Almost 35 years ago, my husband and I drove through the Dordogne but were on a time crunch. We loved it so much and said, "We must come back." The years have passed and we are going back in September for three weeks. We are feeling overwhelmed when deciding which villages to stay in. We'd like to take walks, visit villages, drink wine. Please help us pinpoint the about three places we should make the base of our trips.
Posted by
Hickory, NC USA
437 posts
No replies... I was in this region in 1979 when I was a young teen. I remember Rocamadour (probably something you won't want to miss seeing, but might be awfully touristy to stay there) and the Gouffre de Padirac. Sorry I can't be of any real help. I don't even remember where we stayed...
Posted by
Washington DC
27176 posts
Rocamadour is dreadfully touristy. Definitely not a place to stay now. I have no recommendation for you since I used public transportation and stayed in larger places like Perigueux and Cahors.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
272 posts
We just e-biked through there a few weeks ago. I will be writing something up about this experience later this week in the Trip Reports forum. It was phenomenal. We did a "self guided" 7 day, 8 night trip that started in Bergerac, then went to Le Bugue, Montignac (via Les Eyzies) for 2 nights, on to Sarlat (2 nights), then Belves (via Castelnaud-la-Chapelle and Chateau Milandes) and back to Bergerac.
There are many delightful villages along the way. Some touristy, perhaps. Others much less so. Some we explored a bit; others we simply biked by.
Personally, I preferred Montignac to Sarlat in a lot of ways. Either would be a good base to venture out from, whether by car or by bike or e-bike.
I would suggest you do your homework in a few respects.
If you have any residual high school French, or none at all, study up this summer. You will encounter people whose English is marginal to non-existent and if you need help and have a few phrases you can use - and understand even a portion of the answers you will get - you will be well served. Also, you will encounter French travelers who do not speak English, or whose English is similarly limited as your French. Together, you can find good company.
Read about the area. Whether you read about the "Beaux Villages," the history (or pre-history) of the area and its Cro-Magnon sites, and/or the Hundred Years War - the final battles of which were fought in this area, your visit will be enriched with your knowledge. And, that will help you plan. As to the Hundred Years War, you will better understand why the French feel as they do about the English.
A few particular suggestions.
We very much enjoyed the 3 star hotel where we stayed in Montignac, La Roseraie. https://www.laroseraie-hotel.com/en BTW, the restaurant there was quite nice.
The best meal we had in four weeks in France was in Sarlat, at Le Grand Bleu. It is not inside the very picturesque Medieval city. It is perhaps a 20 to 25 minute walk from there, by the train station. But the food was exquisite. https://www.legrandbleu.eu (Others will be able to identify other great restaurants in the region, I am sure. Before I left Seattle, a friend told me, 'You will eat well in the Dordogne.' Of course, it is also quite possible to find ordinary food, as well. We did.)
The National Museum of Pre History in Les Eyzies. https://musee-prehistoire-eyzies.fr/en/museum-history
Bon voyage.
Posted by
Lancaster PA
246 posts
You will likely approach the area by car from Bordeaux as your closest TGV stop. Linger in St Emilion (Merlot)
for a wine fix. Sarlat is central to the Dordogne and very charming. RS Guidebooks cover the area well. You might consider Cahors (Malbec) area to access Rocamadour and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. And perhaps somewhere at the northern end of the Perigord, near Hautefort. Périgueux is only ok. It may suit you to rent a gîte somewhere as a more rural base with kitchen facilities. Roads are hilly and twisting, so travel is slow. Do your homework and you will have a great time (and dine well).
Posted by
stevens point, wi, usa
1189 posts
Hi,
The Dordogne is big, the Lot is medium, and the Cele is small. And tourism levels follow the size of the rivers. The Lot from Cahors (and its fabulous bridge) to Figeac (and the museum to the decoder of the Rosetta Stone) is a lovely drive through a Parc Naturel. In the middle of that the Cele branches off north and goes through Cabrerets where a really fine cave is located with amazing prehistoric paintings. And if you find your way to Grezes you won't be disappointed.
These are nice villages and both Cahor and Figeac are more substantial than villages.
wayne iNWI
Posted by
13 posts
My wife and I just returned from a great trip that included a week in this area. Our home base was the Maison Belmont, a small B&B in Eymet. Eymet is not as beautiful as some villages in the area, but it is a very nice place and I can’t recommend Maison Belmont enough. We were able to get to know the owners on a previous stay in SW France and they are truly phenomenal hosts. They would also be able to help with ideas for how to spend your time in the region. I could go on about what we did, but you really can’t go wrong visiting there. Also, you don’t need to worry much at all about advance reservations, timed entries, etc. for whatever you choose to do while there. I think you will love your experience.
Posted by
SoCal, USA
106 posts
We just returned from two weeks in the Perigord/Dordogne with our base in Saint-Cyprien which we loved for its central location and easy in and out. Our last visit to this region was 2009 with La Roque-Gageac as our base. If you end up visiting La Roque be sure to walk up behind the riverfront shops and explore.
My sister and I have used the Les Plus Beaux Villages map as a jumping off point for our France trips. That said, we were disappointed that many of these villages have exploded with commercialism. We did not return to Rocamador for this reason. We did re-visit La Roque-Gageac and next door Beynac ( hard to walk, spectacular views) as well as Sarlat. Since you have three weeks what could hurt with visiting a more touristy village? Rocamador is an experience which you will want to commit a day to. St. Cirq-La-Popie is an hour south of Rocamador, given a choice between the two I would opt for the later, more charming. Rocamador is historical. Apples and oranges.
When looking for a base, best not to select a hilltop village. It’s better to choose a village and house that provide easy in and out ( Sarlat is not that ) and easy parking access, free or low cost. Pick a village which has the basics - Boulangerie/ patisserie, charcuterie, small market and gas station, a couple decent restaurants that are not pizzerias.
I am sharing our list of favorite villages which we visited, most are LPBV but not touristy with the exception of Collonges. We were there on a very sunny Mother’s Day which was a mistake, returned mid week and had a more enjoyable experience.
These were our favorite villages to explore:
Collonges-La-Rouge, a plus beau we had visited previously but had our 85 yr old dad in tow so wanted to return to explore more. This is one of those villages where you need to pre-feed the pay station by in putting your car license plate. There was an attendant assisting the technology challenged. On the mid week day we found a parking lot on the opposite side of town that was free for two hours.
Domme
Issigeac
Belvès
Cadouin ( especially on marche de fleurs day )
Montignac
Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne
Saint Leon-sur-Vezere - here we discovered the recently restored Manoir de Salle, a restored medieval residence. We are not big on visiting castles/chateau but this one was appealing because of the incredible details. Inside a you can self- tour in under an hour. Google it and see if it appeals to you.
Beaumont du Perigord
Bergerac - in the old village
We are already planning a return trip for next year to explore the Occitanie region. We always start by finding the perfect house to rent and have found a house outside Saint Remy de Provence which is not in that region but about an hour away. We started looking in Uzes as a base but saw the parking for our favorite rentals was less than ideal so ended up outside of Saint-Remy. Secure parking, easy in and out, village about a 10 minute walk.
I would be happy to answer any questions about the Perigord/ Dordogne region.
Jill