The Dordogne - 10 days - Help Planning Itinerary Please

If you don't already have your flights booked, I would strongly recommend flying into Paris, and back out from Bordeaux. If you are flying in/out of Paris, you can easily drop-off you car in Bordeaux and just take the TGV back to Paris. This will save you a drive back to Paris and allow you to fit Bordeaux in.

If you anchor your days Paris-Bordeaux, then you could split your time up in the area of Sarlat, in combination with somewhere near Bergerac. Lots to explore in both of these corners, with reasonable accommodation choices.

The open-jaw flights and different cities pick-up/drop-off of the rental car should not cost you much more, if anything, at all!

You may know about Gites de France for rentals, lots of choices around the Dordogne. We spent five nights in Beynac, on the river just west of Sarlat, and loved it. Les Eyzies could be another good base. But there are many other beautiful towns and villages in that area. With ten days you might want to try a couple of locations. I think that's ample time for the Dordogne, would give you time for Bordeaux and maybe down to Albi as well.

Thank you Diane and Dick
Yes we are intending flying into Paris, as will be spending time there first. After Paris, we head to Normandy. Then probably Bordeaux, Dordogne. Thank you for the suggestions of towns in the Dordogne. I have done a lot of googling and it seems that there are so many pretty towns. I agree that splitting the ten nights into two - maybe 3 different destinations might be best.
Yes we have used the Gites site before and found it very good - thank you.
After France, we are going to Germany, so I am not sure how that will work out logistically! We want to do the western coast of Germany and into the Black Forest, then Frankfurt. Although I would love to see Berlin, I think it is a bit far out of the way for this trip.
Thanks to you both.

Skyscanner shows some flights from Bordeaux to Hamburg, changing at CDG or Brussels with some longish layovers, taking the best part of a day, but I don't know how you'd get there any faster.

You will love the Dordogne area around Sarlat. All the gites that I am aware of are weekly rentals. We stayed at a gite near Cenac just south of the river. The first time was in 2001 when we stayed 4 weeks, the last time was this June for 2 weeks. There was never a lack of things to do in that area. We went to Bordeaux for an antique flea market and found that Bordeaux wasn't for us. We like the smaller towns. There are some excellent markets in Sarlat and Saint Cyprien. The former being a large market with lots of things for sale. The later being a smaller market that we frequented on Sunday mornings where we bought dinner fixings that we enjoyed on our gite terrace. Plan on canoeing on the Dordogne. We've done that a number of times.

Thank you both for the info. As no concrete plans have been made, we are option to the option of going to Spain, rather than Germany, which would be easier - less travelling time and cheaper. France is our main destination on this trip, but our 'secondary' country could be either Spain or Germany.
I believe there are a lot of English-speaking people in the Dordogne area. I want to practice my French and try to improve it! Am wondering if we might be better chosing another region in France after going to Normandy, that may give more of an authentic French experience.
As you can see, my plans are very open at the moment. However, the main focus of the trip is France.
Thanks for the advice.

We stayed here and loved it - note our review is the most recent.
http://www.vrbo.com/343941

The podcast www.joinusinfrance.com has several episodes covering potential destinations along your route.

I 2nd the st cyprien market rec.

Authenticity is subjective. There's lots of things for tourists to do (see my itinerary below) and it is a lovely place to be. In Beynac the butcher, baker and epicerie owner and employees only speak French, so you can practice your french there.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/3-and-a-half-weeks-in-france-with-kids-part-1

Good luck,

Matt

Thanks Matt for the great links. I have a lot of info to work my way through :)

There will be no lack of opportunities for you to speak French in Dordogne. In all likely-hood your gite owner will be French and may only speak French. Don't miss Dordogne for that reason.

The Dordogne is like mini-Britain so many Brits have retired there. We ran into British retirees everywhere and rented from one. Rentals in this area tend to run by the week Sat-Sat. We have spent a day or two in transit in this area several times and love it so a couple of years ago when I retired we spent a week there and it was just lovely. The roads are narrow and crowded so it does take a while to get anywhere and it is wise to locate yourself somewhat centrally to places you want to visit.

I am not sure when you are going but if it is next year then try to book tickets to the Font du Gaume, the best natural prehistoric cave available. Two tours, one in French and one in English are booked at the end of the day. And the other 50 tickets for the day are given out each morning to people who have lined up very very early. It is an amazing experience so do your best to get a ticket. The reproduction at Lascaux II is also well worth seeing; we have never had trouble getting same day tickets for English tours; the office is in Montignac. If you can arrange to be in Montignac for dinner, we have eaten at Roseraie Hotel restaurant 4 times and it is extraordinary in presentation, quality and value. They have I think changed hands since we ate there last, but perhaps the new owners have embraced the tradition of fine dining. Another place for a wonderful meal is the hotel restaurant in Domme. Again lovely presentation and food for good value.

Another cave to visit that has prehistoric art and is fun to see is Roffignac where you go a mile or so underground in a little train. The Abri St. Christoph is a worthwhile stop and don't miss the museum that focuses on the anthropology of this area in Les Eyzies.

Definitely plan to canoe down the Dordogne. We used a service just down river from Le Roque Gageac (there are signs for canoe services on the road so we just picked one). They took us upriver from there (you can choose how long you want to be on the river and they put you in appropriately) Floating by chateaux and charming little villages on that sunny day, stopping at a riverside cafe for lunch (we just took the paddles and life jackets with us to the table) and just enjoying the environment was a perfect day. Don't do this on the Vezerre which is not particularly scenic

The food in this area is wonderful and you can pick up canned rillettes and pate at one of the farm that produces it for about half what shops charge (and watch the geese run happily to be fed when the bell rings at feeding time).

This is a lovely area. If you are into mysteries and want to soak up a little local ambience Martin Walker an expat who lives in the area publishes murder mysteries about a fictional town in this area and its local police chief Bruno.

janettravels44
www.janettravels.wordpress.com

Thanks Janet and hcmpeake, all great information and very helpful.
I am still not sure where to actually base ourselves for a 1-12 night stay. Probably two different villages with the time split might be better. I would prefer a really pretty village that is not so difficult to get in and out of (not on a steep cliff maybe?), that is centrally located to drive around and explore each day.
Suggestions welcome. Thanks.

We were in a gite in Simon. You may have trouble finding it on a map, very small group of houses out in the country near Cenac et St Julien, south of Sarlat. We prefer staying in the countryside. Also we like to pick a location where we will have things to occupy us for several weeks at a time. Two weeks is the shortest time we've rented a house. I suggest you find a place of your liking between Cenac and Beynac as a general area. I wouldn't go much further east or west but that's just what we like and are familiar with. I think you will find there is plenty to occupy your days here.

There are lots of small quaint villages to explore. We didn't do as much of this in the June visit since our 17 year old grandson and a friend of his were with us. Our gite owner took first the boys and then my wife and I on a three plus hour ride in his convertible through the country side stopping in churches, village etc Great fun. He also took the boys on several hikes which they enjoyed a lot. I told my grandson that he had a new French grandfather.

Thank you very much for this information. Sounds like a great experience. I will look into it.
Cheers

I have been scouring all the gite type sites in the Dordogne area. I am looking for a cottage in a pretty area, and as we want to be able to walk into the village, probably no more than 500 metres from the village. Also want a pool and washing machine. Everything I have looked out seems to be a fair way out from the respective villages. (I have tried many).

Does anyone have any ideas, or suggestions on how to do a more thorough search please?

B&Bs in France are amazing. Many come with a common area kitchen and living room besides your own private room with bathroom. The B&Bs I have stayed at also have a large breakfast room and table where the guests get together in the morning and talk about their adventures. I have planned and stayed at these accommodations for two trips this past year.

That being said, this is how I go about finding lodging.

This website will show Gites and B&Bs and is great. You contact the owners yourself.
http://www.chambres-hotes.fr/

I just saw this personal house for rent and the rates look good. It's outside of Sarlat, by the Dordogne River and walking distance to the town of Montfort. Montfort is a very small village that has a castle (private--no entrance), two restaurants but no shops. Very quiet and serene though. From Montfort, it is a 10 minute drive to Sarlat.
http://www.vacation-rental-dordogne.com/

I stayed here last year for 4 nights. Had a large kitchen and living room for our own use. Big rooms with our own patio and a great pool. Quiet and outside of Montfort.
http://labardemontfort.com/?lang=en

Another search option for lodging is to use googlemaps. Enter the town you want to stay in/or near and then zoom in a lot until you see little beds on the map. Click on those icons and you will get the name of the lodging and a website name. Yes, these can be limited to only those proprietors who pay for this service, however, I have found some gems this way.

The Dordogne area is very large and it can take more than an hour to drive to some sites such as Rocamadour (1 1/2 hour drive). I never made it there--next trip. I would definitely split the 10 days up into two different locations. Staying outside of Sarlat was perfect for a canoe ride down the Dordogne, visiting Sarlat and enjoying the Saturday market, visiting Chateau Heautefort and a few local villages such as La Rogue-Gageac and Domme. The caves were an hour north.

Send me a personal message for more info. Have a great trip.

Thanks very much Denise. Great info and links :)