Dordogne -- Any insights into this area of France?

Michelle:

Sarlat is wonderful. The architecture - the people - the food. You will love it. Close to Sarlat (around 10km) is the very charming little village of Beynac. There is a wonderful little hotel there called Hotel Pontet - it is worth staying there for the restaurant alone. The regional menu still haunts my tastebuds.

I know that there are some folks take canoeing day trips in the Dordogne river - it was October and too cool when we were there.

The mid south cuisine is so tasty - confit de canard, foie gras, stews and daubes - I could go on and on.

Domme is worth a look and we also really enjoyed ourselves at Rocamadour.

Just driving around that countryside is fantastic. Thinking about it now I am dying to return. Have fun.

This is a very beautiful and rewarding part of France. Popular with British tourists, you won't see so many Americans.

Insights? Much of what this region has to offer is hard to get to without wheels. It's really worth renting a car, especially for such a short stay. An alternative strategy is to hire a driver.

Also because it is so remote from Paris, consider flying home from Tolouse (which is also several hours away).

Rocamadour is amazing. I remember reading once that it is the most visited site in France after Notre Dame in Paris. The year we visited Rocamadour we stayed in nearby Hospitalet, just a few kms away. It was convenient (we had a car) and much less expensive.

The Dordogne region was beautiful! We stayed in Beynac and canoed the river (this was in late July). It's difficult to imagine doing this without a car, however- and I am a die-hard-not-like-to-rent-a-car-take-the-train-or-bus kind of person! I think that is why you might be having trouble. But if you check for excursions out of Sarlat (for the caves) maybe that will help? Good luck!

We take the trains whenever we can rather than rent a car. In '06 four of us took the train from Paris to Amboise for 2 nights, then to Sarlat for 2 nights. We had pre-arranged a tour of the caves with Phillipe--in Rick's book--then rented a car to get to Arles. That day was a really long day but we saw several of the little villages including Rocamadour as well as Carcasonne. This is something to consider rather than going all the way to Toulouse and back-tracking.

We contacted Philippe (out of Sarlet) for a tour of the caves to see the prehistoric cave art. He arranged tickets to the caves, which is important, as they are hard to come by. One of the caves is now severely limited as to how many can enter each day and some of the others are closed to tourists. Philippe has a taxi service also. He's spendy and not that great of a tour guide, but he did get us tickets to the caves, which was our main objective.

Deb

I've been wondering about the Dordogne area, too. Has anyone taken their kids there? We've got a 7 year old and a 3 year old.

The Dordogne is a very beautiful place to visit but without a car you may miss some of the out of the way spots and they are sometimes the great discoveries that make this area so inviting. It is an easy place to drive, road signs on almost every intersection. Tickets for most caves can be bought on the internet ahead of time so your time can be planned efficiently before arriving. Have a wonderful time.

Thank you Jon, Adam, Norma, Karen, Darcy, Deborah and Charles for your comments. It is rather as I expected -- that we should get a car! If any of you have travel notes on inexpensive hotels in Sarlat or neighboring areas that would also be helpful. I am trying to plan this trip on my own without using a travel agent.

Wishing you all many good travel adventures! Michelle

Michelle, have you looked at Rick's France book? There is tons of info there on Dordogne. That is just about the only book we used when planning our week in Dordogne last year. I'd highly recommend the b and b La Tour de Cause (in the book) in Castlenaud.

Sarlat was by far my least favorite stop in the region--VERY touristy and congested.

I agree about Sarlat- it was horrible traffic to drive there and around it (just a modern city, away from the pedestrian only area filled with expensive stores)and I didn't really appreciate the "golden yellow architecture" enough to make it worth it. We went for dinner one night, to be able to see it- and were thrilled to return to gorgeous, peaceful Beynac. Every evening the hot air balloons rose in the air! The RS book listed several options in Beynac- I don't remember the name, but it was a B&B and up the hill from the river- owned by a couple in a 300- year- home. The breakfasts were amazing and so were they.

Planning the Dordogne visit was very, very difficult, because of the configuring the driving and planning for the caves. Rick's book provided excellent hand drawn maps and good tips for pulling it altogether. Caveat: the distances are short, but the country roads mean you can't drive that fast, especially if you get behind someone slow. We often would slog along at about 30- 35 for miles. So getting places can take longer. This is good news if you aren't wild about renting a car- it's nothing like driving around the Riviera!