Two weeks in the Dordogne

Sarlat would fit most of those criteria (although the rental most likely will be an apartment rather than a house). It has 2 outdoor markets, and a large town center, and is convenient to sites you'll probably want to visit. We spent a week in nearby Beynac last year, and loved the village and the house, but there really is no town center there, nor an outdoor market.

If you want to be in a good size town for walking around, shopping and markets I agree Sarlat is your best choice. To get a house you most likely need to be in a smaller village or in the countryside. We rent a gite near Cenac et St Julien, close to Sarlat, Beynac and La Roque. It's late to be renting a gite so you should hop to it. We rented our gite for September last October.

Sarlat seems to fit the bill. I liked Domme too but it's smaller.

I hope you plan to visit St. Emilion while you are in the area. In addition to famous wine and cute town, the underground tour there is worth taking. It includes a massive underground church carved out of rock. I asked about climbing the bell tower and the TI gave me a key.

One of my favorites the other direction is Conques. It has a famous Romanesque church and IMO is a much nicer town than Rocamadour. I also really liked Pech Merle and St. Cirque Lapopie in the Lot Valley.

We just returned from a week long stay in the Dordogne. We stayed in La Roque Cageac. We had a 10 minute walk into the village. Lots to see and do. Our base was the Manior de la Malartrie. An excellent place next to the river with a great pool and amazing hosts. The area is easy to get around by car. Roads are excellent compared to California where I live. Visiting all the great villages, castles, hot air ballooning and canoeing down the Dordogne. We saw Sarlat on Saturday market day. It’s more of a small city not a village. I would stay in a place like Beynac etc. Everything is within 20 min drive. We did one day trip to Pech Merle and Saint Cirq Lapopie. The caves were great. Highly recommend air conditioning.
Send me a private message if you need more information. Awesome place to holiday.

I suggest you stay at La Maison Pierre D’Or on the edge of Sarlat. The spacious apartments in the house with complete kitchens and washing machines plus outdoor areas where you can relax, should meet your needs. You can walk into town or to a large, complete grocery store. There is free onsite parking and easy access to main roads for exploring the Dordogne area. The owner is friendly and helpful.

http://www.chambresdhotes-lamalartrie.com/en/

This is the property where we stayed. Very relaxing and convenient. Amazing inn keepers.

We loved Sarlat. We loved our house that we rented. Everything was absolutely wonderful! Market, food, caves, canoes, castles!

House in Sarlat link here

One tip: in the home of foie gras, eat as much foie gras as you possibly can. On our last visit, we had foie gras at every lunch and every dinner for five days! And most of the local village markets feature local "producteurs de foie gras" sampling their wares.

Also, so many beautiful towns worth visiting in the Dordogne and Perigord region - Rocamodour, La Roque-Gageac, Beynac-et-Cazenac, Belvès, Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, Les-Eyzies-de-Teyac, Brantôme ... the list goes on!

Sarlat is nice, but it's definitely not a village!