guyanantigua

Can anyone give me advice for a great (scenic) drive between Pau and Bergerac in the Dordogne? I've heard that N21 through Auch and Agen is nice but google maps says this takes 4 hrs 30 minutes, which means with stops it will take more like 7 hours. What about the routes google maps recommends (via A65)? Is it any good?

Would you recommend skipping Pau and going directly from Bayonne to the Dordogne? I heard Pau looks nice and the drive from Bayonne to Pau might be pretty, with the Pyrenees on one side (if anyone has a recommendation for which route to take in this case as well I'd be grateful.)

Cathinjoetown

I've done the drive from Bayonne to Pau many times, on a clear day it is very pretty with the Pyrénées on your right and rolling countryside to your left. Pau itself has an interesting old town but depends on how much time you have, I don't find it a very quick in and out.

I don't know the A65 which is fairly new but it looks like a good short cut up to Bergerac. The drive up through Auch to Agen is okay but not that interesting, and a real slog with lots of local trucks.

powhatangal

Drove from Pau to Bergerac on N21 thru Auch and Agen. It was in September a few years ago. It pretty much took 4-5 hrs but I thought there was some pretty scenery - sunflower fields and such. We also stopped at a Carrefour and bought picnic foods on the way.

I can't comment on driving from Bayonne to Bergerac but have driven Bayonne to Pau and Cathinjoetown's description is spot on. Pyrenees are very impressive!

We visited the chateau in Pau but otherwise used Pau as a base for four days.

We didn't think Pau was the easiest place to get out of - kept ending up at the same roundabout trying to leave town. Funny now. Not so funny then!

Robert2533

The A-65/E7, Autoroute de Gascogne, is a (toll) motorway, avoiding everythign interesting. It's been open for at least 4 years, but we've avoided it when in the area. I'm never in that much of a hurry.

If you are not in a hurry, you can stop in Roquefort and visit the Roquefort cellars, and the 13th century fortified village of Labastide-d'Armagnac.

guyanantigua

Robert--is there another route you'd recommend from Pau into Gascony and the Dordogne? Or would you recommend skipping Pau altogether and driving from Bayonne/Biarritz straight to Dordogne (by a different and scenic route that you enjoy)

Robert2533

If you are interested in wine, which we are, you have several excellent areas to traverse on the way north to the Dordogne. There's the Madiran, around the village of Madiran, the Tursan in Landes and the Saint Mont vineyards and hillsides dotted with Romanesque churches. The Côtes de Gascogne is in the Armagnac region, which is Gascony. The Brulhois is found mostly on the left bank of the Garonne River at little further north, near Agen. The Côtes du Lot is in the northern reaches of Southwest. The Cahors wine region is due north of Toulouse. Cahors has a medieval quarter and 14th century fortified bridge.

guyanantigua

Robert thanks! I'd be interested in driving through the Armagnac region...the others you mention sound good too. My concern is that I don't know the names of the roads to take...do you have any advice on the route, since you say the A-65 isn't very scenic?

Robert2533

In the pursuit of wine and Armagnac, from Pau you can head up the D-943 to small village of Corbère-Abères and then onto Madiran on the D-139. From there it's up to Maumusson-Laguian on the D-48 and onto Saint-Mont on the D-164.

From Saint-Mont you head north on the D-934 to Labastide-d'Armagnac. Just east of Labastide-d'Armagnac is the village of Parleboscq and the Chateau Laballe, and it's Armagnac vineyards. The tasting room is on the coast in Capbreton.

From there you head up to Agen and Cahors, throug the colorful medieval village of Tournon-d'Agenais, well known for it's 'tourtiere', an desert made from apples. Just to the west is the village of Pujols (listed by some as the most beautiful village in France).

guyanantigua

Robert...thanks! Sounds amazing.

Robert2533

Enjoy your drive, and the cuisine.