Dear Travelers,
In September this year, I am going to a cooking school in Vaison le Romaine for a week. After that I would like to explore the Dordogne and the Languedoc, which I haven't visited. Is this a good course of action: SFO-Paris, TGV to Avignon, rental car to Vaison le Romaine,
then rental car through Carcassonne-Toulouse-Sarlat (which is my primary interest), and then back to Avignon in a somewhat circular route.
TGV to Paris
Or fly in and out of a closer airport,i.e., Marseille etc
Thank you for your input and please add any suggestions for the Languedoc-Dordogne region.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10623 posts
From Sarlat, you could drop the car in Bordeaux and take the train back to Paris. The TGV takes two hours to Paris. There is no need to backtrack.
You can check the car prices with different drop offs at autoeurope.com or autoeurope.eu.
You are missing a lot of the Languedoc by driving straight from Vaison to Carcassonne. There's Uzès, Montpellier, Sète, Nîmes, Saint Guilhem du désert, Le Pic Saint Loup....
Posted by
Paris
7301 posts
How much time do you have?
A circular route would take you one way through Nîmes, Montpellier, the other places Bets mentions, Carcassonne, Toulouse, then Dordogne.
And on the way back, you could go through the Cantal (stunning landscapes), Tarn Gorge/Cévennes or Ardèche, and back to Avignon.
But that's a LONG road trip, I'd say at least 14-16 days to do it justice. A one-way route from Provence to Bordeaux could be reasonably done in 8-10 days, even if more time is always better.
Posted by
OP
San leandro, California, Usa
43 posts
Thank you so much for your replies and advice. The car drop off in Bordeaux is excellent. I only have 7-8 days in the region. I do intend to spend time in the Languedoc, on the way to Carcassonne and likewise on the way to Sarlat. Perhaps, Montpellier, my husband loves Albi and I like the idea of Domme, but I will continue to study the route.
Thanks for the encouragement and any suggestions of, not to be missed areas. 7-8 days is never enough so like they say I have to return.