I’ve travelled all over France — this tiny town rivals its elegant cities

In the 14th installment of Metro Travel Hot Takes, Lifestyle Editor Rachel Moss paints a pretty picture of a small town with a big heart.

Sat in Souillac’s romantic square, eating a buttery croissant and sipping a coffee alongside my husband and two friends, a thought crossed my mind: ‘Could this be any more French?’

Then an accordion started playing. Then an artist pitched up an easel and started painting. Then a market trader started unpacking boxes of cheese. By the time a beret-wearing local sauntered past, smoking, we were all in hysterics.

It’s possible we were still tipsy from last night’s wine, having found a charming bar with a decent red and even better prices.

But this stunningly stereotypical scene also tickled me because it came as a complete surprise.

I had zero expectations for our five-day trip to this tiny French town in the Dordogne Valley. When friends invited us to their destination wedding at a nearby château, our first reaction was, ’you’re getting married… where?’ 

We’d never heard of Souillac, but decided to make the most of our annual leave and book an Airbnb for the week.

It turned out to be one of my favourite trips of all time, a holiday just as good as those I’ve enjoyed in France’s well-known travel hubs — and I don’t say that lightly. 

Why I fell in love with unobtrusive Souillac

Let me be clear: I adore holidaying in France. This isn’t an article telling you that ‘Paris is overrated, go to Souillac instead,’ because we all know the Eiffel Tower is iconic.

At the risk of sounding spoiled, I’ve also skied in the Alps, toured the world-famous vineyards of Bordeaux, and sulked up the culture in Lille. The fact I’m telling you Souillac is up there with the greats is a shock to me, too.

But it really is different from its famous counterparts. It feels understated and relaxed. The mornings are still, with birdsong and the sounds of shop shutters opening the only backing track. By lunchtime, the courtyard is bustling without being busy.  

You’ll rub shoulders with locals, not tourists, at the Friday market, bursting with locally-grown produce in and around the Place du Beffroi.

My favourite day of the trip involved strolling from stall to stall, buying cheese, wine, fruit, olives, bread and saucisson, then sitting in the park all afternoon while we gobbled up the lot. Bliss! In July and August, there’s an extended Farmer’s market on Wednesday afternoons from 5pm-8pm.

Locals here are warm and welcoming, a contrast to my experiences in more touristy areas of France, where hospitality workers sometimes seem a bit put out by the presence of tourists (a waiter who criticised my poor Duolingo French in Lille comes to mind).

For such a small place, Souillac also has a vibrant music scene.

On our first night, we stumbled across a bar beneath the beautiful 12th-Century abbey Sainte Marie, where a local musician was playing. In mid-July each year, the town comes alive with a Jazz Festival that sees the Byzantine roof domes lit up from below as international artists serenade you with an intimate outdoor concert.

There are a handful of rustic restaurants serving authentic French food (I could have happily survived on crème brûlée alone), and you’re a short drive to the Insta-perfect vistas of the French countryside.

Beyond the town

Though it is gorgeous, you’ll want to plan activities outside of Souillac if you’re staying for more than a day or two.

We worked off the cheese and wine with a 22km kayak, setting off from Cap Evasion canoe base in Saint Julien de Lampon, a 15-minute drive from our apartment.

The rental company has three routes of varying distances that take you along the scenic Dordogne. Ambitiously, we booked onto the longest ‘picturesque route’, a five-hour paddle that truly lived up to its name, with green and leafy river banks giving way to rocks, cliffs and finally, châteaux. 

There are plenty of pebble beaches to stop for wild swimming and picnics en route (yes, we did put more wine and cheese in the dry bag). But you’ll want to leave enough time to explore La Roque-Gageac at the end, which is often touted as one of the ‘most beautiful villages in France’, before hopping on the minibus back.

If that’s not enough exercise for you, our adventure-loving pals also biked from Souillac to Sarlat along the old railway line, and the photos looked stunning. Next time, I’ll teach my husband to ride a bike…

Getting there

You’ve got a few travel options. The nearest airport is Brive–Souillac Airport, 13km from the town, with flights available via Ryanair from London Stansted.

However, we found they were too infrequent to work with our trip and annual leave.

Instead, we flew with British Airways from Heathrow into Toulouse, then hired a car and embraced the two-hour road trip at the other end. Our friends stayed for a couple of extra days, so my husband and I caught the train back. 

Souillac railway station looks like something from a Wes Anderson film, and the train was both spacious and on time.

My one regret of the holiday is not booking more leave to explore Toulouse, though we just about had enough time for a final café au lait and pain au raisin before getting the short Uber from the station to the airport.

Yes, Souillac is a little harder to reach than Paris or Lille, but I promise, it’s worth the journey.