Paris -Sarlat- Carcassone-Corsica

Not Corsica, but in 2018, after a week in Provence, we drove to Carcassone, spent a few hours there, then drove to Sarlat, stayed for a few nights, then drove to Chartres. We made a stop in Oradour-sur-Glane on the drive from Sarlat to Chartres. In Chartres we returned the rental car and stayed a night, and we completed our journey to Paris the next day by train. The driving was easy the whole route. We liked the freedom of setting our own timetable without having to look at train schedules. It was nice to have a car during our time in Sarlat so we could drive to the caves and the nearby villages that interested us. With a car to make the journey between destinations, we could stop when we felt like a picnic lunch or wanted to stretch our legs. We had no parking difficulties in any of our destinations. Sorry I can't comment on the Corsica part of your trip.

All I know about Corsica is that you can't get there by train. ;-)

We drove from Paris to near Sarlat over two days, spent several days in the Dordogne, then drove to Carcassonne in a partial day. All easy enough except getting out of Paris. It could have been one long day's drive but we took our time. Sarlat lacks direct train service from Paris, but several trains a day run direct from Gare d'Austerlitz to nearby Brive-la-Gaillarde and Souillac. One of those places, if not both, should have car rentals. You'll want a car to explore the area around Sarlat, and it can take you on to Carcassonne without going through Toulouse. You could drive on to wherever you get a ferry or flight to Corsica.

Corsica is well worth the visit. You can reach it by air or on one of the ferries from the south Coast. Once you get there, you should definitely rent a car so could easily make your way around the island.

I went to Corsica a few years ago - probably 10 years ago.

We flew into Bastia-Poretta airport, hired a car and had a week at a villa in Saint-Florent then we drove down to the south of the island and stayed in a small village near Figari for the second week, where we flew home from. We found the accommodation to be very expensive and drab compared to many other parts of Europe and we were underwhelmed with Corsica, so we haven’t been back. We went early in September.

On a separate holiday, we drove from Calais, avoiding Paris and headed to a gite for a couple of weeks in Castelnaud-la-Chapelle near Sarlat, having a day in Sarlat - it has a good Saturday morning market. From there, we headed to a small village west of Montpellier, so we didn’t visit Carcassonne. We did venture as far as Collioure, near the Spanish border on the coast. We prefer to stay in smaller villages, rather than somewhere as large and noisy as Carcassonne.

I have not used the French rail service.

Can you take a hire car on a ferry to Corsica?