Logistics and Car rental for Dordogne - Brive or Bordeaux

The train from Paris to Bordeaux is only two hours. The drive from Bordeaux to much of the Dordogne is also only two hours. Add together the slower train to Brive and the awkward Brive to Bordeaux and transfer to the airport at the end of you stay, and I think the pick up and drop off in Bordeaux wins.

Another reason to rent from Bordeaux is that it is so easy to get there from CDG. Depending on when you arrive, you might be able to get a direct train to Bordeaux from the airport. Of course you could rent the car from Brive and return it to Bordeaux. Generally, there is no one-way drop off charge for car rentals in France unless you rent with Hertz or Avis.

Thanks to all for your valuable and prompt input. I had no idea that pick up in one location and a drop off in another would work so well in France. I am curious about the Lot area, which has never been on my radar screen and will check it out.

Bets "quotes" two hours from Paris to Bordeaux which is just about right because it is a 2 hour and 4 minute trip. Now, if she had said 2 hours from CDG, that would be a different thing.

If you are arriving in Paris from Vancouver I think a day-long train ride would be truly punishing, and would likely prolong jet lag.

How about flying to Bordeaux or Toulouse from deGaulle? They are both about 2 hours from the Dordogne, and Toulouse is an interesting destination of its own.

We did this once and it was like getting an extra day of our vacation. We were in Toulouse for lunch.

From Toulouse, the Lot is about an hour.

The other factor is that it is a nasty old train to Brive, not comfortable at all. And much better facilities for renting a vehicle at Bordeaux.

It would make for a VERY long day indeed to arrive at CDG, make your way to Gare d'Austerlitz, and get the train to Brive. I wouldn't recommend trying to drive after that. While CDG to Bordeaux would be easier, and it woul be nice to stay a night in Bordeaux before heading out the next morning to the Dordogne.

We took the train from Paris to Brieve and while I don't recall exactly how long the train ride was I know it was comfortable and not a big deal. We picked up the car there and drove to Sarlat where we based for our time in the Dordogne. We later returned the car in Nice. I'm sort of surprised everyone is suggesting Bordeaux because before my trip I researched trains, driving times. etc. and Brieve won. It was five years ago, maybe things changed.

And I often take a fairly long train trip on my first day in Europe, great way to deal with that first somewhat jet lagged day. Driving not a good idea though and depending on where you want to stay that first night you would need to do both. So better to either spend the first night in Paris, or plan to spend it where ever you take the train to. I've not been to Bordeaux but Brieve didn't seem to have a whole lot going for it.

If you are interested here is the trip report I wrote about that trip (just skip the beginning Paris part, Dordogne is next). https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/photo-safari-to-the-south-of-france-the-italian-rivera-and-the-swiss-alps-990300/

The photos are now at https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p892967915

It was five years ago, maybe things changed.

Yes, the super-fast Paris to Bordeaux trains (2 hours) are just in the last year or 2. I don't know about CDG-Bordeaux. Another advantage to Bordeaux is it's a great place to stay, whereas I'm not so sure about Brive.

The end of my June trip included dropping a car in Bordeaux and training to Paris. The train was about two hours and the car drop off was convenient (once you factor in trying to get from an address your GPS takes you to and the actual place to drop the car). In this case, the car drop off was in the parking garage adjacent to the train station - as I recall on the top floor. It's always a little nerve wracking for me to find a quick parking space so I can scout out where to return the car.

Adam, Kim, Isabel and others: Thank you all for your valuable input. Isabel, loved your trip report and wish I had found it earlier.

We arrive Paris at 8am May 16th. We chose not to spend the night in Paris because check-ins in hotels are from 15:00 on wards and we thought to drive after a transatlantic flight not a good idea. We also decided that trying to tack on yet another flight from Paris to Bordeaux was not to our liking, trains are more pleasant. So while we are tired and jet lagged to take the train seems a sensible idea. Our idea now is to take the train from CDG to Bordeaux connecting to Perigueux and renting the car in Perigueux. As long as there is an early train from Perigueux to Bordeaux (our flight from Bordeaux to Berlin is at 11:55) the reverse routing would also make sense, otherwise we would drive to Bordeaux drop off the car at the airport and stay at one of the airport hotels, which seem not to be good value!

If we do the above we would want to stay first night (16th) in Perigueux (need to find lodging) and on the 17th drive to our St. Nathalene (which I believe it is near Sarlat) where we have reservations for three nights at La Roche d'Esteil B&B. We would have preferred to spend six nights at the highly regarded La Roche but they were already booked :-( . So we (my husband and I) would like to find something nearby Sarlat for the remaining time until we fly to Berlin May 24. I was surprised that many places in and around Sarlat are already booked for our time frame so it speaks to its popularity. I will check out Isabel's Sarlat stay at Les Ramparts to see if there is room.

I see why these forums are so popular, people are so great to share their knowledge and experience!

FYI, although it doesn't affect either of the two scenarios you're considering: The train line from Libourne to Sarlat will be closed to rail traffic for nine months from January 2, 2019 to allow route upgrade work to take place. During this period buses will replace trains between Libourne and Sarlat with rail connections provided between Bordeaux and Libourne.

If you need a suggestion for your few more days, look at lombriere.com.

We stayed here in September and could not have been happier. The property is delightful and the couple is so engaging ! Fresh breakfasts and an easy drive to Sarlat or La Roque or Beynac made this a standout for our French Dordogne stay.

We dropped off our car in Bordeaux at the rail station. They seem to have a decent supply of cars at hertz. The drive from the Dordogne is easy. We were there last June and spent a week. Awesome area. We took the train from bordeaux to Paris. Very fast two hour trip. Next time we want to spend a few days in Bordeaux.

Carla, checked out your suggestion for Lombriere. It looks perfect and have written them to see if they have space. Merci beaucoup!

I hope they have availability !

Tell them that Steve and Sue and Rick and Carla stayed with them September 10-13 and loved it !

Rick Steves' opinion of Bordeaux with which I concur -
Bordeaux must mean "boring" in an ancient language. Like there's nothing there.

If that was true once, it's certainly not true now.

So the plan now is as follows: CDG to Perigeux by train, overnight in Perigeux. Then a car rental to the Sarlat area. Return car to Perigeux and train to Bordeaux, overnight in Bordeaux at an airport hotel before flight to Berlin, probably something boring like Ibis.

Carla: Alas lombiere is fully booked but I found something that will work- Le Jardin in Beyrac.

Still need to find a place in Perigeux.

Thanks to all, terrific input from everyone.

The only issue I have with your latest plan is staying at an airport hotel in Bordeaux. Unless your morning flight to Berlin is super early, I would recommend staying in the center of the city. Because it's an inter-Schengen flight, you don't have to arrive at the airport too far in advance, and it doesn't take overly long to get to the airport. We did it by a combination tram and bus, but if you stay in the right area you can take a direct bus; and a cab is probably the quickest way of all.