Rent the car in Brive and return it there. It's cheaper to go by TGV if you buy non-refundable, non-exchangeable tickets three months in advance.

Paris isn't the only city from which you can fly to Tel Aviv. Why not keep going south and return the car in Marseille, for example?

I'd do the TGV first just to ensure that Jet Lag did not kill my nearest and dearest as you suggest.

Exactly where in the Dordogne are you planning to spend your time? You could probably take a train and then rent a car from somewhere closer.

You can fly direct to Tel Aviv from Nice; with one connection (Geneva) on EasyJet from Bordeaux, etc. with one connection (Barcelona) on Vueling

Flying out of Nice is a great suggestion. It will be a shorter flight than from Paris and cheaper as well. Thanks

You could get a train from CDG to Bordeaux, spend a night there and then pick up a car from a non-airport (i.e. no airport fees)location and then go spend time in the smaller towns of the Dordogne.

From the eastern end of the Dordogne, it is about a 2-hour drive to Toulouse with one stop connections to Tel Aviv, or some five hours to Bordeaux with non-stops to Tel Aviv.

While you will be ahead of the crowding of July in the Dordogne, it might be best to make reservations at hotels or B&B before you go to avoid wasting time finding accommodations.

It might be worthwhile to search this board for Stu Dudley. His trip reports and hotel expertise are more than reliable. I hope to be as expert Stu is in about three years after we purchase our retirement home in the Dordogne next week.

Hi, basingstoke. I wouldn't drive from CDG south to the Dordogne; it eats up a bunch of time and is a bore, with the sun in your face the whole way. Fly into CDG and hop on the train from there to Brive, or Bordeaux then a change to Périgueux. May is gorgeous in the Dordogne, with all the orchards in bloom. Base yourself in or near Sarlat.

Bordeaux is 2.5 hours from the Dordogne. That would probably be easier than driving to Nice or getting there on a train, even though there's a connecting flight involved.

Happy to help you plan your days in the Dordogne.

<<or some five hours to Bordeaux...>>

At MOST, it's 3 hours, even from the eastern-most reaches of the Dordogne.

We usually fly into & out of either Bordeaux or Toulouse - depending on the connections. Toulouse to Sarlat is an easier drive than Bordeaux to Sarlat. A few times we've taken the TGV from CDG to Bordeaux and then either stayed in Bordeaux or St Emilion for the first night before heading to the Dordogne. Taking the train to Brive involves getting from CDG to Paris to pick up the train - there are no trains from CDG to Brive that I know about.

If you like to go to markets, get some food (including ready-to-eat roast chickens, Paella, Foie Gras etc) and then prepare dinner/lunch yourself - then rent a gite for a week or more (go for the "more"). We've rented 52 gites for 85 weeks in France (10 weeks in the Dordogne). For us, it's the "only way to go" and it saves us a ton of money. We started doing it the year we both retired early in '99.

Do you have my itinerary for the Dordogne??? I've sent it to around 1,500 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at StuDudley@aol.com & I'll attach a copy to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

Yes, there are now trains from CDG direct to Brive, but apparently only about one a day. I just checked.

What time does it depart from CDG??? I couldn't find any trains on the German web site for Dec 6.

Stu Dudley

The one I found, randomly selecting November 29 from the www.tgv-europe.com site, departs CDG at 18:58. Hardly ideal, but for 31 euros...

When I check December 6, it says Roissy>Brive journey isn't sold on the website.

The German site says that the 18:58 train runs Th-Su From Nov 8 to Dec 8 and arrives in Brive at midnight. I checked some Jan & Feb dates and it seems that it runs Th-Su then too.

The midnight arrival is the killer!!

Stu Dudley

I agree. Way too late, especially if it's the same day you arrive from the West Coast! Well worth going to Austerlitz to get there at a reasonable hour, I think.

Actually, on the road, I am only bored during the Paris-Orléans section. I find the road interesting after that, but perhaps only because I drive in that direction rarely.

If you are going to take the TGV or any train for any part of your travels, I strongly recommend keeping an eye on the site(s) such as TGV or SNCF. You can save a bundle from specials and early bookings, as I did this past October. (e.g. Eurostar Paris to London return for EUR79.00 and Paris to Reims return (non-stop) for EUR29.00)

Reservations are made and paid for. It will be into Paris and out of Nice. Not counting the arrival and departure days, we will have 5 full days in France. Dordogne is one thought, Provence another, maybe a bit of each. I really do not suffer from jet lag much at all so a drive of about two hours after landing would be just right and give us most of the day wherever we stop. Now, to identify that place. I do enjoy driving and find it a stress reliever rather than stressful.

Well, the Loire is the obvious target, then, if your trajectory is toward the Dordogne and/or Provence. I'd aim for someplace between Orléans and Bourges - you might even go a bit off track and stop in Blois or Cheverney for the night, where you could visit the castles.

That sounds great. Thanks

Five full days for the Loire, Dordogne, and Provence???. Then depart from Nice, which is a 2 1/2 hr drive from Provence. If your Nice flight leaves before around noon - it's probably best to spend the last night near the Nice airport.

So it looks like this.

- Arrive at CDG & drive 2 1/2 hrs to the Loire. Budget 3 1/4 hrs if you do this on a work day & have to navigate around Paris. If you arrive at CDG around 10 AM - expect to get to the Loire hotel around 3:30 or so. Time for 1 chateau visit, if you are not dead tired.

Day 1 - visit a chateau in the morning. Most open around 9am, so plan on leaving the chateau around 11:30. Then drive 5 1/2 hrs to Sarlat. Arrive & check into the hotel around 5-6 PM. Not enough time to do anything except wander around Sarlat a bit.

Day 2 - visit a cave, Dordogne River, villages, etc.

Day 3 - drive 6 1/4 hrs to St Remy. Stop at Carcassonne along the way (2 1/2 hr visit) to break up this long drive. If you leave Sarlat at 10am, you'll get to St Remy at 8PM. No time to do anything except rush to dinner.

Day 4 - visit some sites in Provence.

Day 5 visit some sites in Provence. Leave for St Paul (near airport) around 4PM so you can get to St Paul by 7PM. Time to see a bit of St Paul & then have dinner

Day 6 - depart from Nice.

So, you see the following in your 5 days in France:

1 chateau
Sarlat, a cave, a few villages in the Dordogne
Carcassonne
1 1/2 days worth of stuff in Provence
St Paul de Vence

I would never "sign up" for a vacation like that - no way!!!

I would:

- Arrive at CDG and take 3 hr TGV to Provence. Pick up a car in Avignon & stay in St Remy.

- 4 1/2 days in Provence

- drive to St Paul per above.

Yourr original plan has you spending wwwwaaaayyyy to much time sitting in a car seeing nothing.

Stu Dudley

Update - we have come to our senses and will skip the Dordogne this time around. Our flight is scheduled to arrive at CDG a bit past 9 AM and there is an 11:40 train direct to Avignon. That would give us 2 hours + to collect baggage go through customs and make the train with the nervous assumption that that the flight will be close to on time and perhaps we should risk a Prems ticket if we can get one. Our flight out of Nice is at 2 PM 6 days later, which should give us a taste of that part of France which will be new to us. How does that sound? Suggestions? Thanks Stu!