Travel starting from Toulouse for 8 days

Posted by Patricia (Harrogate, UK) on 05/05/18 07:43 PM

Hi, We are meeting our daughter in Toulouse and I would like to see some cave paintings, do the canoe ride that Rick talks about, see Carcassone and Bordeaux. I had hoped we could stitch all that together with a canal boat trip but it doesn't looks like we can do all that, so I'm ditching the canal boat. I also wanted to visit Sarlat as well. It's four of us; my husband and two young adult daughters.

I'm trying to decide if we should just rent a car to do all this, at least for destinations north of Toulouse. Any advice on transit strategies and places to stay would be helpful. BTW, we fly out on the 25th of this month!

Posted by Suki

05/05/18 09:12 PM

11570 posts

I assume a car would be easier. How much time do you have to spend there?

Posted by Patricia OP

Harrogate, UK

05/05/18 09:19 PM

3 posts

Sorry I left that out. We arrive Toulouse on 26 May. My husband flies back 4 June. We would like to explore Toulouse at one of the ends of the trip, of course.

Posted by Jazz+Travels

Chicago

05/05/18 09:37 PM

8166 posts

You can do Carcassonre using the train. Then rent car to got to Sarlat which you can base yourself and take day trips to La Roque Gageac. That is where you can rent the canoe the goes up the Dordogne river which has those castles Beynac and Castelnaud. Then from Sarlat you can easily go to see the replica cave at Lascaux in charming little town called Montignac and a real one called Font de Gaume located at Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil. We stayed 3 nights last January at the hotel Ibis Sarlat which is very basic but has parking. I have passed through Bordeaux twice in the last 10 months, (most recently again in January on the way back to Paris after we left Sarlat); my niece 20 years old loved the Cite du vin (Wine Museum) maybe because you do not have to be 21 to drink in France. It is worth a stop. Beautiful cathedral there.

Posted by Adam

Boston

05/05/18 11:38 PM

4132 posts

You are wise to ditch the canal boat.

I think you will find plenty to do in SW France. Given how poorly the region is served by rail, a car is all but essential. Do not miss the caves at Peche Merle, if you can get reservations.

Toulouse is charming, but I'd skip Bordeaux.