dac

Hi,
We would like to visit the Dordogne and surrounding areas in the spring or fall to avoid the crowds and hot temperatures. We like temps in the low 70s, so I'm wondering if May would be good or Sept/October. Would the last two weeks in October be too late to go?
Thanks.

stanleys

With the weather in France apparently becoming warmer it is difficult to predict when to go, but the Dordogne should be seen when things are in bloom. In September, October flowers are gone and things are not nearly as pretty as they are in June. Still no lavender but everything else.

klondike

We have always gone in the fall, and while maybe not as many flowers, there are still many. It can still be in the high 70's/lower 80's. Nights cool to cold as soon as the sun sets.

We appreciate seeing the grape harvest, nuts on the ground, mushroom and game galore. It is not too crowded and those who are there aren't in a big hurry and enjoy sitting and talking over a glass of nut or peach liqueur. Soup (done so well in France) reappears on many menus. Le Vin bourru can be found!

By the last two weeks in Oct. you will start running into more and more businesses being closed down for the season, though. Rain is liklier then too.

Can't speak for the Dordogne, specifically, but we generally in the past found late spring/early summer to be more unpredicatable than the fall.

Carlux

Living here, I love the spring, with the trees and wildflowers in bloom. But the autumn is also lovely, for all the reasons klondike gives. It probably is somewhat more reliable, too, although my take on climate change around here is that weather is becoming more unpredictable, not necessarily warmer. We had the hottest driest April in history, then May which has been up and down. It was cold two weeks ago, warmed up to 31/32 (somewhere in the 90's I think) and then dropped down drastically on the weekend. We turned the heat on on Monday, pratially undheard of here in May. So who knows?

hausfrau

Hi dac, we were in the Dordogne the last week of October last year and it was gorgeous (you can find my full report on this forum). It was actually much warmer than we expected - downright hot a couple of days (I'm guessing it was around 80F in full sun), but cool enough for a light jacket at night. Generally speaking, I think you will have a better chance of warm weather in October than in May.

It seems that the weather across Europe has been similarly unpredictable this spring - our weather here in Stuttgart has been exactly as Carlux describes for the Dordogne.

As long as you travel in October and don't get into November, I think you will find that most places (restaurants, hotels, shops) are still open. We definitely observed fewer crowds and had some of the castles almost to ourselves, which was awesome. It was still necessary to make reservations at some of the more popular restaurants.

I also found that some of my favorite Dordogne cuisine goes perfectly with autumn weather, as klondike described.

CRAZY4TRAVEL

We just got back from the Dordogne and we had a real mix. It was cool and wet when we arrived...like Carlux said the weather shot up to 30 degrees (90F) and then the weekend we were leaving cool and wet again.

We thought it was going to be very warm so we only brought a few long sleeve shirts. I think you need to be prepared for almost any weather and bring clothes to dress in layers.

We've always traveled to Europe in the fall until the last two trips. We've enjoyed the fall very much but last spring in Tuscany was amazing. The wild flowers were incredible. We decided to make it a spring trip this year and we weren't disappointed. The poppies were in full bloom...field of them and I've never seen roses so lovely. Everything was so green and lush.

I'm sure you can't go wrong either way. We found there were very few crowds, driving was no problem and the weather overall was not too bad. I guess it starts to get much busier in July and August.