Dordogne help!

Congratulations on a great pick! You will have many excellent choices of places to stay.

Spending time in this region without a car is pound-foolish, in my view, though Rick Steves insists it is possible. You'll get about much easier, and see and do more great stuff, if you rent a car. When you are done the car will help you get to Cahors or Toulouse to catch a train or flight to Barcelona.

If you have a car I would stay in one of the small towns on the river--LaRoque or Rick's pick, Beynac, for instance.

If you are only thinking of stopping off for a night enroute to Barcelona, however, I urge you look into direct flights from Paris to Barc. The Dordogne takes effort to get to and deserves some time on the ground.

We stayed in Sarlat a couple of years ago and wished we had hired a car. Very little local transport between towns.

We stayed in a gite called Le Petit Manoir just outside the village of Vitrac. Google it. I would use a car, but if you are energetic and stay on the river, you can actually see quite a lot by bicycle. The villages are only 3-5 miles apart. Wherever you stay, they will have all the information you need for activities. Canoe rental is on the south side of the river from Vitrac. The float to Baynac is a very pleasant 2-3 hours and very safe since the water is only two feet deep in most places.

Have you looked at one of the RS France guidebooks? He has a good section on Dordogne that answers your questions. I believe Rick says that if you are determined to do this without a car, staying in Sarlat is really the only feasible option--this is a rural region without good public transport. (I don't even think you can get to the Lascaux caves without a car or as part of a tour).

If you reconsider and decide to get a car, I'd take the TGV to Libourne (near Bordeaux), pick up your car at the Hertz counter at the train station, then drive east to Dordogne from there.

you definitely want a car - bus is not very handy, and trains don't go to small places where you can get a canoe.

Salart is a good base to explore the area with a car. I rented once in Bordeaux and drove to Salart. it's about 6 hrs drive with many pretty villeges and castles along the way. if you don't stop then you can make it much shorter by taking the highway. From Salart you'll have to hit a bigger town to get a high speed strain to barcelona, so plan for at least a stopover and return your rental car.

In September, we are taking the train from Paris to Brive and then renting a car at the Brive RR. I chose to stay in Les Eyzies de Tayac at Ferme de Tayac B&B: http://fermedetayac.com/index.html for 3 nights. Although there isn't much happening in this one street town, it is where Font de Gaume and the National Prehistoric Museum are. And Les Eyzies is within a 20 minute drive to dozens of major attractions in the Dordogne. Then we're driving to, and turning the car in, Bordeaux. This area, also, has some must-see and must-eat&drink locations. Best Wishes to the bride and groom.

We stayed in Sarlat 5 years ago for 3 nights. It was delightful, we statyed in a bed and breakfast -La Maison du Notaire Royal, in RS book.Very in expensive but charming. We had a balcony that had a view of the town square. If you stay in Sarlat don't miss market day. We took a taxi to Beynac one day, I think it was about 10-15 eur. We enjoyed the train, however we passed so many villages we wished we could stop at. We are going back to France in September and we are renting a car this time.

Ashley,

First of all, congratulations!

My suggestion for a "home base" in the Dordogne would be Sarlat. It's a wonderful smaller town. You might consider staying in This Hotel (it used to be one of the defensive towers in the medieval wall). There's an awesome street market (on Saturdays as I recall) and lots of small shops and great restaurants.

You might consider renting a car only for the last day or two in that area. Plan to do your exploring and canoe trip during the last few days in that area. There's no point in paying for parking unless you're going to be using the car a reasonable amount. You could rent the car in Sarlat and then drop it off when you head for Barcelona.

Travel from Sarlat to Barcelona was a bit of a challenge. A trip by rail would be about 14-hours, so not ideal. The method I'd probably use is an EasyJet flight from Toulouse to Madrid. The flights depart at about 15:30, and fares as low as €19.49 (subject to change of course). You could drop your rental car at the airport in Toulouse.

Once in Madrid you could either stay one night or travel to Barcelona right away either by rail (only a couple of hours from Puerta de Atocha station) or shuttle flight (since you're at the airport anyway). In any case, you'll probably need the better part of a full day for the journey from Sarlat to Barcelona.

Happy travels!

We visited the Dordogne last month. We stayed in Sarlat at La Villa des Consuls, which I highly recommend, as it is in a good location and has laundry facilities. We did not have a car. We hired an English speaking tax driver, Philippe (listed in Rick's book), who took us to several of the caves. I'm sure he would be able to take you to a good location for canoeing or any other activity. Here is his contact information: Allo Philippe Taxi Sarlat (France) Tél. : 06 08 57 30 10 Site : http://allophilippetaxi.monsite.wanadoo.fr

We also spent 3 days in Sarlat, and it was spectacular. Walking the town at night illuminated by Gas lamps (the only remaining in France, I believce) give the town an ethereal ambience. Market day is spectacular. We showed up early as they were setting up, and had some hot drinks at a sidewalk cafe watching the market unfold. Very peaceful morning. We also rented bikes and followed a map provided to us by the bike rental to tour the local castles (Castlenaud and Beynac) and many small towns. Be warned, this is a long day with some hills, but is well worth it if you are in decent shape. As for canoeing, the Dordogne was REALLY high while we were there, so they wouldn't let us on the water, but the canoe company was willing to pick us up in Sarlat and take us to the put in if the water level dropped. This would have been my preferred way to explore the region, but it was not to be. You could also take a short train ride to St. Emilion for some of the regions best wine. Have fun.

Congratulations! Great plan. I can't speak to the Barcelona segment, but I would second the comment about having a car in the Dordogne. We stayed at a wonderful B&B (Le Barde) just outside of Sarlat in Montfort. You would love it - very romantic. we had a view of the castle from our room. You can do day trips all over the area if you have a car. La Roque, Beynac, Sarlat - all great. There were many people canoeing, etc. I just think you will be better off with a car.