TornCalfGuy

We (parents and 9-year old) are traveling from Paris to see Brantome and the Sarlat area. We don't care whether we see Brantome or Sarlat area first. After a few days, we are going to Hendaye and on to San Sebastian.

Any suggested routes/modes of travel? I'm leaning towards the train from Paris to Angouleme and renting a car for the rest of the French portion of our journey.

Also, I know the Sarlat Market is famous, but has anyone been to the Perigueux Market, which is also on Saturday? We'll be in the region from Friday through Monday, so we'd like to visit a Saturday market. 2 of the 3 of us are not particularly interested in foie gras. Fruits, veggies, and cheeses are more of our concern. (Sorry foie gras lovers, including my wife, but my daughter and I just don't like the texture. Anyhow, I'm sure you can get good foie gras in either market.)

During our time, we plan to canoe a little, see Font de Gaume, maybe visit a castle, and go to a market. There's no time to do more than that, and we may skip one of those things anyhow.

Thank you for the suggestions.

StCirq

Why Brantôme? I mean it's OK, but I wouldn't give up a day or two in the Sarlat area for it.

If Brantôme, then taking the train to Angoulème makes the most sense.

The markets in the Périgord have hundreds of foods on offer, not just foie gras, though you'll see a lot of that of course. The Périgueux market is excellent, but driving in and out of Périgueux, especially on market day, isn't fun.

I hope you're not planning to drop the car off in Spain. If you rent it in France and leave it in Spain, you'll incur a whopping surcharge. To drive from Sarlat to San Sebastian, I'd go through Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Agen, Mont-de-Marsan, Bayonne, Biarritz, and frankly I wouldn't stop until Bayonne - the route just isn't all that attractive until you hit the coast. You could also probably drop the car in Toulouse and get a cheap airfare to Spain.

TornCalfGuy

First, thank you for all the information.

Second, although we'll spend more time in and near Sarlat than Brantome, it's where my father's family hid while he was a youg boy during World War II. So we'd like to visit the area once. Amazingly, the internet has allowed us to locate the relatives of the family with whom they stayed while in Brantome. I will try to get in touch with them before we leave. We'll likely canoe around there and visit the town before heading off for caves, castle, and beatiful medieval sights in and around Sarlat.

StCirq

Well, that's certainly a darn good reason to go to Brantôme! What an adventure that will be. Come back and tell us about it.

Michael

I prefer the Périgueux market to the one in Sarlat, but I prefer Périgueux to Sarlat while admitting to the latter's amber charm. Admittedly off season (May-June) but we had no problem finding parking in the underground lot next to the old town (Blvd. Michel de Montaigne). The above ground parking on the Allée Tourny is usually full--half the lot is paid parking and half is free. BTW, parking between 12 and 2 (lunch time) is free.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...21148969/show/

Brantôme and Bourdeilles are worth a visit in my opinion. The Renaissance chateau in Bourdeilles is furnished, which is a plus. St. Jean de Côle is worth a stop of a coffee on the main square.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623282383670/

TornCalfGuy

Fantastic pictures/slide show, Micahel. Thanks for the preview. We'll be there in late June, so it won't be high or low season, I suspect.

StCirq--we'll drop off the car in Hendaye and take the train to San Sebastian. The cost to drop it off in Spain was something like $600.

toni

A few years ago we drove from San Sebastian to French Basque region to Beynac. I would suggest, if you could, spending at least one night in the French Basque area. We were blown away by the beauty of the countryside and amazing ancient villages such as St Jean de Luz (seaside),St Etienne de Baigorry, St Jean Pied de Port, very different to other regions of France. We stayed in Ainhoa but you couldnt go wrong in any of the tiny villages.