8.5 days in the Dordogne
Sep 29th, 2009, 11:59 AM
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8.5 days in the Dordogne
Here is a summary of our recent trip to the Dordogne, which was quite lovely. We don’t post much on these boards, but found a lot of useful information for this trip here. We especially thank Stu Dudley , ekscrunchy, St. Cirq, and carlux for their reports and thoughtful posts on this region.
In my view we had great weather all round, and for the most part everything seemed uncrowded. Domme had lots of visitors, I am sure, during the days while we were out and about, but in the evenings it really emptied out. In the early morning, when I like to walk, it was magical. We made no restaurant reservations ahead of time and had no problems being seated anywhere. I didn’t expect to drive as many km as we did, but the roads were generally empty and untaxing, the scenery fantastic, and overall motoring was a very relaxing experience for both of us.
I’m happy to answer any questions, but this region has been so well documented by the posters above and others, I doubt if there will be many!
Flights:
Into Bordeaux via CDG from Atlanta arriving Sunday 8/30 at about 1 PM, we left out of Bordeaux on Tuesday 9/8 at 7 AM. We used FF miles for BC seats on Delta and Air France.
Car:
We rented a Peugeot 306 from Sixt, we added ~1800 km to the odometer in 9 days. Total cost was about €290 plus €100 for two refills with diesel.
Hotels:
5 nights Domme L’Esplanade Room #15, a superior double with a small balcony and great view of the valley, €150.
2 nights E of Souillac, Chateau de la Treyne, a superior double (Henri IV) overlooking the garden, €285.
1 night Brantôme, Moulin de l’Abbaye, a superior double, Cheval Blanc, with a beautiful prospect of the R. Dronne on two sides, €255.
1 night back at Merignac, Sofitel, std double, €105.
Our Days in brief:
Sunday, 8/30 (cloudless skies) --we drove pretty much straight out to Domme in about 2.5 hours. We checked in to l”Esplanade, hiked around Domme in the late afternoon, had a light meal at the café next to the belvedere, and turned in early.
Monday, 8/31 (cloudless skies)—We toured Ch. Castelnaud first thing, then visited the small walnut farm and museum nearby. Then across the river we toured Ch. Beynac. We had lunch along the river in Beynac town, then drove to Marqueyssac gardens and spent about 1.5 hours walking off lunch along the pleasant pathes. We returned to Beynac and caught the 5 PM Gabares boat tour on the river. We drifted back towards Domme, stopped in Cenac and bought a roast chicken and potatoes takeout and made a picnic dinner of it on our balcony along with a nice rosé wine.
Tuesday, 9/1 (cloudy w/ afternoon rain)—We drove to Montignac, bought tickets for Lascaux II and went to the cave, joining the first daily tour (in French). Then we drove on up to Perigueux, making a leisurely afternoon of it walking the Michelin GG tours, browsing and dodging raindrops. Late in the afternoon we returned to Domme, and after a rest enjoyed a fantastic dinner at l’Esplanade.
Wednesday, 9/2 (partly cloudy)—We started in the AM at the Sarlat market, staying until about 11:30. The afternoon we drove essentially the Perigord Noir loop in the green guide. We had a picnic lunch along the way from provisions bought at the market. We also stopped and walked around the gardens at d’Eyrignac, also very nice. In the evening, we returned to Sarlat to soak in the atmosphere and ate at an Italian restaurant just up the steps from the R. de la Republique.
Thursday, 9/3 (partly cloudy)—We drove up the autoroute to the Limoges area for some porcelain shopping and to visit the somber Oradour-sur-Glane. We stopped at a couple of “outlets” in the Limoges suburbs, went to Aixe-sur-Vienne, then on to Oradour which we found very moving. We returned to Limoges, parked, and walked around the center for a while. By 4 PM we were on our way back to the Dordogne. After a rest and enjoying our view at l’Esplanade, we had a pleasant dinner at La Treille in Vitrac.
Friday, 9/4 (mostly sunny)—We checked out of l’Esplanade after a wonderful stay and drove over towards Rocamadour via Gourdon. We parked at l’Hospitalet walking down to the town level, I walked back up while DW cheated and used the elevators. We were there from 10-12 and there were not many other tourists yet at all, though many buses arriving as we left. We drove E in the afternoon, stopped for lunch in St. Cere, then visited Ch. Montal just outside the town. We drove back W cross country, arriving at Ch de la Treyne around 5 PM. We walked the grounds, rested, then had a very good, if expensive meal in the Chateau’s 1-star restaurant.
Saturday, 9/5 (cloudless skies)—After breakfast we drove SE to Figeac, which had a good crowd for the market by the time we arrived. The town was delightful on a pleasant sunny morning. Our only purchases were provisions for a picnic lunch, which we enjoyed at wayside table on the R Cele about 40 minutes E of Figeac. This beautiful river road we had to ourselves. By about 3 PM we were in Souillac where we spent about an hour in the curious Museum of Automation. We decided we wanted to see Sarlat one more time in the evening so we drove back, walked around, rested at a café, then had dinner al fresco along the R. des Consuls.
Sunday, 9/6 (cloudless skies)—After breakfast we checked out of la Treyne and poked our way up to Martel, where we photographed the antique steam tourist train as it chugged out of the depot at 11 AM, then parked and walked through the old town. We drove up to Collonges-la-Rouge, having a look around and some lunch. Again, Collonges was not too busy, but buses were starting to pile in as we were leaving. In the afternoon we crossed back to the W towards Brantôme, stopping en route at Ch. Hautfort for a quick tour. We were in Brantôme about 5 PM. The Moulin de l”Abbaye has a magnificent setting on the R. Dronne. We weren’t planning on another 1-star Michelin dinner, but the riverside venue and carte at l’Abbaye proved irresistible. It was hands down the best of our fine dining experiences of the trip.
Monday, 9/7 (cloudless skies)—We hated to leave l’Abbaye and Brantôme after such a short visit—it’s really too bad that it is not more centrally located for touring the Dordogne. En route now back towards Bordeaux, we stopped in the morning and toured the Ch. Bordeilles, then zipped on, having left the best scenery behind us. By 1 PM we were in St. Emilion, where we lunched on omelets and shopped for some wine to carry home. We were at the Sofitel near the airport by 5 PM, I turned in the rental car, we repacked for the trip home and had a mediocre dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.
Stuff we bought:
Various local food products: walnut oil, plum eau-de-vie, grape must moutarde, some dried herbs
A (somewhat) kitschy set of 6 types of peppercorns in test tubes along with a holder fashioned out of a section of a wine barrel, sold at the Sarlat market by a transplanted Englishwoman.
A small framed oil painting of Sarlat center.
Handpainted ceramic vegetables from a small shop just off the R. de la Republique in Sarlat.
A handpainted Limoges vase, at the large pottery shop in Aixe-sur-Vienne.
Some pretty rose-and-cream ceramic pieces from a small shop on the square of Saint-Sozy.
Two bottles of 1986-vintage first-growth wines in St. Emilion, for our upcoming 25th anniversary in 2011.
Cheers!
maytraveller
In my view we had great weather all round, and for the most part everything seemed uncrowded. Domme had lots of visitors, I am sure, during the days while we were out and about, but in the evenings it really emptied out. In the early morning, when I like to walk, it was magical. We made no restaurant reservations ahead of time and had no problems being seated anywhere. I didn’t expect to drive as many km as we did, but the roads were generally empty and untaxing, the scenery fantastic, and overall motoring was a very relaxing experience for both of us.
I’m happy to answer any questions, but this region has been so well documented by the posters above and others, I doubt if there will be many!
Flights:
Into Bordeaux via CDG from Atlanta arriving Sunday 8/30 at about 1 PM, we left out of Bordeaux on Tuesday 9/8 at 7 AM. We used FF miles for BC seats on Delta and Air France.
Car:
We rented a Peugeot 306 from Sixt, we added ~1800 km to the odometer in 9 days. Total cost was about €290 plus €100 for two refills with diesel.
Hotels:
5 nights Domme L’Esplanade Room #15, a superior double with a small balcony and great view of the valley, €150.
2 nights E of Souillac, Chateau de la Treyne, a superior double (Henri IV) overlooking the garden, €285.
1 night Brantôme, Moulin de l’Abbaye, a superior double, Cheval Blanc, with a beautiful prospect of the R. Dronne on two sides, €255.
1 night back at Merignac, Sofitel, std double, €105.
Our Days in brief:
Sunday, 8/30 (cloudless skies) --we drove pretty much straight out to Domme in about 2.5 hours. We checked in to l”Esplanade, hiked around Domme in the late afternoon, had a light meal at the café next to the belvedere, and turned in early.
Monday, 8/31 (cloudless skies)—We toured Ch. Castelnaud first thing, then visited the small walnut farm and museum nearby. Then across the river we toured Ch. Beynac. We had lunch along the river in Beynac town, then drove to Marqueyssac gardens and spent about 1.5 hours walking off lunch along the pleasant pathes. We returned to Beynac and caught the 5 PM Gabares boat tour on the river. We drifted back towards Domme, stopped in Cenac and bought a roast chicken and potatoes takeout and made a picnic dinner of it on our balcony along with a nice rosé wine.
Tuesday, 9/1 (cloudy w/ afternoon rain)—We drove to Montignac, bought tickets for Lascaux II and went to the cave, joining the first daily tour (in French). Then we drove on up to Perigueux, making a leisurely afternoon of it walking the Michelin GG tours, browsing and dodging raindrops. Late in the afternoon we returned to Domme, and after a rest enjoyed a fantastic dinner at l’Esplanade.
Wednesday, 9/2 (partly cloudy)—We started in the AM at the Sarlat market, staying until about 11:30. The afternoon we drove essentially the Perigord Noir loop in the green guide. We had a picnic lunch along the way from provisions bought at the market. We also stopped and walked around the gardens at d’Eyrignac, also very nice. In the evening, we returned to Sarlat to soak in the atmosphere and ate at an Italian restaurant just up the steps from the R. de la Republique.
Thursday, 9/3 (partly cloudy)—We drove up the autoroute to the Limoges area for some porcelain shopping and to visit the somber Oradour-sur-Glane. We stopped at a couple of “outlets” in the Limoges suburbs, went to Aixe-sur-Vienne, then on to Oradour which we found very moving. We returned to Limoges, parked, and walked around the center for a while. By 4 PM we were on our way back to the Dordogne. After a rest and enjoying our view at l’Esplanade, we had a pleasant dinner at La Treille in Vitrac.
Friday, 9/4 (mostly sunny)—We checked out of l’Esplanade after a wonderful stay and drove over towards Rocamadour via Gourdon. We parked at l’Hospitalet walking down to the town level, I walked back up while DW cheated and used the elevators. We were there from 10-12 and there were not many other tourists yet at all, though many buses arriving as we left. We drove E in the afternoon, stopped for lunch in St. Cere, then visited Ch. Montal just outside the town. We drove back W cross country, arriving at Ch de la Treyne around 5 PM. We walked the grounds, rested, then had a very good, if expensive meal in the Chateau’s 1-star restaurant.
Saturday, 9/5 (cloudless skies)—After breakfast we drove SE to Figeac, which had a good crowd for the market by the time we arrived. The town was delightful on a pleasant sunny morning. Our only purchases were provisions for a picnic lunch, which we enjoyed at wayside table on the R Cele about 40 minutes E of Figeac. This beautiful river road we had to ourselves. By about 3 PM we were in Souillac where we spent about an hour in the curious Museum of Automation. We decided we wanted to see Sarlat one more time in the evening so we drove back, walked around, rested at a café, then had dinner al fresco along the R. des Consuls.
Sunday, 9/6 (cloudless skies)—After breakfast we checked out of la Treyne and poked our way up to Martel, where we photographed the antique steam tourist train as it chugged out of the depot at 11 AM, then parked and walked through the old town. We drove up to Collonges-la-Rouge, having a look around and some lunch. Again, Collonges was not too busy, but buses were starting to pile in as we were leaving. In the afternoon we crossed back to the W towards Brantôme, stopping en route at Ch. Hautfort for a quick tour. We were in Brantôme about 5 PM. The Moulin de l”Abbaye has a magnificent setting on the R. Dronne. We weren’t planning on another 1-star Michelin dinner, but the riverside venue and carte at l’Abbaye proved irresistible. It was hands down the best of our fine dining experiences of the trip.
Monday, 9/7 (cloudless skies)—We hated to leave l’Abbaye and Brantôme after such a short visit—it’s really too bad that it is not more centrally located for touring the Dordogne. En route now back towards Bordeaux, we stopped in the morning and toured the Ch. Bordeilles, then zipped on, having left the best scenery behind us. By 1 PM we were in St. Emilion, where we lunched on omelets and shopped for some wine to carry home. We were at the Sofitel near the airport by 5 PM, I turned in the rental car, we repacked for the trip home and had a mediocre dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.
Stuff we bought:
Various local food products: walnut oil, plum eau-de-vie, grape must moutarde, some dried herbs
A (somewhat) kitschy set of 6 types of peppercorns in test tubes along with a holder fashioned out of a section of a wine barrel, sold at the Sarlat market by a transplanted Englishwoman.
A small framed oil painting of Sarlat center.
Handpainted ceramic vegetables from a small shop just off the R. de la Republique in Sarlat.
A handpainted Limoges vase, at the large pottery shop in Aixe-sur-Vienne.
Some pretty rose-and-cream ceramic pieces from a small shop on the square of Saint-Sozy.
Two bottles of 1986-vintage first-growth wines in St. Emilion, for our upcoming 25th anniversary in 2011.
Cheers!
maytraveller
Sep 30th, 2009, 08:41 AM
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<<kerouac:
Oh, these trips are always so short! I hope that you will be motivated to return some day>>
No question we will return to this area! Our next trips to France will include Alsace and Burgundy, however, which we have not seen in any detail.
On reflection, I don't think the time we spent in the Dordogne was too short, especially for a first visit. We think we got a good sampling of the areas and towns. When we come back for a week or two, we'll likely repeat a couple of things, but the wonder of this area is the astounding diversity and number of interesting sights and activities!
maytraveller
Oh, these trips are always so short! I hope that you will be motivated to return some day>>
No question we will return to this area! Our next trips to France will include Alsace and Burgundy, however, which we have not seen in any detail.
On reflection, I don't think the time we spent in the Dordogne was too short, especially for a first visit. We think we got a good sampling of the areas and towns. When we come back for a week or two, we'll likely repeat a couple of things, but the wonder of this area is the astounding diversity and number of interesting sights and activities!
maytraveller
Jun 23rd, 2010, 06:34 AM
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We will be in the Dordogne from 9/9-9/16. Knowing that the weather can be very unpredictable from year to year, what might we expect temperatures to be. You obviously had great weather last year!
Thanks
Thanks
Jun 25th, 2010, 08:24 AM
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Hi adman:
Your trip is a week later than we were there last year. We had sunny days in the low 80s and a couple days with rain in the high-60s. I suspect the 80s were a little warmer than average but not too sure.
maytraveller
Your trip is a week later than we were there last year. We had sunny days in the low 80s and a couple days with rain in the high-60s. I suspect the 80s were a little warmer than average but not too sure.
maytraveller
Aug 3rd, 2010, 08:22 AM
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Hi winnick:
<<Were you happy with your hotels?>>
L'Esplanade, Domme: We enjoyed this place a lot. The service was great. The room was slightly worn but the balcony was very nice--perhaps the best room in the hotel. Being in Domme in the evenings after the daytrippers was magical for us. The restaurant was excellent--better overall dining experience in our opinion here than at C. de la Treyne, not quite as nice as at the Moulin de l"Abbaye in Brantôme.
C. de la Treyne: Very beautiful setting and DW especially liked the classic decor in our room and public spaces. Service was efficient and professional if not quite as warm as our other hotels.
Moulin de l"Abbaye, Brantôme: Another beautiful setting, again especially in the evening. We had a beautiful room here and could not say enough about the attentiveness of the staff. A very memorable dinner on the terrace. The only thing that could improve this place is if it could be slid about 30 miles to the SE.
You could certainly do a lot worse than these places, winnick. Alright, enough, time to look for return tickets myself.
maytraveller, Perigordless for nearly one year
<<Were you happy with your hotels?>>
L'Esplanade, Domme: We enjoyed this place a lot. The service was great. The room was slightly worn but the balcony was very nice--perhaps the best room in the hotel. Being in Domme in the evenings after the daytrippers was magical for us. The restaurant was excellent--better overall dining experience in our opinion here than at C. de la Treyne, not quite as nice as at the Moulin de l"Abbaye in Brantôme.
C. de la Treyne: Very beautiful setting and DW especially liked the classic decor in our room and public spaces. Service was efficient and professional if not quite as warm as our other hotels.
Moulin de l"Abbaye, Brantôme: Another beautiful setting, again especially in the evening. We had a beautiful room here and could not say enough about the attentiveness of the staff. A very memorable dinner on the terrace. The only thing that could improve this place is if it could be slid about 30 miles to the SE.
You could certainly do a lot worse than these places, winnick. Alright, enough, time to look for return tickets myself.
maytraveller, Perigordless for nearly one year
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