Digbydog

I am in the initial stages of planning our itinerary to the Dordogne and Provence for next June. I think we would like to see Oradour-sur-Glane and am thinking of heading straight there from our flight into CDG. However, I have a few questions.

We would arrive in Limoges about 3 pm. to pick up our car. Is Limoges a difficult city to navigate? I know we will be very tired and am worried about dealing with getting out of a city when we aren't at top form.

We will arrive on a Sunday. Given that we will arrive too late for lunch, will we be able to find anyplace to eat dinner?

Does anyone have any recommendations for accommodations?

Thanks for your help.

Michael

Limoges is not easy to navigate if one is not familiar with French roads and signs. But the car rental agency might be able to help in getting out of town.

It takes 2+ hours to get from Oradour to Sarlat according to Google. I do not see a visit to Oradour on the way to the Dordogne as desirable if arriving in Limoges at 3 p.m. It will betake an hour or more before you reach Oradour a couple of hours to visit the site, and then a drive to Sarlat which, according to Google, involves going through Limoges again.

Gretchen

Oradour is definitely worth a visit if you are in that area, as you are making plans to be. It would seem, that while not "on the way", a detour to see it would not be that great a sacrifice.
In downtown Limoges there are some interesting china outlets also.
There is a nice indoor market in Limoges that has a lunch spot in addition to the usual produce, cheese and meat.
We were with a tour group when there, but I was not overly impressed that it was a large hard to navigate city.

Digbydog

Thanks for your replies. We would not consider heading on to Sarlat on Sunday. That's why I asked for accommodations near Oradour. Viamichelin says it is only 30 minutes from Limoges to Oradour. Is that optimistic?

StCirq

I don't think that's going to work all that well, unless you stay in Oradour or thereabouts for the night. Limoges is one of those cities with a bunch of grungy industrial-sone type activity on the outskirts, and it's not that easy to navigate in and out of the city. It will take you about an hour at that time of day to get to Oradour, is my guess, even though it's not that far away, and I don't know how long Oradour is open (in terms of the museum, etc. - I believe you can walk around the town part any time), but you'll want 2-3 hours to see it. After that, having arrived that day, you'll probably be too tired to continue on to Sarlat. There's at least one hotel in Oradour, though I've never stayed there. I'd plan to overnight there and move on to Sarlat the next day. It's not true that you have to go back through Limoges to get to Sarlat. Just take the D roads (don't have my map here, but I know it's possible - done it).

kerouac

Well, there are always the motel chains surrounding Limoges, so I'm sure you could easily stay in one of them (www.accorhotels.com or www.louvrehotels.fr would by two of the principal sites to check for that).

Michael

For hotels and restaurants, there is always the old stand-by: http://www.viamichelin.fr/

Digbydog

We would leave Limoges immediately to head to Oradour and would spend the night there. The site is open until 6 pm, but we could go back the next morning if we wanted to explore further.

StCirq--you say it would take us an hour to get to Oradour at that time of day. Would that be true on a Sunday?

kerouac

The viamichelin site says it is just 23 kilometers and 30 minutes.

StCirq

Digby, it might take you less time, as there would be little traffic, but I'd count on getting lost at least once. Mappy says it's 23 kms: http://fr.mappy.com/#d[]=Limoges,+87000,+87280,+87100,+Limousin,+France&d[]=Oradour-sur-Glane,+87520,+Limousin,+France&endPos[y]=45.930342&endPos[x]=1.033923&ipo=1&lm=r&p=itinerary), but I'd allow an hour, especially if that includes picking up a car (are you sure you can do that at that time on a Sunday?), filling out the paperwork, familiarizing yourself with the car, etc.

Digbydog

St.Cirq--that's a good point about whether the rental car co. would be open on Sunday afternoon. I hadn't thought of that.

Assuming we can get a car, does a GPS work fairly well in a city? I have heard of lots of problems in the countryside.

Digbydog

Guess it's back to the itinerary drawing board. Just checked, and the car rental at the Limoges train station is closed on Sundays.

StCirq

Digby, you might check Sunday pickups in Angoulème, which isn't too far away (though it's unusual to find a Sunday pickup anywhere). There's a bus that goes from Limoges-Bénedictine to Oradour, but, alas, it doesn't run on Sundays. You could spend the night in Limoges (there are worse fates) and move on the next day.

maitaitom

Hey digby, We are taking the train from Paris to Limoges in September, where we will pick up a car, go to Oradour-sur-Glane and then drive to Sarlat. Our train arrives before 10 a.m. I'll give you all the detail when I return.

Digbydog

StCirq--thanks for coming up with alternatives. Unfortunately, Angouleme is closed on Sundays also. Not sure I want to spend the night in Limoges, but I'll look into it. We may just spend the night in Paris on Sunday and then head to the Dordogne.

Maitaitom--I love your trip reports! I'll look forward to reading about your adventures.

StCirq

Digby, here's another alternative I just thought of, though I've never tried it in France, only in Italy. Twice I've rented a car in Chiusi on a Sunday in Italy, arriving by train. Both rentals were through AutoEurope; one ended up being with Hertz, and another with EuropCar. Both times, for a 25 euro surcharge, AutoEurope arranged for someone to come to the Chiusi office on a Sunday to open up and get my car for me. Don't know what company you're renting from, but it's worth a try. Although I was apprehensive, it worked both times for me. AutoEurope gave me a cellphone contact for the guy who would be coming to open the office for me both times.

Just a thought.

cigalechanta

I've visited there twice and what annoyed me is that there were new broken dishes thrown in with the real remains of that horrible destroying of that village

Gretchen

We spent about 5 days in Limoges with a Sister Cities trip. What is so bad about it. We opted for a hotel rather than a home stay. The hotel was in town--we walked to restaurants and bars and the street festival we were attending. You'd think it was a trash town!!

jamikins

It is a fine town but completely dead on Sunday's as almost everything is closed...

Michael

I believe that the porcelain museum is a national museum, which would mean that it is closed on Tuesday and open on Sunday.