accommodation in the Dordodne area
 

We are barging from Agen up the Baisse river and want to stay in a wonderful atmospheric village, with good restaurants within walking distance, before and/or after wards.
would LOVE to hear of such places.
Amaryllis
[email protected]

apologies, I do know how to spell Dordogne!!
amaryllis

We especially liked the Moulin de l'Abbaye in Brantôme and the Moulin du Roc in Brantome, both of which have fine restaurants and are set in picturesque areas. Brantome is a pretty town with good shopping, while the Moulin du Roc is out in the countrywide, near to a particularly interesting prehistoric cave.

Underhill's suggestions are great if you are visiting the northern part of the Dordogne, but that's not the area most people target first if they are heading for the major sites of the region like the prehistoric caves, the Hundred Year's War castles, etc. For that, you want to be in the Périgord Noir, near Sarlat. Wonderful atmospheric villages in that area would include Beynac, Domme, La Roque-Gageac, St-Cyprien, Monpazier, Belvès, Le Bugue, Montignac, Lalinde, Trémolat, Limeuil.........ah, there are so many, snd all with great restaurants. I suggest you go to your library and look at the book the Most Beautiful Villages of the Dordogne plus the Cadogan Guide to the Dordogne, Lot, and Bordeaux and healp yourself to narrow down the choices. What you've described you're looking for is pretty much true for 100 or more villages in the Dordogne.

I totally agree with St Cirq on staying in the Perigord Noire instead of near Brantome. If you draw a 20 mile radius circle around Sarlat, you will see that about 80% of the "sites" you will want to visit are within this circle. I would recommend that you look for accommodations in either Beynac or Roque-Gageac. Both of these villages are "knock your socks off" photogenic, and they are directly on the Dordogne River. There are several excellent restaurants in each village. You can also catch a boat trip or rent a canoe from vendors in each village (or close by).

I have a 20+ page itinerary which describes my favorite sites, restaurants, etc in the Dordogne. E-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy.

There is the most unbelievable place to stay in the Dordogne. Don't miss Chateau de Chauvac which is a luxury bed and breakfast near the roman village of Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne. A magically romantic place, close to all the sites. Check out the website at www.chauteauchauvac.com.

>>>Don't miss Chateau de Chauvac which is a luxury bed and breakfast near the roman village of Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne. A magically romantic place, close to all the sites. <<<

I wouldn't say it's close to all the sites. It's close to Castelnau-Bretenoux, Collognes, Padirac, Autoire, & Carennac, but farther than I want to drive in a day to visit Sarlat, Domme, Lascaux II, Beynac, Roque-Gageac, and especially all the stuff around Les Eyzies. Brantome, Perigueux, and Ch Hautfort are quite far away.

The last time we stayed in our favorite Gite near Domme, we took an overnight trip to St Cere & visited all the sites near Beauleau-s-Dordogne. Perhaps a good idea would be to stay a few days in this B&B and a few days near Sarlat. A split of 3 days in the Beauleau area, & 5 days near Sarlat area would be my recommendation.

Stu Dudley
San Mateo (San Francisco), Ca