Lalinde

Lalinde is a cozy regional center with friendly and helpful people and all imaginable amenities and many activities. You will find a tourist office, a pleasant shopping street and old village centre, supermarkets, restaurants, fitness center, cafes, terraces, delicacies and wine shops, not to mention the weekly Thursday and Saturday morning market with something for everyone. Within a circle of 20 minutes by car, you will find restaurants in all price ranges, from an excellent 3-course menu for 20 euros to high-level gastronomy with a Michelin star. Taste regional products. At various places in the Dordogne it is possible to visit a Ferme Auberge (farm) and to take guided tours. At the same time, you can taste and buy products such as foie gras, perodidin duck, meat, goat cheese, fruit and wine.

From Les Magnolias it is less than a 10-minute walk to the main square of the bastide town of Lalinde.
Lalinde was once called La Lynde, a more British name, and that’s right because the bastide was founded in 1265 under royal English rule. Besides the remains of the bastide (a few defense works, a fortified city gate and some city walls), the area is well worth a visit and a walk. From Lalinde you can take various walking tours through the area every day. Hiking maps are available at the local tourist office.

Hiking country.

There are various “discovery tours” (400 kilometers of hiking trails) set out in the wider area. You can also do a Grande Randonnée (23) from Lalinde to Louyre and/or go around on mountain bikes. For those who don’t really need the walking, you can also take a tourist train trip here to Bergerac, Sarlat or Saint Emillion. Lalinde has its own train station on the main route between Bordeaux and Sarlat.
Also walk across the bridge to the Chapelle de St Front de Colubri . This twelfth century church is located on a hill and offers a beautiful view over Lalinde. In Lalinde you will also find some old houses, dovecotes (pigeonniers) and the “Maison du Gouverneur”. (1597)

Cycle route Lalinde Bergerac.

For cycling enthusiasts, we can heartily recommend the green cycle route along the canal and the Dordogne river. From Les Magnolias you cycle to the town hall, cross the bridge and from there along the canal towards Bergerac. It is a flat route with no car traffic. If you did not bring a bicycle, you can rent one in Lalinde at Cychope.

In the adjacent Mauzac you will find a nautical club: you can sail on the Dordogne. Walk past it and ask what it costs to rent a boat. You can also take a boat trip with a Gabarre from here. Lalinde itself does not have a beach, but you can swim in various places on the Dordogne.

In the immediate vicinity you can visit the Château de Lanquais which offers a good glimpse of everyday life in the Renaissance. You can also visit the Château de Baneuil from the 13th century.

Lalinde Canal

The Lalinde Canal is a fifteen kilometer long diversion channel of the Dordogne, built to bypass a number of rapids dangerous for shipping.
From the meander at Trémolat to Bergerac, navigation on the Dordogne was made difficult by the infamous rapids of Grand Thoret (between La Guillou et Lalinde), Gratusse (downstream from Lalinde) and Gratussou. Therefore, in 1837 it was decided to build a diversion canal parallel to the river.
Works started in 1838 and the canal was opened to navigation in 1843. The canal runs from Mauzac to Tuilières (municipality of Mouleydier) and has three single locks (Mauzac, Lalinde and Borie-Basse) and two triple locks at the end. Some of the most remarkable structures on the canal are listed as protected monuments.
The canal is fed by river water, which is brought in at the Mauzac weir via an aqueduct. The locks and the canal could accommodate ships of up to 29 by 6 meters and were used by commercial shipping until the start of the Second World War. Meanwhile, the Dordogne upstream from Saint-Pierre-d’Eyraud had already been canceled as a navigable waterway in 1926, which meant that the authorities no longer provided for the maintenance of the canal and the various installations. By decree in 1992, the canal was ceded by the Ministry of Transport to the Syndicat intercommunal du canal de Lalinde. After the construction of a number of pontoons and pedestrian bridges (financed by the five adjacent municipalities), a section of four kilometers was declared navigable by the government. A beautiful cycling route has been constructed along the towpath.