Picking a home-base in Dordogne

It’s been 15 years but I really liked Sarlat, especially if you’re there on market day. It’s nice to be able to walk into town and shop. Unless things have changed, getting out of town wasn’t bad because I think the main road goes around the busy center.

We stayed at Les Cordeliers, a bnb in Sarlat, for six nights with our car rental. While there was a free parking spot right outside the bnb, it was always occupied. We parked just two blocks away and never had a problem with finding a parking place on the street. You just have to know the parking policies and not have a problem with walking the five minutes into town. Jeff, the bnb owner gave us instructions for parking. There were many nice restaurants just across the little park from the bnb and into the town. We did several day trips including Font du Gaume, Les Jardins Marqueyssac, Lascaux IV and Domme. We went in May of 2024. It was a VERY rainy season so, unfortunately, we could not canoe. The area is lovely. Btw, we took the train from Paris to Bordeaux where we had a car reservation and drove the rest of the way to Sarlat. I am wondering if parking in Beynac is any better since it is also a town that many like to visit. Sounds like your first time--enjoy!

Domme makes a good base. About double the size of Beynac, Castelnaud and La Roque Gageac and within 7 miles of them all.

With a car Beynac is probably a better choice than Sarlat because of the over-popularity of Sarlat which makes it difficult to find a parking space.

That said in Sarlat as in Beynac most of the public parking lots are paid. Ask your host, hotel / gite / Airbnb what are the options of parking nearby

I know that this advice will be useless here, but to have no trouble finding a parking space, it is very easy, you just have to stay in one of the dozens of other villages which are just as representative of the Dordogne without having the tourist success that Sarlat, Beynac or La Roque Gageac have.

There was just a Bergerac v Sarlat discussion yesterday on the Forum. Bergerac is not a small village. Beynac is very nice. They're all gorgeous and won't be crowded in October. I suggest getting accommodation that has parking, either dedicated or very available. Do stop in Sarlat to see the flower decorations leftover from the Felibree in July. We drove through Saint-Cyprien in the fall of 2018, and they had hosted the Felibree that you. It was really cool to see all the strands of artificial flowers everywhere.

We based in Beynac for a few days last Fall and loved it. Beynac is small but larger towns are nearby if you need anything. We went to the market in St Cyprien one Sunday and also used it for gas and the grocery store. But Beynac was perfect for us. Here's my Trip Report if you're interested.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-part-2-hills-and-castles-dordogne

My opinion after going there 2 times with a car

1. Beynac
2. Saint Cyprien
3. Sarlat

La roque is too small
Bergerac is too far from the major sites
Domme is nice but a hill town and a bit isolated
Castlenaud seemed nice and us well located but I only went to the castle
Never heard of issegac

We stayed in Sarlat in late September and really enjoyed being there. We left each day around 10 A.M. and did daytrips to small villages. Returned around five o'clock and enjoyed early evenings in Sarlat which was not crowded but still lively enough to be enjoyable. Plus many restaurant choices.