Base in Dordogne and housing suggestions
 

We have just started planning a trip to the Dordogne in mid-June. What's a good central place to stay and sites where we can look for accommodation. Does it make sense to stay in one town or move around? We are a family of 4, with 2 young kids, so I would prefer staying in one place. Is 10 days a good period of time to explore the region in?

Thanks
Pooja

Anywhere within a 30-km radius to the south and west and north of Sarlat is a good base. Ten days is a nice amount of time - there's tons to see and do and you won't get to it all, but that will give you a nice overview of the area.

Thank you StCirq. Can you recommend some sites to look at for family accommodation?

Try "French Country Cottages" or "Gite de France". Both have a wide variety of places to rent in the Dordogne. We stayed in a small village called Paylerac near Le Buisson de Caduion. I f you are near there in June make sure you go to the Marche Nocturne in Caduion. It is on every Monday night in Summer. You can buy great food from all the stalls eg oysters, duck, bbq, Thai, wine, cheese etc. They set up long trestle tables in the town square and a band plays. Its great fun,

I highly recommend www.yourfriendsinfrance.com. La Vigne, in Sarlat, would seem a perfect accommodation for your family. Having stayed in Sarlat many times, we think it is the perfect base for visiting the Dordogne. The owners of the above site are very knowledgable and helpful. Enjoy!










1

This might be too small for you, but we REALLY enjoyed our stay here (just before entering Montignac, 10 minutes away from Sarlat) : http://gite-lalibellule.com/eng/index.html
The owners are spectacular!

You might also get in touch with Simply Périgord, based in Le Bugue. They have a selection of about 75 houses.

There is no need for two different bases, unless you plan to branch out and spend some time east and north around Rocamadour, Martel, Collonges-la-Rouge, Céré, etc. But a base near Sarlat will keep you plenty busy for 10 days.

That's Cadouin, for the correct spelling. There's a beautiful abbey there, as well as an amazing woodworker's shop, a nice antique store, and a delightful specialty food shop. And there are marchés nocturnes, as well as the regular weekly markets, all over the Périgord.

We also staye near Montignac in a gite for a week. Jojonana's place sounds very reasonable and you can always ask about a cot. Our gite had two bedrooms. I found it by Gites De france which I also used for Burgundy last April. The site is down right now, but if her tip does not work out I lookup ours from my notes. Anywhere around Sarlat is a good location. Get a list of market days off of the net and you can visit a different one each day. Sarlat's on Saturday is a must. I loved staying in one place for a week. So much to see and do.

We reallyenjoyed our stay at Les Peyrouses, 5 min from Sarlat. I am pasting my previous post below.
We recently returned from 4 nights at Les Peyrouses, just 5 minutes from Sarlat. It is a beautiful B&B and they also have a private house (gite) that you can rent with a private pool. We were with 2 of our adult children, and took the 2 rooms outside the front door. The rest of the rooms are inside the house and I didn't see them. We were very happy with our rooms (although the path to the front door runs right outside them if that bothers you) and the setting is beautiful. It is a 5 minute drive to to the top part of Sarlat, giving easy parking near the cemetery. On Saturday, market day, we were in and out without having to face the terrible traffic. Another plus, Thierry, the owner, is a great chef. At breakfast he posts the evening menu and you can decide if you want to stay in for a lovely poolside dinner with the other guests. A great solution if you don't want to go out again in the evening (also for families with children). We loved it and highly recommend it . A great location too. Here is their website.
http://www.lespeyrouses-24.com/uk/default.htm

We stayed here, www.chantepierre-sarlat.com/en/accen.htm, in 2006. It's located near Salignac, which has a supermarket and other essential services and had both a washer and dryer, very helpful when travelling with kids. Five minutes walk along the road in front of the house, this was our neighbor's home: www.flickr.com/photos/palmeraie/3521664805.

If you prefer a hotel alternative-we have stayed 3 times at the Best Western Le Renoir in Sarlat. We like the location because it located for easy in and out driving to the surrounding villages, it has a pool and A/C which can be nice both for the quiet and the with kids. You can read all about it here and on tripadvisor.

We usually don't stay at kind of "chain" hotels but this one has been great each time.

Best Westerns in Europe are not chain hotels. They are all independently owned.