Dordogne and Bordeaux

A week would seem long to me, but perhaps not so if divided half in Bordeaux and half in the Dordogne. I've only done the Dordogne half and three days was enough, but I could see adding a few days of wine tours.

To me, it is the perfect amount of time. 2-3 days in Bordeaux, 4-5 days in the Dordogne, where you need a car.

sue,
I think you will find that, in this forum, most people would say you could easily spend the whole week in the Dordogne region. Unless you have a big interest in wine tasting, I would only spend about 2 days, if any, in the city of Bordeaux, if given just one week in the area. The Dordogne is so full of things to see and do that a week is the minimum time I would spend there. Wine tasting is possible throughout Bordeaux and the Dordogne as well, although for wine tasting, I prefer Bordeaux over areas near Sarlat, etc. I live in CA also, and have done numerous wine-tasting trips throughout the state, so it would be fun to taste and compare with Napa, Sonoma, etc.
Just be aware that if you split your week evenly between Bordeaux and the Dordogne region, you will miss out on a great number of experiences in the Dordogne. We spent ten days there in June, plus two days in Bordeaux, and I feel we only missed out on a couple of things in Bordeaux (mainly wine tastings), and we wouldn't shorten the ten days in the Dordogne for anything. It was a trade-off for which we have no regrets.
Whatever you decide, have a great time. It is a terrific area of France! I hope to return to do more justice to Bordeaux, and see still more of the Dordogne.

I spent a week in the Dordogne region and would have gladly spent two. Give it as much time as you can.

Thank you! We'll be in France for 86 days and the Dordogne and Bordeaux has long been on my list to see. We're also spending time in the Basque country of Spain (and possibly France). It's right there, so why not? Also thinking about our return trip from Bordeaux via Nantes vs Paris from Bordeaux. Haven't been to Nantes either. We'll be able to do day trips from Paris, but since we're already close, why not?

So, what I didn't ask, gite for the entire time while in Dordogne/Bordeaux, or stay in Bordeaux and a gite in Dordogne?

Ha, if you are looking into renting a gîte (great idea!), many of them are only weekly rentals anyway, so that might "seal the deal".

I'd definitely split your time. I thought Bordeaux was a very interesting city. IF you are museum folks, the Museum of the Aquitaine is excellent. The promenade along the river Gironde is quite nice - I was shocked at the amount of tropical plants there...including banana plants, hibiscus and palm trees! With just a week I'd spend 2 or 3 nights there - 3 if you are going to do wine tasting things.

The caves with the prehistory drawings in the Dordogne were the draw for me to that area. Simply amazing.

sue,
We bookended our Dordogne stay with a night before and after in Bordeaux. That is where we picked up and returned our car. We did some walking around the old town and riverside on arrival day, spent the night, and drove to our gite at La Roque Gageac the next day, stopping for lunch on the way. Not counting lunch time, it took about 3 1/2 hours on the D roads (very pretty drive). After our ten days there, we drove back to Bordeaux and visited the Cite du Vin there, explored the riverfront a bit, returned the car, and took the TGV the next day to Paris. We stayed at a hotel at CDG that night for our return home the next day. If you can, spend an extra day in Bordeaux to see the cathedral, one or two museums, and/or the Lumiere de Bassin.
By the way, there are some wineries to visit and do some tastings between Bordeaux and the Dordogne area. (Many require reservations, so check them out beforehand.)

sue,
We did a hotel in Bordeaux, a gite in Dordogne.

Sue, my husband and I are in the beginning stages of planning a trip to the Dordogne (Périgueux) and the Lot area for May 2024. We are going simply because I love the Martin Walker Bruno series and its descriptions of the villages set in the Périgueux. I have found The Rough Guide to the Dordogne & The Lot to be very helpful.

We plan to spend two weeks there and just take our time.
I've also found the topic on the Forum ["Random Dordogne questions"--type it into the RS search bar] to be very helpful.
At this point we plan to fly from Newark to Paris, spend a few days, and then either fly from Paris to Bergerac or take a train and rent a car in Bergerac. I'll be following your thread.

Lindy, There are frequent TGV trains between Bordeaux and Gare Montparnasse in Paris. Don't know about Bergerac. They take just over 2 hours.

Thanks Judy. I'll check into that.

Lindy, the French are discouraging air travel for train travel for environmental reasons. I'm not a fan for Orly or CDG, so that works perfectly for us. Thank you for your tips. Will have a car and will be venturing into northeast spain. Planning to keep the car until we return to Bordeaux. Then thinking we'll go up to Nantes. Just need to figure out soon.

Pam, the caves are a draw for me too! Plan to do some hiking I hope.

Sue-

My sister and I spent two weeks in the Dordogne this past May and loved it. Our base was Saint-Cyprien. We re-visited some villages that included La Roque Gageac and Sarlat. We found La Roque had exploded with tourists and tourism buses which was a turn off. We spent two weeks in La Roque back in 2013 in October and, at least at that time, it was a sleepy little village. Time of year may have been a contributor, however, there were easily a dozen more retail shops this year vs 2013.

Sarlat is Sarlat - yes, also filled with tourists, but I feel is a must visit.

Beynac is near La Roque is a must visit and not overly touristy. You can drive through La Roque en route to Beynac.

There are many medieval villages in the area that are not as traveled as those mentioned. Go to the website for Les Plus Beaux Villages and take a look.

Some of our favorites include: Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, Collanges-La-Rouge, Issigeac, Domme and Beaumont-en-Perigord.

Happy travels!

jhilts I've copied your info into my "Périgueux" file. We also will be going in May. How was the weather? Is air conditioning necessary?
Thank you, OP, for the information about the French discouraging air travel and supporting travel by train which we prefer, anyway.

You've received a lot of great advice from many of the previous posters. I will agree that both Bordeaux and the greater Dordogne area are worth your time and you won't really scratch the surface of either area. I believe you said this is part of a larger France trip. If so, I might allocate 2 nights in Bordeaux (if you can, arrive early on your first day with hopefully no jet lag) as you can hit the 'highlights' of Bordeaux in that timeframe (though Bordeaux certainly could fill a week's time easily.) On your way out of Bordeaux, you could visit St. Émilion to see the town (gorgeous!) and do a wine tasting (Château Guadet https://www.chateauguadet.fr/en) is right in town, small producer from an old, longstanding St. Émilion winemaking family. You also can stop in Bergerac on your way east. Somethings to keep in mind about the area you are thinking (any where from St Cyprien to Domme including La Roque-Gageac, Beynac-Cezac, Sarlat, etc.) are tourists town and can be very quiet in the off season with many businesses closed. Conversely, these towns are heaving with people during the season. If you allocate the remaining 5 nights to the area around Sarlat, you will be able to do/see a good number of things. Explore caves one day, canoe down the dordogne, visit some of the castles in the area. In all of France you will eat (and drink) well and the Bordeaux to Sarlat area is no exception. Make sure to try both the foods and wines of the area. Living in a wine region yourself, you may appreicate the subtle differences between the wines as you move from Bordeaux to the east. Unlike US wine regions, they are heavily regulated by what they can grow where and how they can grow it. For example, in the greater "Bordeaux" wine region (which includes many different appelations) vintners cannot irrigate the vines. But, as you move east out of the "Bordeaux" region (for example the Bergerac wine region), you'll see that change as the name of the wine region changes. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks to all of your tips! Beynac is definitely on my list. Now I can safely make a reservation for lodging!

If you're staying in Beynac, I can recommend the Hotel du Chateau, right in the centre of the village, near the river at the bottom of the road to the chateau. Good restaurant, and it has a swimming pool too. https://www.hotelduchateau.fr/en

Thanks Barren

Lindy-

We did not need air on in May. Opened windows in AM, closed while we were out for the day and opened again in the evening. Our house in Saint Cyprien faced the church. We loved the bells ringing all day and into the evening. It’s an audio file I play frequently now that we are home.