A little help needed for Dordogne area
 

Hi,
We are travelling around France and as part of the trip we are going to the Dordogne area for one week. We want to stay in the same place for 7 nights.
We are still deciding where is the best place to based ourselves. We have 2 young children so would prefer not to do a lot of driving around.
Our interest are pretty villages,markets and just nice places to relax.

We have narrow it down to 2 places:

Aubas very close to Montignac
or
Castelnaud-la-Chapelle / Beynac

Happy to consider other options.

Many thanks in advace

We spent five nights in Sarlat (great hotel and base to see the area) in 2012. Here is my trip report (with photos). Go to Chapters Three through Seven for Dordogne. Have a great trip.

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/Tom_...ance_2012.html

((H))

And here's my trip report - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...swiss-alps.cfm Photos - http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/france_-_dordogne

I agree with Tom that staying in Sarlat is a great base. It is larger than Castelnaud or Beynac so there would be places to walk around, restaurants, etc that you could go to without driving. But to really see any of the Dordogne you need to drive around. The roads are good and the distances are not far.

Have you considered renting a gite? You'll have more room, kitchen, washing machine, perhaps a yard.

Stu Dudley

There's little point in going to the Dordogne if you're not going to drive around a whole lot. Aubas and Castelnaud (which is NOT Beynac - they are two separate places) are teensy.

I'd want to be somewhere that actually has some activity, and some stores/cafés/restaurants, etc. Such places, apart from Sarlat, would include Montignac, St-Cyprien, Le Bugue, Limeuil, Meyrals, Monpazier, Trémolat, La Roque-Gageac, Beynac, Belvès, Le Buisson, Siorac...and plenty of others.

And yes, I'd rent a gîte.

Thanks guys, we are definetly renting a gite and we will have a car. Just not sure what is the best area to based ourselves. A village but with some restaurants, a bit of shops or markets to walk around but not a city (if that makes sense!)

St Cirq has given some terrific suggestions, have a search for gites in some of these spots and see what comes up. It depends when you are travelling, whilst Sarlat is lovely, I stayed there last year, the traffic was building up and I thought to myself I am glad I am not here in peak season. I was there first week of July.

There are no cities as such around this area... It is beautiful so enjoy.

<< A village but with some restaurants, a bit of shops or markets to walk around but not a city (if that makes sense!)>>

That's exactly what I just gave you.

Thanks StCirq, we booked a gite just outside of Domme!

I agree with schnauzer about Sarlat. I was there in May and the traffic was bad even then. I would never base there again. Your gite near Domme will probably be great, especially with 2 young children. as you will probably want to settle in early in the evenings. There is lots to see in the Dordogne - have a great trip,

Do you have my Dordogne itinerary? I've sent it to over 2,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach a one to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

Many gites are in rural locations, so you would have to drive to go somewhere with restaurants, etc., but you may prefer a more quiet location. It all depends on what you like when you travel. I have stayed in cities, suburbs, small towns and rural areas in Europe and had a great time in all of them. I home exchange, so I often don't have a choice of location and take what I get. It's all good.

Gîtes in the Dordogne are never more than about 10 minutes from restaurants, shops, villages with all amenities, etc. It's simply not a concern. Rural locations in the Dordogne are normally about less than 10 kms from each other, often less. It's not an issue.

With all due respect to your vast knowledge of the Dordogne, unless you have personally surveyed every gite in the Dordogne, you cannot make the generalization that you just made above. It's like saying every farm is 10 minutes from a restaurant, supermarket, etc. Qualifying it with the word "normally" does not give those asking questions any specific advice about the gites they are considering. While the location of amenities for individual gites may not be a concern to you, it certain is to those renting them.

Lucateam... It looks like you're getting some good advice here. The only thing I'd add is, go ahead and click on StuDudley's link and ask for his itinerary. It's free, and it's more useful than most guidebooks.