👋
Exploring new places is my favorite!
Have a good weekend as well.
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fantastic
wow, what a very beautiful village, red stone used as a house wall makes the house attractive. the photo is good.
Yeah the redstone is pretty cool.