After the Dordogne, then?
 

Hey Everyone, We are returning to the Dordogne next summer for two (yes!!!) weeks. We will have 3 days and nights after our rental till we fly out of CDG. Of course, we could go to Paris, but I thought, why not a place we have not been before? (We have already seen much of the Loire) We are thinking maybe the Auxerre area in Burgundy, since it is so near to Paris...but I would love other suggestions for those 3 days--anyone?

san sebastian, spain

St Emillion? Pont du Gard? Barcelona?

We have already been to all those places! Loved 'em! They are wonderful suggestions! But want some place we haven't been!!!

So spare everybody the guessing game. Where have you been already?

It's quite a trek over to Burgundy - about 6 hrs of mostly non-freeway driving. If you're renting a Gite in the Dordogne and leave at 10, with a stop for lunch along the way that will get you there (Burgundy) around 5 - which pretty much kills 1/3 of your days.

I would spend those days in the Auvergne - in the Puy du Dome/Clermont-Ferrand region. Lots of chateaux to visit, pretty countryside (different from the Dordogne), less touristy, etc.

If you want to break it up into two stops, spend 2 nights in the Auvergne, then return the car in Clermont-Ferrand and take the train to Lyon. From Lyon you can easily get directly to CDG (2 hrs on the TGV) for your flight home. Lots of departures from Lyon to CDG.

Another possibility is la Rochelle for 2 nights, then take the train to Nantes for 1 night, then on to Paris/CDG.

Three nights really isn't much time if there is lots of driving involved.

Stu Dudley

I like Avallon in Burgundy
and La Rochelle is wonderful. If you go have lunch at Les Flotts and cross the bridge to ile de Ré.

We had the same "problem" last fall from Dordogne. I presume you have a car?

We drove to Clermont Ferrand for the first night (Radio Hotel - great food and interesting hotel), Chablis for the second and Auxerre for the third.

This takes you up the middle of the country, stopping at some wonderful places, ending up within easy striking distance of CDG.

If this appeals to you, I will look up the names of the hotels - all were great.

La Rochelle and surrounding area. To whet your appetite:

http://tinyurl.com/5kumva

Go to the French Pyrenees- to Pau and surroundings. Wonderful, unspoiled, fantastic food. You can fly to CDG from Toulouse when you're done.

We spent two days in Toulouse after the Dordogne. We really like the city, very young vibe, great food, it felt good to be back in a city after the Dordogne, which we absolutely loved. I wouldn't want to go to another country environment after visiting the D, I would choose a city.

wren

Regarding Toulouse after the Dordogne. Although it's one of my two favorite cities in France after Paris (Dijon is the other), if you're renting a gite with a normal Sat to Sat rental - that would put you in Toulouse Sat & Sunday, and possibly Monday too. If you stop somewhere overnight between the Dordogne & Toulouse (St Cirq Lapopie/Pech Merle, Gorges de l'Aveyron, etc) that will put you in Toulouse Sunday & Monday.

I've mentioned this hundreds of times on this forum - most shops close in cities on Sunday, & Monday morning - so that would be a real lousy time to visit Toulouse or any other city in France.

La Rochelle might be different (we were there on a Monday afternoon & Tues - departing Wed) because you can keep the car & visit the ile de Re on Sunday.

Stu Dudley

Millau and the viaduct. Foix. Andorra (but only Pas de la Casa, not Andorra la Vella).

Montpellier, Béziers, Sete.

I am happy that I have months to decide--I am really leaning toward staying south now---but I have no idea where. I have toyed with the idea of going to the Lot, but then again, also going to Provence for a few days is appealing. Suffice it to say, I haven't made any decisions at this point, but I welcome any input.

I thought your original idea of the area around Auxerre made sense since it would put you very near CDG for the trip home. You are going to have to spend time traveling north at some point, although as others have pointed out you could do this by train if you choose other destinations.

Auxerre itself is a very charming town. Nearby there are many other places to explore in northern Burgundy including Joigny, Vézelay, the Chablis vineyards, Avallon, and much more.

I vote for heading south through Dax and les Landes to Bayonne, Biarritz, and St-Jean-de-Luz. Beautiful beaches, wonderful scenery, but TOTALLY different from the Dordogne. You could fly back to CDG from Biarritz. Base yourself in St-Jean-de-Luz and plan to go inland a bit to the wonderful Basque villages.

Alternatively, I'd go into the hinterlands of the Auvergne - really wild, lost territory.

Personally, I don't like Toulouse and its environs, though I know others have different POVs.

We like the idea of going to the Pyrenees-Atlantique...that sounds very appealing. Is there a particular place anyone out there could recommend staying in St. Jean-de-Luz?

Two hotels I've always WANTED to stay at in SJdL are the Château d'Urtubie just outside town and the Hôtel Maria Christina. Unfortunately, we never made plans in advance when heading to that part of France, and it was always high season, and we had to take whatever hotel we could find - those two were always filled up.

But they're both really lovely.

wren,
I have a larg-ish file on the Pays Basque that has lots of hotel/inn recommendations in various price categories that you can download in pdf at www.maribelsguides.com

I think a natural extension of a Dordogne visit would be further southwest to the Pays Basque. Then fly back to CDG from Biarritz as St.Cirq suggests.

We've put clients up at the Chateau d'Uturbie, actually in Urrugne, below St. Jean de Luz. They chose it for the a/c in Aug, which isn't common in Pays Basque lodgings, even in Biarritz. The Chateau is very much a period piece-great, if you like that style-it's also open for public tours, so you might consider that.

In St. Jean de Luz there are wonderful top end lodging choices (but the town gets extremely crowded in summer).

There are also great places in the country, such as the just fabulous new Auberge Basque inn/restaurant on the old road to StJdeL just outside St. Pee sur Nivelle. Getting lots of great press and only a 15 min. drive from StJdeL.
www.aubergebasque.com

We go to this beautiful corner of SW France every summer in late July. I'm sure you'll be totally charmed by it. The area is not so large, roads linking the 3 flower villages well maintained and signage good, so easy to get a really good feel for it in three days. Espelette, Aihoa, Sare are highly picturesque.

Another voice touting St. Jean de Luz and environs - really, really
charming part of France.

St. Cirq. - we've stayed at the
H.Christina on the recco of Fodorites. It's very nicely
situated and the owners are lovely,
but the rooms are very very small
- even by French standards! It's
an honest 2* IMHO.

Re the hinterlands of the Auvergne
- yup, you are really in the boonies
there - and if the weather isn't
sunny it can be quite gloomy. Lots
of cows. Lots.