Southern France and Paris in 2 weeks

Will you have a small rental car? Grotte du Pech-Merle, with an advance reservation which can be done online, is not to be missed close to St Cirq:
http://www.pechmerle.com/contact.html

Yep, I will have a rental car until St. Emilion, where I will leave it at the Bordeaux train station and take the train to Paris. Thanks for the info!

I'd recommend the castle at Castelnaud if you don't mind a lot of stairs, for all you learn about medieval warfare (and stairs) and for the view from the top. It's very close to La Roque. Sarlat for sure, especially on market day park somewhere around the edge and walk in. At least one of the caves I've heard Peche Merle is very good. We loved Lascaux II (even though a reproduction) and Font-de-Gaume (which is very close to the prehistory museum at Les Eziyes if you're into that). Better check when the caves are open though. Carcassonne is a good day (more medieval warfare) but I wouldn't know what to do there with a three-night stay. Maybe some of the nearby villages, or Albi with its fortress-cathedral. If your route takes you near Cahors, we loved the old Gothic church and cloister, also the medieval bridge over the Lot. I wouldn't make a trip there but if you're passing nearby en route it might make a good stop.

If you have three nights in Carcassonne, consider a drive into the Pyrenees to see the Cathar castles. If you like that sort of thing that is. It is also very pretty country. Dordogne is wonderful, probably our favorite region and we have been to almost all of them! We stayed in Sarlat for two nights, not arriving until 5pm the first day. And still, it's one of our most vivid travel memories. Next time we'll stay four nights or more. Just the sort of place where you want to slow down and aren't worried about being to goal-oriented. If you do go to Sarlat, seek out the Rapier restaurant if it's still open. When we were there it was late September and it seemed like the kayaking season had ended.

Thanks everyone for the good ideas!

We fell in love with a charming bed and breakfast in Southern France. The name is Aurifat on the hillside below Cordes-sur-Ciel. It was like a vacation within a vacation. You would need a car to get to it. Once there you can walk up to the town or drive. The English couple who own it were very helpful with planning driving tours, but I would have been just as happy right there. You can read about it on tripadvisor at - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187170-d238008-Reviews-Aurifat-Cordes_sur_Ciel_Tarn_Midi_Pyrenees.html You can also read more about it at - http://www.karenbrown.com/B_and_B_Guide/France/Midi-Pyrenees/Cordes-sur-Ciel/Aurifat/471.php

We have been in most of those areas and absolutely loved the Dordogne. We stayed at Le Perigord Hotel near La Roque-Gageac. The owners were wonderful and the restuarant had great food. Our room looked up to the town of Domme. It was really quiet at night. While there, we visited Lascaux II cave. While it is a copy, it was worth the trip to me. There were a lot of other cave areas to visit. We went to Rocamadour for a day. We also visited a farm where geese were force fed for fois gras. It wasn't the one that RS describes. We didn't kayak but there are boat trips on the river at La Roque-Gageac. I had read the some books by Kate Mosse about the Cathar area. We visited Montsegur and climbed Peyrepertuse. I was fascinated by the Cathar region. We also visited Cahors and Albi. Even though I had looked forward to Carcassonne, I found it to have too many tourist shops and people. Going in the evening would have been better. South of Carcassonne were Rennes-le-Bains and Rennes-le-Chateau. I had read about these villages in several books. After visitng the Roman arena in Arles, I would go back to the Camargue. We have tried to do some different things in Paris. Last spring, we went to the zoo and to the Mosque de Paris. Enjoy!!!!!

Probably out of the way from where you are booked, but have you thought about doing a Lyon, Nice, and Monaco swing? Edwin

I did think about that, but didn't quite have enough time without cutting some of the other locations short. I believe Cannes Film Festival will be taking place while I'm there, and prices are probably pretty high. I'll save that for next time! Thank you all for the great ideas! I'm so excited for my trip.

If you're interested in horseback riding there is a great place just outside of Les Eyzies (where the Font de Gaum caves and the Prehistory Museum are). It's called Ferme de Fonluc : http://fonluc.com/
I had a wonderful 2 hour ride, including trotting and cantering through the hills and fields of the area.