Dordogne

La Tour de Cause should fit the bill. I stayed there in 2016 and it was excellent. Run by two chefs.

You will have a great choice of accommodations and dining in the Dordogne. We prefer a medium size town with shops and a choice of restaurants in walking distance so driving after dinner and wine is not an issue. Sarlat fit the bill and La Lanterne was a lovely B & B a short walk to the action. You may want something more in the countryside and I'm sure you will get plenty off suggestions. La Roque Gageac and Beynac are picturesque but are villages with fewer dining choices. The Dordogne is wonderful and you will have a great time no matter where you stay. Don't miss the Jardins de Marqueyssac for a garden experience and a great view on a clear day. Josephine Baker's Chateau Milandes is also worthwhile. If you are athletic enough, the kayak paddle down the river is a great adventure--RS guidebook provides the details. We did it at age 60 and loved it. Visit Lascaux, of course. Martin Walker's fictional detective Bruno books will get you primed for your visit beyond your guidebooks. Dining is just a delight. Have fun!

We enjoyed five nights at Le Petit Versailles in Beynac several years ago. The rooms are upstairs in a big stone house, with a balcony overlooking the valley and several castles. The Beynac castle is just uphill, and "downtown" Beynac, with a few restaurants, is a short walk downhill. The breakfasts were excellent. We loved the early mornings with birdsong and mist over the river. It's convenient by car to most of the sights in the area, and a short drive to Sarlat. M. and Mme. Fleury, who ran a restaurant in Paris before moving to the Dordogne, are charming hosts who speak enough English for an enjoyable conversation, especially if you have a little French to contribute. We also enjoyed our fellow guests, both French and American.

I'm reading the latest Bruno novel now, The Shooting at Chateau Rock. These books, by transplanted American Martin Walker, provide a taste of Dordogne culture and food along with fun mysteries.

Edit: You also asked about castles, gardens and villages. Besides Beynac, Castelnaud is another very good castle nearby. The hilltop town of Domme is lovely with great views. La Roque Gageac is fun to explore. Sarlat is more than a village but well worth spending time in, especially on market days (two per week). We loved the Lascaux cave reproduction and the original Font de Gaume cave, plus the prehistory museum at Les Eyzies.

Just a quick note: Martin Walker was born in Scotland and is from the UK. He's not a transplanted American.

We have stayed at La Tour de la Cause twice - and absolutely loved it. The accommodations are lovely, the hosts charming and the food excellent. Although I don't believe they offer cooking classes, they often (at least in the past) offer communal dinners - and it was wonderful to share an evening, excellent food and copious wine with our fellow travelers and our hosts. La Tour is well situated too visit Ch Beynac, the gardens at Marqueyssac, Ch Milandes, St Cyprien, etc. I would be happy to send you our itinerary if it would be helpful - just send me a message and I'll send it off. You will have a wonderful time, wherever you end up in the Dordogne.

We love villages rather than towns and have stayed for a week in Limeuil several years ago and a few years ago in Cadouin. Loved both of them. Here are a couple of trips we did from Cadouin:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2017/07/25/perfect-place-for-murder-commarque-chateau/
Included are some snapshots of a major market we visited in the region and our visit to a Night Market at the end of the season to eat with locals and dance under the stars.

We also like to explore tiny remote villages and this was one:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/montferrand-du-perigord-and-its-12th-century-stone-church-st-christophe/

It is an area where lots of interesting chateaux, gardens and towns are quite close together and you should not miss a canoe trip on the Dordogne (not the Vezere) -- the roads are narrow and traffic can be daunting during high season -- so although sites are close, the drive time can be challenging.

This is a great area -- we have spent a week here twice and stopped on passing through several times for a few days --

Hi from Wisconsin,
I don't have a B&B suggestion. Let me suggest that you consider including the Lot and Cele River valley's for your visit. The Dordogne is a large river while the Lot is much smaller and the Cele smaller yet. Being small rivers with much narrower roads along their bank it makes it less touristy and more personal. These two rivers are south of the Dordogne. And we found the geography and villages between the Dordogne and the Cele rivers to be gorgeous.

But as always, the less time spent driving the better the trip.

wayne iNWI

We once stayed at this small hotel/restaurant near Beynac and it was nice and the dinner was excellent -- it has been many years so check more recent reviews:
https://www.relaisdes5chateaux.com

We also stayed at this hotel in Domme with a stunning restaurant -- one of our first great meals in France
https://www.esplanade-perigord.com/en/
We got their cheapest room -- we had splurged the night before on a hotel with a view directly on to the Pont du Gard (this hotel is alas no longer in operation). The Esplanade had amazing views into the valley and the restaurant was memorable.

We have stayed at this one several times and eaten there half a dozen times; it has changed hands since we last were there but their restaurant was one of the highlights of our trips to this region and I will try it again to see if the new owners are as good. It along with the restaurant at Esplanade introduced me to great multi course French meals. And the costs of excellent dining in this part of the world are about what you pay for a mediocre meal in Paris.
http://www.laroseraie-hotel.com/?lang=en

We stayed at Petit Versailles in Beynac a few years ago and absolutely loved it. The Fleury's are fabulous hosts and the included breakfast is huge and homemade. She also offers laundry service for a small fee which was very helpful as I was packing light. While Beynac is small and there are only a few dining options, that is much of its charm and you're a very easy drive from many other villages. Make sure to do the canoe rental down the Dordogne. We pulled out for lunch along the way in La Roque Gaugeac and it was wonderful. Also, I recommend Font de Gaume instead of Lascaux. Lascaux is a reproduction, Font de Gaume is original. We managed to get an English language tour and it was truly wonderful, I highly recommend. Also recommend the market day in Sarlat -- go early, it's huge! And also if you have time a day trip to Gouffre de Padirac. It was pretty cool, would have been better with an English language tour (I only speak a little French) but it was still worth the visit. This is a beautiful area of France. Enjoy!!

A third vote for Le Petit Versailles! My sister and I loved our stay there several years ago. We still talk about returning for a longer stay with extended family as there is so much to explore in the Dordogne.

Font du Gaume which we have toured twice before it got so busy is one of life's great moments, but it is very hard to visit now with very restricted booking. Last time we were in the region they were not taking reservations and people lined up before dawn for the few tickets to be given that day.

Lascaux is of course a reproduction but also not weather worn -- fond du Gaume was always open to the elements and early explorers didn't even notice the black on black drawings. The full colorful nature of the lascaux drawings are preserved in the cave itself and reproduced in the II and IV exhibits.

Do both if you can. And if you are in the Ardeche, visit the Chauvet reproduction as well -- and it is a beautiful area of the country. I was so disappointed to not be able to canoe under the great Arc near the prehistoric cave as I had my arm in a cast to my shoulder. It looked like a wonderful way to spend a sunny afternoon.

A lovely part of France, but good luck with May 202!!

I spent 10 nights here. Excellent and very central in the Dordogne region.

https://www.clos-lascazes.com/fr/

I want to 2nd the posting by Dick as well as copperheadpdx. My husband and I have visited the area many times, 3 times staying at Le Petit Versailles. The only reason we have not continued to stay there is that we have been staying for 2 or 3 weeks and a gite works better for us (check the Hamlet of Simon near Cenac-et-Jullien on the opposite side of the Dordogne.) Wonderful place, wonderful food, wonderful hosts. 2 Castle view. I would also recommend Fonte de Gaume (I know the spelling is incorrect) over Lascaux II. But I understand that nowadays you must show up quite early on the day you desire a tour. No matter where you stay all is delightful. Enjoy!