Sarlat, France...have you been there?

Sarlat is great, and you lucky to have so much time there. We went to the cave with the monochrome paintings that you have to take a train to reach the art. Make sure and stroll the town after dark, it's very magical. We enjoyed the Rapier restaurant, although this was back in 2003 and so i am not sure if it's still there or as good. A wonderful, magical town all the way around.

You haven't said but I assume you will have a car. A trip to Roccamador was a nicely spent day.

We stayed in Sarlat this early June for three days and loved it. Les Cordeliers Hotel is wonderful and so are the owners. We had two delicious dinners at Auberge de Mirandol with multiple gourmet courses and a five minute walk from the Hotel for 22-29 euros. We went to the Wednesday Market and it was so great. Lots of sausages, foie gras, cheeses, fruit, candy,nuts, olives, herbs and spices. Bring your camera as the whole area is picture perfect. We didn't ride down the river but did the loop. We were glad that we stayed in Sarlat as the villages on the river are just too small for us. We toured the Castlenaud which was great fun with lovely views. We also went to Grotte de Font de Gaume for the prehistoric art-amazing. We would have loved more time but went on to St Emillion and Bordeaux.

It sounds like Karen was on our trip! We also stayed at Les Cordeliers (4 nights) and ate at le Mirandol several evenings. Don't miss Font du Gaume, it took my breath away. We did the canoeing. On the suggestion of the owners of Les Cordeliers we started the canoeing at Carsac which gives great views of Chateau Montfort and is a 4-hour excursion (RS recommends starting further downstream in Vitrac, only two hours). They also recommended Chateau des Milandes which is the former home of Josephine Baker, we were glad we went. The Hanging Gardens of Marqueyssac give great views of the river valley. We went to Lascaux II which is underwhelming, being a reproduction. The driving was fairly easy in this region. The Dordogne exceeded our expectations by far.

Jackie, second most of the positive comments. However, we also had dinner at the Rapier. The worst meal I have had in seven trips to Europe. The service was rude, had one waitress walk away in the middle of taking an order. The steak was so tough that a dog would have complained.

I never have good luck with steak in France. Even if it's tender there's a flavor I don't like.

I was in Sarlat for the last week of September last year and loved it. We took a walk through the city every night after dinner. I loved the markets on Wednesday and Saturday. Other things we did outside Sarlat were: rented a canoe for a ride on the Dordogne (the river was very low, so it was kind of hard paddling, but picturesque), visited the towns and castles of Beynac and Castlenaud (both were great, but we liked Castlenaud the best), visited the cave art at Font de Gaume and Peche Merle (liked both, but Peche Merle was far better), went to the museum in Les Eyzies (did not really thrill me), visited the towns of Rocamadour and St. Cirq La Popie on the Lot River (like St. Cirq better). The area is beautiful and the food is wonderful. I hope you have a wonderful trip.

Re: the Rapier: you really have to make sure that you base your choices on current information (as I said, this over eight years ago). And your own personal judgment. Our hotel in Sarlat was also great at the time, and while researching our 2010 trip to France (which did not include the Dordogne), I was dismayed to note that it is no longer listed in Rick's book. I looked it up on Trip Advisor, and sure enough the reviews were awful, including references to bedbugs! Places get better and they get worse, and you have to be aware. Most of Rick's books are updated every year, a definite plus.