Dordogne and Beyond

September is a great time of the year! A car will be helpful for Dordogne.
You can easily spend over a week in Bordeaux + Dordogne; how long are you considering in total? Brittany is lovely as well, but it also deserves more than just a couple of days.

Thanks, balso. We're just starting to plan, but it will probably be a 10 day to 2 week trip. That time frame worked perfectly for us (in May) in London, then Scotland (also trains and car).

In 10 days, I would do Bordeaux + Dordogne + Basque country instead of Brittany.
In 2 weeks, you could do Bordeaux + Dordogne + Brittany.

Okay, that's a good argument for two weeks. I have some roots in Brittany, 'tho so far back I'd just like to get a 'feel' for the region.
Thank you!

The Dordogne is one of my favorite parts of of France. There’s lots to do, especially if you include the nearby Lot Valley. Many pre-historic sites. Canoeing on the river. Wine tasting. Castles. Gardens. Cute towns. The Basque area is also interesting and different. Bordeaux is a good transit hub for getting back to cdg.

Marjie, your post is very timely as I am planning a trip for us to Bordeaux, Dordogne and the Basque region for September of 2023. We are about your age +/- a few years so we are not planning on doing any canoeing. We love to park in one place in the Dordogne for about a week. We will have a car. We love trying to live like locals and hit the markets and eat some meals at "home". I'm wondering what town would work best for our base in the Dordogne. I've thought of Sarlat but wondered if it was too big/busy. I'm also pondering Beynac but wondered if that might be too small and not have enough restaurant choices.

Would another place further south work for both Bordeaux and the Basque area. Would it be good to spend a week in each, with a separate base in each?

This list always has very helpful suggestions so I thank everyone in advance.

Mary Ellen

Hi,
To answer this:

Would another place further south work for both Bordeaux and the Basque area. Would it be good to spend a week in each, with a separate base in each?

No, not really. The two regions are relatively far apart, with almost nothing of interest in between. If you are interested in Bordeaux, stay in Bordeaux. A week is too long for me; 3 nights is enough and 4 nights is plenty. City sights take about a day, then there is wine of course (Haut Brion is almost in the city so no need to travel far, or you could tour St Emilion), and you could visit Arcachon if you have extra time (but to me, it is not a must-do).

For the Basque country, a week is a good amount of time. I find St Jean de Luz to be a good base that allows for forays into Spanish territory, but some inland villages as well as Bayonne & Biarritz can work as well.

We just traveled the Dordogne area May 2022……loved it. We based in Sarlat and Beynac……I think we liked Sarlat better because it was larger and there seemed more to do. It’s old town is charming….and it’s market is outstanding. The locals are wonderful…..we canoed one day out of Beynac and that was fun but Beynac was a little slow for me. We stayed in the airbnb apartment available through La Lanterne in Sarlat and loved it….right by the old church in the center of the old town and a great location. If you are interested in more DM me and I can give you more info.

I’ve had a few more thoughts for you. *

1) Just in case you are attracted to canoeing on the Dordogne, it isn’t just for the young and fit. The river is neither deep nor fast moving. The rental companies pick you up at an agreed upon time and place when you are done. It is lovely to see some of the area from the water.
2) If you keep Bordeaux in your plans, Arcachon makes a delightful day trip. It has one of the world’s largest sand dunes, the Dune du Pilat. In the 19th century, many wealthy people built extravagant summer homes in Arcachon. Through the TI office, we were able to get a walking tour of the area where many of these mansions are located. There is also the possibility of taking a small boat tour around the bassin. Of course, eating seafood is a prime attraction.
3) The Basque area has a distinctive domestic architectural style, making for very appealing small towns. One we found to be especially attractive was Cambo-les-Bains. We visited the home of Edmund Rostand, best known as the author of “Cyrano de Bergerac.” The gardens are gorgeous, and the interior contains much Rostand memorabilia.
4) Bayonne has a good Basque museum. It is also a center for chocolate, for historic reasons. We liked Bayonne much more than Biarritz.
5) Esplette is another very cute, distinctive town. Think red pepper.
6)* As I’ve been writing, I remembered another Dordogne important site, the chateau, Les Milandes. For a time, it was the home of Josephine Baker, African- American entertainer and activist. The chateau houses much material relating to her amazing life. I still get goose bumps thinking about seeing the news clips there of her receiving the Legion de Honneur from Charles de Gaulle and of her marching with Martin Luther King at the Geat March on Washington.

About 10 years ago we took a trip to France, focusing on Brittany and the Dordogne region. Because of the size of and distance between the two regions, I think you need two weeks to visit both.

We stayed in a cottage in Brittany for one week. Then we drove to Sarlat, spending one night in Chinon on the way. There was an abbey I wanted to see near Chinon, which we visited on the way. The next day, we stopped at Oradour-sur-Glane on the way to Sarlat, where we stayed in a small house for a week.

We liked Sarlat as a base for the Dordogne because it has plenty of restaurants, as well as markets on Wednesday and Saturday. It’s very beautiful and we enjoyed strolling around the town after dinner. It was pretty easy to get to the various caves, as well as some of the smaller villages, which would also be nice places to stay.