Getting from Paris to Sarlat

Brive La Gaillarde is about as close as you're going to get. Car rentals are available. I don't know how long the train takes, or the cost, but you can drive down from Paris in five hours. The drive from Brive to Sarlat is about an hour. Think real hard about driving through there in the dark that first night. The roads are a bit narrow and twisty - - not bad, but most don't have shoulder stripes and some don't even have center stripes.

TGV web site is confusing. For scheduling, try the German rail website. You can't book this trip there, but it is easy to use. http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml Looks as though there is a bus from Souillac, so you could rent your car there and maybe save a rental day. However, renting in Brive (or Angouleme, via TGV) might be a little quicker.

i have tried another route paris -> bordeaux. pick up rental car from bordeaux train station and drive to sarlat. the train ride is about 3-4 hours on a slower line. from bordeaux to sarlat there is a fast route via highway or the slow route. i took the back road slow route - it passed through a lot of little villages very beautiful and some sections are along the river you can stop by for picnic. it took me about 5 hrs but i stopped at serveal places to get drinks and just enjoy the towns on the way. the road is in pretty good shape, not a lot of traffic, easy drive, i liked it lot.

We just returned last week from Paris and Sarlat but the opposite direction. We picked up our car in Bayonne as we were coming from Spain and drove to Sarlat via Bordeaux and then RS's quicker way via Periguex. We use www.viamichelin.com. Sarlat was absolutely great and the market (Wed and Sat) so fun. For a foodie it is the best. We then went to St Emilion and returned the car to Bordeaux. The car return by the train station was tough perhaps as we were come from wineries but once there they have a great tram into Bordeaux and we really enjoyed our day there. The next morning we were on the 7:00 am to Paris and slept most of the way. Everyone was quiet including two remarkable young children. I am sorry I can't remember the name and no longer have my guides but the train's next stop I believe could be a better option except I'm not sure you can get a car there. Play around Autoeurope's rental car site for options. We travelled first class but i did look at second class and it was not bad, the main difference being that the seats weren't quite as padded and were more upright. The train arrived in Montparnesse and I foolishly connected us to the RER going up and down stairs endlessly instead of splurging for a taxi. At last we arrived in our beloved Paris only to find it was so crowded and pricey. I bought my tickets online at the TGV site and choose being English to not be forwarded onto Rail Europe's far more expensive site. Hope this helped a little

I recently made the trip. We went through Bordeaux also and I recommend it. The TGV high speed from Gare montparrsas(sp?) station in Paris. Take the early 7am ? Train. Get your car at the Bordeaux station. After a few tries you'll make it over the bridge and be on your way. If I was doing it again I would stop at least one night in st Emilion and do some tasting. I set the gps to avoid tolls and had a wonderful two+ hours of driving. Without a gps it would have been a lot more stressful. We stayed in la rouque and visited sarlat. Sarlat seemed busy and gritty compared to the little town we were in but is still full of interesting things and food. We dropped the car in Avignon and took the TGV back to Paris. The dordogne is just one amazing thing after the next.

Thank you to everyone for all your good advice!! It certainly gives me something to think about and explore. Thanks again.