zoobiechick

My husband and I plan on renting a car in Perigueux for a day trip to Sarlat and Beynac. The posts I've read on the subject have me worried about navigating roads in and out of Perigueux. I speak French and spent several months in Perigueux,(30 years ago) but have never driven in France and am now more nervous than I already was. I am really stepping outside my comfort zone to even consider renting a car and exploring, but I know a car is necessary to see the Dordogne river valley.

I guess I'm looking for reassurance. I looked up the trip from Perigueux to Sarlat on a route finder, and the directions were horrific! Is there no easy way out of town to explore the region?

A second question is whether it will be easy to get a taxi to take us from the Perigueux train station to a hotel near the city center around 5 or 6 at night.

I've chosen Perigueux as a two-night base for four reasons: 1) It's relatively easy to get there by train from Paris (we are flying in to CDG) 2) We need to head to La Rochelle after our quick visit to the Dordogne and Perigueux is more direct by train than Brive or other towns in the area 3) I lived there and want to visit some people and see old haunting grounds 4) I want to catch the Wednesday morning market before boarding the train to La Rochelle the same day.

We took a trip to France a year and a half ago, and the Fodors folks were extremely helpful. Merci!

zoobiechick

PS - This will be at the end of April

Ackislander

I don't like driving abroad, but I didn't mind driving in Perigord at all.

Perigeaux isn't that large, Sarlat is smaller and the roads are well marked. Parking in Sarlat is often grim, especially on market days, but I wouldn't worry in April.

I would suggest that you get there expeditiously and return on lesser roads for great countryside.

StCirq

The correct spelling is Périgueux. If you can't spell it, chances are you're not that familiar with driving around it.

No, there is no easy way out of Périgueux to Sarlat. There is only one road. There are at least 10 ronds-points between Périgueux and where I live in Le Bugue, surely more between me and Sarlat, and the route is tortuous, once you navigate all the ronds-points. You have to drive slowly to avoid speed cameras, which are everywhere.

Just keep following the signs (there are plenty) to Sarlat, and go slowly. It's not as complicated as it seems, but it's not easy, either. Just be very watchful for the signs to Sarlat. You'll end up coming into town on the east side. Parking on market days (Wednesday and Saturday) can be daunting, but there is free parking all over the city and paid parking on the streets and in the two big lots.

zoobiechick

Akislander
It's just getting out of Perigueux that concerns me. Did you have to navigate in and out of Perigueux itself? It seems like quite the juggernaut.

zoobiechick

Thanks, St. Cirq. I noticed when I searched directions there were a huge number of steps to getting out of Perigueux. You've given me some comfort. Take a deep breath ... and go slowly. Will people be honking at me? Ha ha. Thanks for the tip on parking in Sarlat as well. I've been there, but it was on a bus tour. Didn't have to worry about anything except not having enough time.

pariswat

Just rent a small car will be easier.

zoobiechick

St. Cirq, would it be easier to navigate, and doable on a full day, out to go to Bergerac and come from the other direction--visit Beynac and then Sarlat? We won't be there on a market day--will do that in Perigueux.

zoobiechick

That should read "full day out," and on a map, the route to Bergerac looks so direct ...

Mimar

Get a GPS/satnav to navigate you out of Périgueux. This tool is great for driving in strange cities. A marriage saver!

You can rent a car equipped with a GPS/satnav system or buy a portable unit. Or use your smart phone. I prefer a portable unit or my cell phone because (1) I can practice with it ahead of time and (2) I can use it to guide me while walking, in town or in the countryside, as well as in the car.

StCirq

Just take a deep breath - we always do - and stop at the café in La Douze for une noisette. If someone honks at you, give them the ooh-la-la and carry on. Even though I've lived here full-time for almost a year I still get creeped about driving to and from Périgueux. I don't go to Bergerac. I hate Bergerac, so I can't comment on that.

zoobiechick

I take it back. I don't feel comforted if you live in the area and still find it disconcerting.

distancebetweencities.net shows how to get from Perigueux to Sarlat--a 54 mile trip--in 23 easy steps.

I'm a middle-aged woman and my brain isn't very quick. Even with a GPS there is little time to react when you have constant lane changes in .1 or .3 km increments. My marriage won't be saved.

I may have to find a plan B.

Michael

<i>The correct spelling is Périgueux. If you can't spell it, chances are you're not that familiar with driving around it.
</i>

Fussy, fussy. Not everyone knows how to add an accent.

The easiest way from Périgueux to Sarlat is to take the autoroute A89 (La Bachellerie, Peyrignac, Le Lardin-Saint-Lazare are the nearby towns) and then D704 south to Sarlat. In spite of being a Départementale, 704 is the major north-south road through that section of the Dordogne. Get off the autoroute and then continue east (parallel to the autoroute) to Le Lardin-Saint-Lazare and take a right at the light. That avoids all the twisty little roads that you can take once you are used to the car and the roads.

Going through Montignac is a little tricky as you drive through a narrow one-way street, and then take a left at the end and cross the river. From the bridge just stay on that main street and it will become 704 again on the outskirts of town.

zoobiechick

Michael, I'm thinking St Cirq was referring to the spelling Perigaeux, which wasn't mine. And I don't know how to do French accents on these types of websites, so I just don't bother. Let the people judge if they wish.

Thank you for presenting an alternative. In looking at the map, the distancebetweencities website looks like it presents a really convoluted route. But I realize looking at a map and actually being somewhere are two different things. I will check out your suggestion.

Michael

Thge itinerary is longer, the driving easier, especially on the autoroute.

PalenQ

The correct spelling is Périgueux. If you can't spell it, chances are you're not that familiar with driving around it.>

Man I'd like to see the logic behind that hogwash! Could have been a typo?

aliced

Zoobiechick, relax, driving in the region is very relaxing. Good advice above, and the comment about having a small car is a good one; we were upgraded to a larger auto in September, to a Fiat 500, considered a large car by European standards. Parking in the city and hotel garages in Bordeaux and Toulouse was problematical to say the least. We used our smartphones for GPS, with mine tuned into Via Michelin and my husband's on Here. Both were excellent and kept us on track all month. In the areas surrounding Sarlat we were shocked to find the roads empty. Actually some had more cyclists than drivers! We toured Montignac, Les Eyzies, Sarlat, Domme, Castelnaud, Beynac, Rocamadour, Figeac, Autoir, St. Cere, before heading south to Albi, Toulouse and St. Remy-de-Provence. Roundabouts very well marked for each and every turn. While we had the entire France Michelin atlas with us, fearing satellite issues, we did not use it very much at all. My husband and I are well up there, and driving was not a problem. Used to NYC Metro area traffic anyway. Enjoy!

Kay_P

We took a day trip to Perigueux (I don't know how to do the accent either) from Sarlat this past May. We had a rental car with GPS and I had a Michelin map. Road signs were plentiful. We wanted to go to a specific car park and found it easily. Too bad it was full. We just drove around until we found parking. Driving out of town was not as straight forward as we had to orient ourselves to get back to the road leading out of town, but no big deal. We had never driven in this area before. I just now looked at my husband and asked if he thought this drive was "horrific". He said, "it is never fun to drive into a city you are unfamiliar with but actually I found it surprisingly easy". But we are calm people who do not get easily flustered.

I am not sure what middle aged is anymore, we are in our early 60's. This is just to give you some perspective as you mentioned being middle aged.

zoobiechick

I think "relax" and "take a deep breath" are the key words, use a GPS, and print out the route ahead of time to get familiar with it. Lots of good tips from everyone. Thanks to all for taking the time to answer. I think I can, I think I can.

kevin_widrow

It's been a while since we visited the Perigord but I do remember day-tripping to Périgueux and it really wasn't complicated at all. It's not a big city by any means and basically if you start with the attitude that you'll make a few wrong turns along the way, none of whom (or is it which ?) will matter, you'll be fine.

Nice town, by the way. Enjoy !

- Kevin