Hi Stu,

I've never been to Dordogne, so I really can't compare.

As for flights to elsewhere, I was thinking Granada, or Bilbao/San Sebastian, not just the big cities. And likewise, I was encouraging Margot to think of any small towns her heart might desire in terms of landing in France and then renting a car to go into the countryside -- which might very well end up being Dordogne.

Stu - we would be planning to train it from Barcelona to Toulouse. Besides Newark to Paris, we would fly Paris to Barcelona and on the other end, Toulouse to Paris. Make sense to you???

...And yes, we would be renting a car in Toulouse to drive to the Dordogne, then return it there on our way back to Paris.

Flying from Toulouse to Paris makes sense only if you find a cheap flight. If I were you, I would look for reduced rate train tickets at http://www.sncf.fr/indexe.htm.

Michael - I did find reasonable flights, so that doesn't look to be a problem, but thanks for your input.

Margot - I don't understand the need to return to Toulouse if you are visiting the Dordogne. Get a one way rental and drop the car off in Limoges or Brive. The train ride is less than 4 hours from Limoges and lands you in Paris itself rather than Orly or CDG. If you rent from EuropCar, the Limoges office is in the train station itself.

Hmmmm - interesting thought, Michael...Fodorites, what do you think - best to go with Michael's suggestion or with my original thoughts of driving back to Toulouse and flying to Paris from there?

Regarding Dordogne to Paris.

I think you said that you are really not returning to Paris for the purpose of a visit, but you are trying to fly home - hopefully Toulouse to Newark/NYC on the same day (we've done that several times). Toulouse to home on the same day would give you maximum time in the Dordogne region. As you indicated in your e-mail to me, the Dordogne to Newark doesn't work because there are no flights in the afternoon from Paris. However, there are many flights that leave Toulouse for JFK after 11, and connect through Madrid, Frankfurt, Paris, or Amsterdam.

Also, I suggested that you hit St Cirq Lapopie on the way to the Dordogne from Toulouse. You could actually hit it on the way back from the Dordogne to Toulouse, staying there overnight - which would shorten your drive to Toulouse a bit and you could perhaps make a Newark flight. Last year we had a very early flight from Toulouse & we stayed at an airport hotel for about 65E (weekend rate). We had the best meal of our 4 week trip to France at the Michelin 1 star restaurant next to the Airport. I would suggest staying in Albi that last night, but you're leaving on a Monday, which would place you in Albi on a Sunday - when very little is open - including restaurants (100% of the restaurants and hotel restaurants listed in the Michelin Guide are closed on Sunday).

Personally, I would not go back to Paris that last night & stay there in order to get a flight home the next morning. You would either have to take a plane & stay near the airport (yuk), or go into Paris which would be more interesting (and about $150 for taxis), or take the train to Paris from Libourne or Brive, or Limoges (which would eat into your time in the Dordogne).

I think the best bet for a last night would be someplace close to the Toulouse airport or at the airport - depending on when your Toulouse flight leaves. If you take a flight after about 11, you could stay in the Dordogne (Sarlat, Roque Gageac, etc) and make it to the airport in time.

Stu Dudley

Also, as someone else mentioned "open jaw" flights are usually no more expensive than flights to/from Paris. So a flight to Paris, and a return from Toulouse via Paris/Amsterdam/Frankfurt/ Madrid would work. I love connecting via Amsterdam - their airport is extremly efficient.

Stu Dudley

Just to throw this into the pot - I found Montpellier to be a very lovely city to visit. There's an affordable hotel called Hotel Royale near the train station from where you can catch a 7:30 am train to Barcelona. It might be a nice stepping stone as it was for us on a recent trip to the area.

Stu -
We'd really strongly prefer not to have any flight stopovers, especially since we're going to be cramming so much into 11 days. The plane from Toulouse to Paris leaves at 1PM and gets into Paris at 2:30PM, which would give us a nice chunk of the rest of the day and night to drink in Paris one more time, stay over that night, and fly back to Newark non-stop first thing that Monday morning (of course, we'd have to find an open Sunday restaurant in which to dine). What say you???

Since you would need to get from the airport to Paris proper on Sunday, it does make sense to reconsider a train from Limoges or elsewhere that takes you straight to central Paris, instead of going back to Toulouse to fly (unless you want to stay at an airport hotel and only dine in Paris that Sunday evening).

>>The plane from Toulouse to Paris leaves at 1PM and gets into Paris at 2:30PM, which would give us a nice chunk of the rest of the day and night to drink in Paris one more time, stay over that night, and fly back to Newark non-stop first thing that Monday morning<<

Your call - but that only gives you 3 days in the Dordogne - not much time.

Personally, when we leave Europe for home, my brain goes dead. I want to get the flying, hauling bags, retrieving bags at airports, getting to airports, standing in lines, to be over with ASAP and with as little time in airports as possible.

You're going to be doing an EXTRA retrieving of your bags, taking a taxi to Paris, checking into a hotel, taking a taxi to the airport (not fun on a Monday), waiting in a ticketing line & checking in your bags. You probably will have to go through a security check an additional time. Also, considering the two taxi trips and the added costs for rooms & meals in Paris vs the Dordogne, it may cost you an additional $250, I suspect. You also can't save on "Open Jaw" airplane tickets, since you will have a stop-over in Paris (no stop-overs AND open jaws allowed, I believe). This may make it a $500 or more "side trip". Run some math when you get home tonight.

I would much prefer to check in bags at Toulouse, get both bording passes (no more waiting in lines in Paris/Amsterdam, etc) and I won't see or haul my bags again till I get home.

Also, that drink you have in Paris might be a wine from the Dordogne or Bordeaux (next to the Dordogne).

Food for thought !!!

Stu Dudley

OK...now I'm going back to Michael's suggestion earlier about dropping the rental car off in Limoges and taking the 4 hour train ride from there to Paris. Then we could connect easily with a direct flight from CDG to EWR and wouldn't need to stay over in Paris. I checked the airfares between Toulouse and Newark/JFK with stops and it was outrageous. We'd prefer to fly to and from Paris via Continental, as that's where we might be able to get upgrades to first class with our Elite points. Does this seem to make more sense?

P.S. How long a drive is it from the Dordogne villages that Stu has suggested to Limoges?

Margot
Take a look at this thread.

Moolyn's Excellent Adventures in the Dordogne: June 2006

You can see what part you want to visit and get an idea of how long it will take. Take time to look on this thread. Marilyn's report is "Excellent" as titled. The report isn't 100% finished yet but this is very good. The photos are great.

Blackduff

I am so confused! What have you got against Spain? or simply driving up through France to a spot which has a train to paris?
My ideal, based on your flying into BCN and out of paris, would be, having had your fill of BCN, driving up the coast and into France, over the pyrenees if you fancy some mountains. Either drive up from Perpignan to Toulouse via carcassonne, and then into the Dordogne, or keep goingg via the camargue to Provence. Then train from Brive or Avignon to Paris.
I konw that this will probably attract a oneway hire fee for the car, but that will be cheaper I suspect than all the flights you are planning.
Alternaively keep to Spain and fly to Seville - you could see a lot of andalucia in 10 days, and at an ideal time of year.
WE are flying to Toulouse in September, staying for 2 nights, and then heading down into the mountains. I think that there is enough in T'louse to keep us Cornish country mice engaged for a day or so, but not much more. If you can wait til then, I will be posting a trip report on my return - 10th Sept. earliest.
Happy planning!

The only town that Stu recommends on this thread is St. Cirq Lapopie which is on the way to the Dordogne, not the Dordogne itself. What you could do is split your Dordogne stay in half, or two-thirds one third, staying in the Dordogne valley itself (Sarlat, Domme, Beynac etc.) at first, and then moving to Brantôme to visit that area (Bourdeilles, St. Jean de Côle, Jumilhac and maybe Périgueux especially if it is Wednesday for its market), which would bring you closer to Limoges. From Brantôme, Limoges is about 60 miles away via Thiviers, but give yourself two hours. If you want to end your stay with a bang, skip Brantôme, stay overnight at the Moulin de la Gorce (87800 La Roche-l'Abeille), which is about 30 miles from Limoges. It is in a lovely setting, with delicious food (it has a one star from Michelin), known as a place for discrete rendez-vous, but pricey.

To be more specifc, spend all of your time in the Dordogne valley, and then leave the valley by going up D704 from Sarlat to La Roche-Abeille. It will take only a couple of hours, so you could stop in St. Amand de Coly and Hautefort, or even visit Lascaux II on that day.

>I am so confused! What have you got against Spain? or simply driving up through France to a spot which has a train to paris?<

annhig - a little harsh, don't you think?! >-) Simply put, I LOVE what I've seen of France so far, which has been limited to Paris, Cotes D'Azur and Provence, and am anxious to explore more as much as possible!

Michael - you make some good suggestions, which I will look at along with Stu's input. Stay tuned, as I'm sure I'll be picking your brain a lot in the coming days! Thanks so much1!!