thefengs

My husband and I will be visiting Paris and Dordogne area for 10 days, arriving April 26 and leaving May 6. I have not booked the airline tickets. Before I do so, I would like to call on your experience and expertise to help me consider what will be the best option. My initial thought is to fly in and out of Paris, spending 4 nights in Paris, then 4 nights in Dordogne, then 2 nights in Paris again.( I thought I might want to see Paris before I leave France.) Am I wrong to do so by fly in and out from Paris? By the way, is the Dordogne area worth 4 nights? I know there are a lot of villages and cave sites to see. But Do these villages look much alike and warrant the time to spend in visiting many of them? I remember seeing so many basilicas in Rome that the wow factor began to wear out until I saw the Duomo in Siena. By the way, this is our first trip to France. Any thoughts and suggestions? Thank you all in advance.

StCirq

The Dordogne area is actually hardly worth a mere 4-day detour. There is so much to see there you'd be hard-pressed to capture it all in a month. That said, if you have only 10 days on the ground (is that right - or are two of those arrival and departure days?), I'd split the time evenly between the Dordogne and Paris, with 5 in each.

Yes, fly in and out of Paris. Take the train to the Dordogne and back and rent a car for your time there.

michele_d

Agree 100% with StCirq. There is so much to see and do in the Dordogne. You will barely touch the surface. And no, I do not think the villages are similar at all. Each is different and beautiful in their own way. Definitely rent a car for the Dordogne region though. We spent a week in both Paris and Dordogne two years ago and we will be going back to both for a week each next year. Doing completely different things each time. You will love it I am sure.

Judy

I would try to fly into Toulouse, rent a car, spend 5 days then take a train back to Paris for the other 5 days. Less checking in and out of hotels and doesn't split up your Paris time.

Michael

I think that the 6/4 split might work fine. It is true that there are many things to see in the Dordogne, but if you found moments of too much similarity in Italy, you probably will feel the same way about some aspects of the Dordogne. I say this as someone who spends at least 3 weeks in the area every summer. And if you feel that the stay was too short, you'll just have to come back.

thefengs

Thank you all for your inputs. Judy,I did look into flying into Toulouse but it adds altogether 5 more hours of in/out flight time which will be equal to the trip time from Paris to Souillac. It would be great if the flight schedules are more efficient. Thanks for the suggestion.
StCirq,Michele-d, Michael, Thanks for telling me how worth while the Dordogne region is. I look forward to seeing its beauty and sharing the same passion you all have with this place.

StCirq

I hope you're not saying you're going to drive from Paris to Toulouse, or that you're taking a train to Souillac (that involves a train plus a bus). Where is your Dordogne destination and how do you plan to get there?

thefengs

Hi,StCirq,I am glad you brought up some questions. I was not thinking about driving from Paris to Toulouse.I was talking about the total travel duration of the departure from Memphis to Toulouse and return flight from Paris to Memphis will take 5 hours more than the time flying in/out of Paris. However, I did plan on taking a train to Souillac.(please advise me any other easier option.) As far as the destination in Dordogne, I am contemplating on Sarlat or La Roque Gageac. My plan is arriving in Dordogne region at 15:00 Saturday and leaving the area for Paris the following Thursday. My flight from Paris to home is on Friday. Please feel free to critique my plan. I am open to any suggestion. I also run into the problem of locating a rental car on Saturday afternoon in Souillac. I can use any help I can get. Thank you so much for taking your precious time to help.

Michael

You might have better luck with a car in Brive-la-Gaillarde. There is a Europcar agency there which is regularly used by Kemwel and AutoEurope.