Dordogne / Languedoc suggestions

I had 2 weeks in Castlenaud-la-Chapelle in the Dordogne, which was a great base for exploring the area, including the pretty village of nearby Domme and local markets such as Sarlat and the vineyards. We hired a canoe for half a day to paddle down the river which was great fun after my initial trepidation!

Our best cave experience was at Peche Merle, which is to the south of the Dordogne. You might be able to visit on your way to Languedoc.

Thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Beau Village of Beynac. Viewed the cave paintings in situ at the Grotte de Faunt-de-Game just east of Les Eyzies where there’s also the excellent MuséeNational de Préhistoire.

Read The Cave Painters by Gregory Curtis. It's a history into the discovery and scientific research of the prehistoric caves throughout southern Europe. I found it very illuminating.

I love the area. We are returning there in September. You should check out the threads on cave visits. It’s not as easy as it once was. Numbers are highly restricted, and some caves no longer take reservations.

On one trip, we spent a lovely day with a visit to Rocamadour, followed by the Gouffre de Padirac, an enormous (not painted) cave system. Highly recommend.
Even if you are not experienced canoeists, a canoe trip on the Dordogne is easy and fun. The river is pretty shallow and slow moving.

We based in Beynac, after driving up from Carcassonne. Stayed at the Hotel du Chateau, at the centre of the village.

Day 1, drove to Sarlat for the market to pick up bread, sausage and strawberries. Then drove to Carsac and kayaked down the river. Stopped on a sandbar island below Montfort Castle for lunch, and then at La Roque Gageac to look around. Pulled out at Beynac where the company picked me and the kayak up for the return to Carsac. Late afternoon went up to the Chateau de Beynac to see it and to eat at a restaurant up there.

Day 2, drove up to Montignac to pick up tickets for Lascaux, then saw the cave paintings there. Then drove down to La Roque St-Cristophe, which looks ancient but was really where the locals hid from the Vikings who came up the river; then to the Museum of Prehistory at Les Eyzies.

Day 3, drove along and above the Dordogne through the vineyards to Bergerac to drop the car off and fly back to England.

Beynac was a perfect base for us.

I'm going this June. My plan may not fit your style at all. I'll spend three nights in Paris (because it's dirt cheap to fly to Paris vs. other cities for me), fly to Toulouse and rent a car. I'm planning to pick up basic camping gear from a camping store in Toulouse (Decathlon). The first two to three days will be down in the the Languedoc area seeing 13th century castle ruins and towns south of Toulouse, Carcassonne, Albi, Najac, Cordes-sur-Ciel (that area). After that I'll move a little north for maybe another two or three days to see the area around Parc Naturel Régional des Causses du Quercy, including Rocamadour, Figeac, Cahors, St. Cirq Lapopie and Pech Merle Caves. Next is another short move north to the Dordogne area to see Domme, Beynac, Sarlat, Le Roque St. Christophe and possibly Font de Gaume or Lascaux 4 caves. Finally, I'll go further north to spend another three or four days around Bordeaux, St. Emillion and over to the coast. After that it's a train back to Paris and three more nights before flying home.

The bases then are somewhere around Carcassonne, somewhere around St. Cirq Lapopie, somewhere around Beynac, and somewhere around Bordeaux. My sister has friends with a place in Perigeaux so I may need to add a stop there to visit.

I've got 18 nights (arrive June 1, fly home June 19), 6 in Paris and 12 to get from Toulouse to Bordeaux.

In the Dordogne, we love La Roque Gagnac (sp?) and stay at Manoir de La Martrie, just a short walk to this "Most Beautiful Village in France." Another is St. Cirq LaPopie, where we stayed across the river at the #1 rated B&B on Trip Advisor.

If you don't mind doing the research, I recommend using Trip Advisor for locating top-rated properties from folks just like us that are discriminating. Try to filter or search all of a region instead of just one town or village, where a B&B may be "#1 of 1." Much better to see #25 of 250 in Provence" or higher. Also, look for TA's "Certificate of Excellence" which is hard-earned. Then when you find what you want, book directly with owner, not a booking site, who takes a huge cut from the owner....and, for what? And if you see negative reviews on a spot that you otherwise like, look just to the left of the review to see how many times the reviewer has posted a Trip Advisor review. If less than 10-15, then they're probably not experienced travelers, or they just want to complain. Very often, the complaint is really about a glitch in booking...the fault of a booking website that they shouldn't have used in the first place!

I seem to recall Rick Steves recommending not to use Trip Advisor for hotels/B&B's, but I don't understand, unless he just doesn't like the competition with his books, which we also use. Reviews are from real travelers, and are hard-earned by the properties.

I don't work for TA or have any other interest in the site except that we've used it successfully many many times, and trust most people's honesty. I try to return the favor by posting my own reviews, now over 300.

As a homebase in Dordogne i’d suggest Sarlat. It’s centrally located, close to major roads, and just big enough that you won’t run out of restaurants (and grocery stores) to visit.

My husband and I recently rented an apartment there that I strongly recommend. Located in Maison Pierre d’Or, it was spacious, spotlessly clean, thoughtfully furnished, well-equipped and affordable. It included a washing machine in the apartment and access to a clothes dryer. There was private parking provided. Located on the edge of town, we could easily walk into town but when we made day trips around the area, we were minutes from highways.

As a homebase in Dordogne i’d suggest Sarlat. It’s centrally located, close to major roads, and just big enough that you won’t run out of restaurants (and grocery stores) to visit.

My husband and I recently rented an apartment there that I strongly recommend. Located in Maison Pierre d’Or, it was spacious, spotlessly clean, thoughtfully furnished, well-equipped and affordable. It included a washing machine in the apartment and access to a clothes dryer. There was private parking provided. Located on the edge of town, we could easily walk into town but when we made day trips around the area, we were minutes from major roads.

There are a number of beautiful old villages throughout the Dordogne area, several with castles to tour and wonderful scenery.

You all have wonderful suggestions for the Dordogne. We will definitely follow up on many of them.

Any thoughts on the Languedoc? I know we went to see Narbonne (and how it has changed) but that will only need one day. I want to spend at least a couple days in Nîmes to see the Roman artifacts, etc. Any other towns or sites we shouldn’t miss?

Thanks again for the group wisdom!

Wow! Great info, thanks! Sad to hear about Nîmes :(

Love the idea of the Roquefort caves...and wine tasting is a must. We plan to have a car so 1/2 day sites will be doable.

We’ve never driven in France but I know many of the roads are tolled. Is that just for main roads or should we be prepared for tolls on smaller roads as well?

In Languedoc, I loved staying in Carcassonne, but you have to stay right in the old Cité to enjoy it in the evenings when the crowds leave.

We are currently planning a trip (for Sept/early Oct 2018) that will include both the Dordogne and Languedoc. Others have given a lot of good advice on the Dordogne, so I won't say much (after all, they have actually already been!) about that other than to tell you that according to an email exchange with them, Grotte de Font-de-Gaume is no longer issuing advance tickets for visitors.

In the Languedoc, in addition to Carcassonne, we plan to hike up to some of the Cathar castle ruins, including: Termes, Aguilar, Queribus, Peyrepertuse and Puilaurens (most especially Queribus and Peyrepertuse). Other castles include the last Cathar site to fall at Montsegur. If this interests you, this link should help:
http://www.castlesandmanorhouses.com/summary.php?Category=(All+Categories)&Type=(All+Properties)&Country=(All+Countries)&Parameter=Cathar
In general, if you can find a copy of the Cadogan Guide to the Languedoc-Rousillon, I think it will help you.

I agree a half day is about right for Nimes.

Another place a friend suggested that is now on my list is Cordes-sur-Ciel. It's not far from Albi.

We are also including a brief visit to Languedoc in our south of France trip. I wasn't finding as much information about that region as I was for Dordogne and Provence. Someone recommended the book below. Our copy arrived yesterday - well worth the $17.00. Lots of in depth information about the region.

Languedoc-Roussillion (Cadogan Guide)
Dana Facaros

Thanks for the book suggestion, Cynthia. We’ll check it out.