BEST TRAVELER'S CHOICE 2026
BEST TRAVELER'S CHOICE 2026
Eight days. Golden hour, market light, and château shadows: one boutique hotel base for photographers chasing the Dordogne the way its painters, and at least one very famous photographer, always have. This small-group photography workshop is built around the hours the region photographs best.
Twice each summer, a small group of photographers gathers in Sarlat for eight days built around a single boutique hotel base: Les Cordeliers, our 1870’s maison de maître in the heart of the medieval old town.
Mornings mostly belong to technique: composition, light, and the particular challenge of photographing stone and shadow in the Périgord Noir. Afternoons and evenings move through the region at exactly the hours photographers chase: the Saturday market under Sarlat’s stone arcades, a morning over the mist-hung boxwood of Marqueyssac, a golden-hour shoot beneath Château de Beynac, the panoramic light of Domme at dusk, and a full day with a visiting guest photographer for a final masterclass.
Along the way, a stop at La Gare Robert Doisneau, a former train station in Carlux now devoted to the photographs Robert Doisneau took canoeing the Dordogne in the summer of 1939, sets the week’s work against nearly a century of photographers who’ve chased this exact light before.
Every evening returns to Les Cordeliers, where wine and gourmet grazing boards precede dinners at Sarlat’s finest tables.
– Arrivals at Les Cordeliers throughout the afternoon (transportation available from Sarlat’s train station)
– Opening reception and dinner at Les Cordeliers
– Morning workshop: composition and the golden hour
– Afternoon street-photography session through Sarlat’s medieval lanes
– Dinner at Le Présidial
– Blue-hour shoot of the lit old town after dinner
– A morning shooting the Sarlat market from beneath its stone arcades
– Lunch at Les Cordeliers
– Afternoon workshop: reviewing and critiquing the morning’s images
– Wine and grazing boards
– Dinner at Le Coin Coin
– A morning on the water: photographing La Roque-Gageac from a boat on the Dordogne
– Visit to La Gare Robert Doisneau in Carlux: Doisneau’s 1937 and 1939 Dordogne photographs, an interactive photo lab, and rotating exhibitions
– Château de Beynac in the afternoon: golden-hour shoot from the cliffs above the river
– Wine and grazing boards
– Dinner at Gueule & Gosier
– Morning workshop
– Lunch at Côté Jardins
– Afternoon in the bastide town of Domme: panoramic valley views at golden hour
– Craft talk from the workshop instructor
– Wine and grazing boards
– Dinner at Les Cordeliers
– Early departure to be first through the gates at the Hanging Gardens of Marqueyssac: hand-trimmed boxwood before the first tour bus
– Late-morning workshop: landscape and garden composition
– The week’s guest photographer arrives for a welcome session
– Apéro at Les Cordeliers
– Dinner at Aux Trois Sens
– Full-afternoon masterclass with the guest photographer
– Final portfolio review and print selection
– Farewell dinner at L’Octroi
From 11:00 am.
– Breakfast
– Farewells and departure at your own pace
Your hosts, Susan Buchanan and Stephen White, fell for Sarlat on a brief visit in 2025 and never looked back, trading their inn and restaurant in Vermont’s ski country for this 1870’s maison de maître in the heart of the medieval city. Stephen, a chef and certified wine educator, loves sharing the region’s history and gastronomy; Susan, a professionally trained baker and near-native French speaker, has a gift for making a stay feel like home. One or both of them will be with you for every part of the week.
Before Sarlat, Stephen spent nearly two decades in wine and spirits sales in New England, later earning his Certified Spanish Wine Educator credential and WSET II. Susan spent over twenty years as a professional fundraiser for leading medical research institutions, including Massachusetts General Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine, and holds a law degree and a master’s degree in French, with a fellowship year in Strasbourg.
Together, they ran Tucker Hill Inn & Restaurant in Vermont’s Mad River Valley, and now bring that same hands-on hospitality to every signature trip they host. One or both of them will be with you throughout the week.
Typically, no fewer than 6 and no more than 12 participants (not including guides and support team).
Single occupancy requests require a supplemental charge, considered on a case-by-case basis depending on availability. Request a quote from Les Cordeliers.
Should it be necessary to cancel, the reservation may be transferred to another person following their acceptance by Les Cordeliers. Otherwise, the following charges apply per person:
Final itineraries may vary slightly; inclement weather may also necessitate alterations.
All trips are conducted in English
