Some private tours start with a particular destination. Others start with something much more personal.
For Phil, Phyllis, and their friends, a shared love of Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police novels inspired a journey through Bordeaux and the Dordogne. The books may revolve around crime, but food, wine, markets, villages, and everyday life in southwest France are just as important to the stories.
However, before everyone met in Bordeaux, Phil and Phyllis had another journey planned.
A Private Journey Through the Basque Country
Phil and Phyllis had just finished a cruise ending in Vienna, so we arranged a private journey through the Basque Country that would eventually bring them to Bordeaux to meet their friends.
Their first major stop was Bilbao, where Phyllis finally fulfilled a long-held ambition to visit the Guggenheim Museum.
Her interest in art made finding the right guide particularly important. Looking back on the experience, she wrote:
“My dream of seeing the Guggenheim Bilbao was realized with a guide whose passion for and knowledge of art equaled my own.”
From Bilbao, they crossed the border to Biarritz, which became their base for the next few days.
There was time to enjoy Biarritz at their own pace, along with a private day in San Sebastián combining sightseeing with pintxos. Another day took them into the French Basque countryside, visiting Bayonne, Espelette, Ainhoa and Sare.
From Biarritz, they continued north to Bordeaux, ready to meet the rest of the group.
Ten Friends Come Together in Bordeaux
Eight friends joined Phil and Phyllis for the next part of the journey, creating a group of ten.
Getting everyone to Bordeaux required some coordination. They arrived from several directions, including Paris, Normandy, and the Basque Country, so we arranged transfers to bring everyone together at the Hotel Majestic.
There was even a missed flight along the way. A new airport transfer was arranged for the following morning, allowing the final member of the group to catch up in time for the day’s plans.
Once everyone was together, the journey they had been planning could properly begin!
Bringing the World of Bruno to Life
The group’s love of Bruno, Chief of Police, gave our travel designers a great starting point.
Martin Walker’s novels are set around the fictional Dordogne town of St Denis. Food, wine, markets, and village life feature heavily throughout the series, so the books naturally connected with the sort of France the group wanted to experience.
One of our travel designers knows the author, Martin Walker, personally, and we tried to arrange a meeting while the group was in the Dordogne. Unfortunately, he was in the United States presenting his latest book.
Instead, we incorporated places connected to the world that inspired the novels, particularly Le Bugue, which helped inspire fictional St Denis. Around that, we built a wider itinerary reflecting the group’s interests in wine, food, history, markets and prehistoric art.
From the Médoc to Sarlat
The group’s first full day together took them into the Médoc wine region.
They visited Château Kirwan, Château Prieuré-Lichine and Château Marquis de Terme, with tastings throughout the day. At Château Kirwan, they also enjoyed a picnic lunch in the garden, which became one of their favorite experiences.
The following day, they left Bordeaux for the Dordogne, stopping for wine tastings in Monbazillac and Bergerac before continuing to Sarlat.
Sarlat became their base for much of the tour and put them within easy reach of the places they had come to see.
Over the following days, they explored the Gardens of Marqueyssac, Château des Milandes, once home to Josephine Baker, and the villages and landscapes of the Dordogne Valley. Restaurants and lunches were also planned into the itinerary, keeping food as much a part of the experience as the sightseeing.
Caves, Prehistory and a 40°C Heatwave
Prehistoric sites became one of the real highlights of the journey.
The group visited the Musée National de Préhistoire in Les Eyzies, Rouffignac Cave and Lascaux IV, followed later by visits to Font-de-Gaume and Bernifal.
They also spent a day in the Lot region, descending into the Gouffre de Padirac before continuing to the hilltop village of Rocamadour.
The timing of the underground visits proved particularly welcome. Southwest France was experiencing an intense heatwave, with temperatures approaching 40°C, making the naturally cool caves a very different experience from the conditions above ground.
The weather also showed the value of having a private team looking after the group. Their guides and driver could monitor the pace each day and make sure everyone stayed as comfortable as possible.
Markets, Villages and the Dordogne River
Some of the group’s favorite experiences were also among the simplest.
They started one morning at Sarlat’s market before heading into the Dordogne Valley. After lunch, they boarded a traditional gabarre at La Roque-Gageac for a boat journey along the Dordogne River, followed by a guided visit to Château de Beynac.
They kept another day deliberately flexible as they explored Collonges-la-Rouge and Carennac with their guide, deciding how much time to spend in each village.
They also had a completely free day in Sarlat. By coincidence, it fell during the Fête de la Musique, when live music and free concerts take place across France each June. It gave the group a chance to enjoy the town without a set touring schedule.
Finding the Real Inspiration for St Denis
Le Bugue was always going to be a particularly interesting stop.
The town inspired St Denis in the Bruno novels, and visiting its market let the group see some of the everyday Dordogne life they had spent so much time reading about.
But the day wasn’t only about the books.
They continued to Font-de-Gaume and Bernifal, adding two more remarkable prehistoric cave sites to their journey before stopping for lunch at La Laugerie Basse, a family-run restaurant operated by the same family since 1947.
It brought together several of the themes that had shaped the trip from the beginning: local food, markets, literature, history and prehistory.
Food and Wine Along the Way
Food wasn’t something fitted around the sightseeing on this tour. It was part of the reason for traveling.
Our team arranged restaurant recommendations and reservations throughout the journey, alongside vineyard tastings, market visits and more relaxed experiences.
The itinerary included a garden picnic at Château Kirwan, meals in Bergerac and Beynac, local markets, and another château picnic at Château de Ferrand in Saint-Émilion.
After leaving the Dordogne, the group visited Saint-Émilion before returning to Bordeaux, with a tasting at Château de Ferrand and time to explore the medieval village.
Their final full day then took them away from vineyards and into Arcachon Bay.
A two-hour boat cruise around Île aux Oiseaux was followed by oysters and white wine at a traditional oyster cabin, with free time in Arcachon before returning to Bordeaux.
It was a relaxed ending to a journey in which meals, wine, and time around the table mattered as much as the places they visited.
The People Behind the Journey
For a group traveling together for this long, the people looking after them become an important part of the experience.
Mélanie guided them at the beginning and again towards the end, while Fabien accompanied the group through much of the Dordogne. Anthony was their driver throughout.
They traveled together in a Mercedes Sprinter, which was kept cool and comfortable throughout the heatwave. Anthony’s friendly approach was mentioned particularly warmly after the trip.
Their guides also made sure that traveling as a group of ten didn’t mean everyone had to have the same experience. As Phyllis wrote in her review:
“Ten friends were treated as individuals by our most excellent and knowledgeable guides.”
Throughout the journey, the guides weren’t simply there to explain the places they visited. They helped with language, responded to requests, adapted to the group, and became part of the experience itself.
A Journey Worth Remembering
Phil and Phyllis’s interests shaped the trip, from the Bruno, Chief of Police villages of the Dordogne to vineyard visits, prehistoric caves, and memorable meals along the way.
After returning home, Phyllis summed it up simply:
“I can’t wait to plan another trip with them!”
Every private tour is different. Whatever inspires your visit to France, our travel designers can turn it into a journey built around you.
