Where to go in France mid July?

Old Oct 22nd, 2014, 05:00 PM
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Where to go in France mid July?

HI all. We will be spending a month in France in July 2015. We have already booked accommodation for 3 of those weeks in the Languedoc in several villages between Bezier and Avignon. We have now got to make a decision on where to go between the 18th & 24th July. I would like to go to the Dordogne area but have read some trip reports stating how overrun with holidaymakers this area is at this time. Does anyone have any other suggestions of where we could go where it is perhaps a little quieter ... easier to get around, not as overcrowded etc. Any thoughts and ideas appreciated.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2014, 05:25 PM
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I was there in July 2013 and did not find it over crowded at all. We were there at the beginning of the month so I suppose it could be worse later but it was great when we were there.

Here's my trip report. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...swiss-alps.cfm
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Old Oct 22nd, 2014, 05:50 PM
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The Massif Central would probably be less crowded than the Dordogne.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...313123155/show
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Old Oct 22nd, 2014, 10:15 PM
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Anywhere in southern France will be busy in July - but I suspect much of the Dordogne will be no less crowded than the area you are already booked for, especially around Avignon. The major roads & autoroutes will tend to be busier, but usually once you're in the smaller villages, it's easier. So if it interests you, just go for it.
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Old Oct 23rd, 2014, 03:34 AM
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I spent two weeks last August about a one hour drive from Sarlat (in the southern Corrèze département) and although it was high season there were loads of Plus Beaux Villages you could visit with hardly any tourists. Places like Turenne, Collonges-la-Rouge, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, Carennac, Loubressac, Autoire, Meyssac, Martel, Saint-Céré, Curemonte plus other sites and attractions. It has all the beauty of the Dordogne without any of the crowds. And if you want to visit touristy places in the nearby Dordogne you're only an hour away. I wrote a trip report about my vacation that has loads of photos of the places I mentioned and more.

http://tinyurl.com/q6bb5av
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Old Oct 23rd, 2014, 03:48 AM
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I live in the Southern Dordogne. The latter part of July is less crowded than in August, but still somewhat busy. You will find the temperatures a welcome relief from Languedoc. On the other hand, if you are driving anywhere on the last weekend of July or the first weekend in August, expect very difficult crowding at highway rest stops and long lines at the toll booths. (The latter will be aggravated by the lack of a European credit card and the need to pay cash.)

Returning to your question, the major sites, e.g. Sarlat, Brantome, and Beynac,will be very busy. But, the lesser known locations will be very easy for you. There are over 4,000 events,fetes or expositions, in the Dordogne every summer, and many of them are in July. We have yet to find one that was so crowded that we felt we should not have been there.
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Old Oct 23rd, 2014, 06:53 AM
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In later July, we head to the mountain areas - Pyrenees or Alps. They seem to be less crowded. If your final stay in the "south" is close to the Pyrenees, look for someplace near Foix, Argeles-Gazost, or Cauterets. Many caves in this region - similar to those in the Dordogne. If you are close to the Alps, try Briancon. Both areas are beautiful!!! Annecy, however, might be quite crowded in late July.

Stu Dudley

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Old Oct 23rd, 2014, 08:15 AM
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My husband and I just spent two months in France this past summer. Once August 1 hit, it was like a switch went on and it became unbelievably crowded. Sarlat in particular was overrun with families and although I loved the area it was just too crowded for me. That said, we spent the latter part of July in Nice and loved it. It was busy but not too crowded and going to the beach was a nice break from being inland. We also really loved St Malo and Dinan although I am not sure you want to go that far north, but we really enjoyed that area as well.
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Old Oct 23rd, 2014, 10:35 AM
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Don't miss out on the Dordogne even with the crowds! We were there in mid-June of this year so without the European families on holiday but if July was the only time I could go I would not hesitate. It was fantastic. We had 3 generations on this trip and we all loved it so much we would skip Paris on our next trip to spend our allotted 2 weeks in this area.
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Old Jan 29th, 2015, 02:01 PM
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Thanks so much for all your replies - planning of our trip was put on the back burner for a while but we are in full swing again! Isabel I am loving reading your trip report - found it very useful for our proposed visit to Sarlat. Also the area around St Remy as our first week in France will be spent in a small village near there (house swop!). Also enjoyed FrenchMystiqueTours trip report and appreciate others' suggestions.
As I mentioned in my first post – we will be driving from the South (village of St Chinian) to Paris – leaving on Saturday 18th July and arriving Paris on Friday 24th. Rough itinerary is – 2 days around Toulouse/Albi and villages and into the Lot Valley, 2 days in and around Sarlat, 2 days in the Loire valley. Our latest idea is as follows –
Travel to Toulouse on the Saturday morning from St Chinian (2 hrs)– have the rest of the day and evening in Toulouse. Travel to Albi on Sunday morning (1 hr) – see the Toulouse Lautrec museum and the Cathedral, have lunch and then head north visiting places like Cordes-sur-Ciel, Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, Bruniquel and then Saint-Cirq-Lapopie during the afternoon. (Is this too big a day do you think?) Stay in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie on Sunday night and travel to Sarlat on Monday, possibly stopping at Pech Merle caves on the way (is there anything else that we could see on the way to Sarlat on this day or are there any other caves in the area that we could see instead of?)
Also keeping in mind Stu’s comments that Sunday and Monday aren’t the best days to be in villages/towns because things aren’t open – we could always do Albi first and head to Toulouse in the afternoon on the first day (Saturday), but I’m not sure how that would work with the villages the following day. Also we could completely miss out Toulouse?
We have tentatively booked a B & B on the outskirts of Sarlat for the nights of 20th & 21st. We can’t check into our B & B until 5pm – so with only 2 nights there we will have the first evening and one full day before leaving on the morning of the 22nd for the Loire Valley. This will be our biggest day of driving (4 hrs). Haven’t looked at places to stay in the Loire but have heard Amboise may be a good base – does anyone have any recommendations about where to base ourselves for 2 nights? Want to see a couple of Chateaus, perhaps Chenonceau and Chambord – any other suggestions?
Anyway, getting back to Sarlat – this plan has us staying 2 nights – but as mentioned we won’t be able to check in until 5pm on the first night which doesn’t give us long to see the area (one evening and the following day). Want to see places like Beynac Castle, Castlenaud, La Roque-Gageac –obviously we want to have a wander around Sarlat too.
Would be nice to spend 3 nights at the Sarlat B & B but that would mean only 1 night between St Chinian and Salat instead of 2, which could work if we missed Toulouse and stayed somewhere in between Albi and Saint-Cirq on the first night.
I hope this hasn’t been too much of a ramble – please critique – any suggestions appreciated!
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Old Jan 29th, 2015, 03:00 PM
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With lunch closings, Sunday closings, and Monday morning closings http://about-france.com/holidays-sundays.htm - I don't think you are going to accomplish much on your first few days after Provence. And 2 nighters - 1 1/4 days in the Dordoggne and the Loire really doesn't do these areas justice. You'll be spending a lot of time waiting in lines and walking through crowded Chateaux/villages in late July.

You really don't have enough time to see all the stuff in your above itinerary between late Sat and Friday morning.

I would skip Toulouse, Albi, St Cirq Lapopie, Cordes entirely, and do:

1. Sat. Start early and drive from Provence to Sarlat - stopping in Carcassonne for a 2 1/2 hr visit mid-way to break up the drive. Spend Sat through Wed morning in the Dordogne (4 nights/3 days)

2. Wed. Start early and drive to the Loire and spend Wed through Friday afternoon visiting Chateaux (2 nights/1 3/4 days). Get to Chambord when it opens on Thurs, and same with Chenonceau on Friday. I would stay at Bon Laberour (sp) in Chenonceau to facilitate visiting Chenonceau and to reduce driving/city hassles.

3. Fri. Take the 4:14pm TGV from St Pierre des Corps to Paris

Stu Dudley
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Old Jan 30th, 2015, 03:26 PM
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Hi Stu - thanks for your reply. Have taken in your comments and have decided to stay 3 nights in Sarlat and stay one night somewhere north of Albi the first night. We are quite keen so see Albi so will do that on the Saturday and head north in the afternoon. Cordes is an option - or somewhere near. Then we will head off towards Sarlat on the Sunday. We will be visiting Carcassonne sometime during the week we are in St Chinian (only a one hr drive). Thanks also for your idea for accommodation in the Loire but it is a little expensive for us (looks great though!). I will put up another post for accommodation ideas around the castles or nearby. Thanks once again!
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Old Jan 30th, 2015, 04:08 PM
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I had St Chinian misplaced I thought it was somewhere near Orange in Provence. Makes a big difference in visiting Carcassonne.

If you skip Toulouse and are OK with a one-nighter - then your itinerary is more doable, IMO. Consider staying in St Cirq Lapopie and then visit Pech Merle cave nearby. St Cirq is just off the autoroute and a lovely village (wins lots of awards).

Stu Dudley
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Old Feb 2nd, 2015, 05:31 PM
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Thanks Stu. We have found a nice B & B in Cordes - where we will go after visiting Albi and hopefully be able to visit St Cirq the following day on our way to Sarlat.
Next question: If we were to go to St Cirq, what is the best way? When I look at google maps the route is on D922 through Saint Martin Laguepie then Verfeil to St Cirq, and takes 1 hr 25 mins.
Or should we make our way towards Cahors and approach from the west?
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