Dordogne Region

We stayed in Beynac. Loved the small town but close to Sarlat, Domme & areas. Highly recommend Rick's recommendation of Le Petit Versalles B&B. They spoiled all of us with their good breakfasts. Beautiful home and very clean rooms. There are 5 rooms now and good parking.

Great Farmer's Market in Domme, missed the one in Sarlat. Sarlat is okay to visit & eat in old town but is quite a busy city. We prefer small towns & villages. We saw the caves last trip so didn't go again. Highly recommend seeing them. Everything is very close by to Baynec.

Karen

We also stayed in Beynac and although small is very nice. We took the canoe trip during the third week of May and it was warm enough for short sleeve shirts.

I think that with a car, and so much time (good for you!), you can stay anywhere and the focus should be on the kind of digs you like. Small towns are nice, I think, and are easier with a car, but you could even stay in the countryside outside of town if you like the idea.

See about flying into Toulouse (an interesting place of its own), but not if you have to connect at Heathrow.

I'm not sure about the river, but we were there in mid May and it was quite warm.

Have a lovely time!

We stayed five miles away from Sarlat in a wonderful B&B. As another poster said Sarlat is not small. The Saturday market was okay--mainly fruit and foie gras. Peche Merle is a cave not to be missed. Rocamadour is worth a visit even though it is full of tourists. St Cirq La Popie is quite a pretty village and I regret we did not allow more time there. We were there in May and it was warm. Have fun!

salart is bigger and walking the old town at night is fun. definitely want to rent a car to drive around so you can discover little villages, cave paintings, and really old houses carved out of cliff, and canoeing. it's warm enough in april or may, but when it rains can be a little cold.

for your ref here is my route - paris train to Bordeaux, pick up rental car at the train station, instead of taking the high way, there is a country road to salart. it's about half day drive, but can be longer if you stop by villages along the way. there are so many beautiful little places you'll pass to buy duck livers and good wine so you may end up arriving in salart at night.

nancy,

I'd suggest staying in Sarlat, as it has some nice Hotels and restaurants. It's fun to wander through the crowds on market day, and look at the variety of items for sale.

Regarding the weather, April could be a bit "chilly" so travelling in May would be a better idea (but of course never any guarantees with the weather).

When canoeing on the Dordogne, you'll likely park your car at the point of departure, and hopefully the canoe firm will transport you from Beynac (or wherever you finish) back to your car. If you'll be travelling with a Camera or other items that might be damaged by water, some of the firms offer a large plastic barrel to carry items during the canoe ride. Although I was travelling with a dSLR, I didn't think it was necessary (I had faith in the other person in the canoe, and we didn't capsize).

Happy travels!

Sarlat is great, lively enough after dark and the night time lights on the yellow stone is very magical. I think Beynac, though also a nice town, could be too quiet but it depends upon what you want. We were there in September 2003 and no sign of canoe trips that time of year.