We are thinking of traveling to Dordogne and the surrounding caves in May. How is the weather? How are connections from Paris or Lyon?
We were there last May (arrived 7 May and departed 23 May) and it was unusually cool and rainy--I'm not sure that's typical. Still, we had a great time. We flew from Paris to Bordeaux and rented a car for our time in Dordogne.
Thanks. With whom did you fly to Bordeaux?
We flew Delta from Atlanta with a stopover in Paris. Bordeaux is a great location for starting a trip in that region. We flew home from Toulouse via Paris.
From Toronto, you could easily fly connecting to Bordeaux with most carriers. If Air France, you can consider connecting to Bergerac. Easy also to TGV from Paris Montparnasse to Libourne or Bordeaux or from Paris Austerlitz to Brive-La-Gaillarde. All of these offer rental car hire options on arrival.
I personally really like Bergerac, as a starting point into the Perigord/Dordogne region. I can easily recommend a great inexpensive B&B minutes from Bergerac, in the middle of vineyards with a castle view: La Muscadelle. Great way to start or end a stay in the region, as it is only a bit over an hour by highway to Libourne train station and 90 minutes to Bordeaux airport. Bergerac is a lovely town: from there it's easy to visit Saint-Emilion in one direction, well-preserved bastide towns in another, and then head into the heart of the Dordogne region.
We were there in late May one year and we had a spot of rain one day. The weather was just perfect the rest of the time! Enjoy my favourite corner of France.