Between Paris & Sarlat-la-Caneda
 

My partner and I will be driving from Paris to the Dordogn and need to find an interesting little town to stay for the night to break up the trip. Does anyone have a suggestion? Our flight arrives in Paris at noon and we would like to drive 2 or 3 hours south before we stop for the night. Thanks for the help.

The drive from Paris to the Dordogne is about 7 hours. Why don't you take the train through Limoges to Périgueux and start your trip from there? You can be in the Dordogne by 8 pm if you take the train from the Gare d'Austerlitz. Alternatively, if you do drive, stay somewhere in the Vienne like Poitiers before continuing on to the Dordogne -- but I fail to see why anyone would want to make this drive when it is so inherently uninteresting and so long and the train takes you right there - not to Sarlat, necessarily (most trains to Sarlat are freight trains), but to Périgueux or Brive or smaller destinations like Le Bugue or Le Buisson or Les Eyzies.........

Thanks for the input. We are flying in & out of CDG and have rented a cottage for a week in La Roque-gageac. We have never spent much time in France but I was hoping the drive was not going to be as dreadful as you make it sound. How difficult is it to catch the train from CDG?<BR> We tend to avoid large cities and perfer the small towns and side roads so we thought the drive would be a good way to see some of France. What ever means of travel we take I hope the Dordogne will be worth the trip. Thanks again.

There are a few possibilities for getting to the Dordogne by train. You can hop on the TGV at CDG, go through Paris, and on to Bordeaux or Libourne and then take the local train to P&eacute;rigueux (where you can pick up a rental car). Or you can go to the Gare d'Austerlitz and take the regular train to P&eacute;rigueux, through Limoges(this is my preference - it's less expensive and more direct than the other routes). You can also take a train to Brive-la-Gaillard. Whichever way you go, you'll end up in La Roque-Gageac about 6 hours after you leave Paris. And you'll have time to rest on the train after your all-night flight. It's about a 45-minute drive from P&eacute;rigueux to La Roque-Gageac through some gorgeous scenery.<BR><BR>I really would consider taking the train. The drive is long and dull. The Dordogne won't disappoint - if you enjoy small towns and lovely scenery, you'll be in paradise.

The train for two might be quite expensive. If you get a weekly car rental rate that is acceptable, it might be cheaper to drive in spite of the high fuel costs. Besides, it lets you see some of the countryside. To get to the Dordogne, take the autoroute to Orl&eacute;ans. I would then turn off and go along the Loire, stopping in Blois or Amboise. Visit the chateau the next day and then drive on to the Dordogne. Avoid the autoroute, you're there to enjoy yourself, not make time.

The train costs about 43 euros per person on the regular line, about 60 on the TGV, in case that helps your decision.

I do so admire St-Cirq for his/her detailed and accurate information, but here I must suggest that you go ahead and rent the car in Paris. If you are like most Americans, you reserved it ahead of time for pickup in Paris anyway. And certainly the cost for a rental car for one day of a week's rental in France (assuming it's not a big Mercedes) will be less than the cost of two train tickets. Whether you count the stopover hotel along the way as an added expense to counterbalance the train expense, or whether it's an added benefit of being able to stop where you want, is your option.<BR><BR>At any rate, my suggestion is that you drive from Paris to somewhere around the Blois area. My choice, where you won't find many tourists but a nice village, is Chaumont-sur-Loire, about one-third of the distance from Blois to Tours. Get off the autoroute at Blois, take highway 152 southwest to where the bridge crosses over to Chaumont. I think you will absolutely adore this village. The next day, you could take a small detour to Chenonceaux, in my mind the most enchanting of all the chateaux, then head southward on the autoroute toward Poitiers, then south to Limoges and Brive. I really think you will enjoy driving. In Chaumont, you might enjoy the Hotel Remparts, on rue de Verdon.

Wayne, I appreciate the nice words, but won't the cost of a night's lodging negate the train costs? I agree that stopping in the Loire is a nice d&eacute;viation, but I do think the drive south to the Dordogne is really pretty dull. I'm sure the poster appreciates the options we've provided, though, and I think you've offered a nice alternative to my suggestion.<BR><BR>One thing I'd add: If they are driving after an all-night flight, I think I'd go with the train option. It's easy to sleep on the train - not so easy to drive 3 hours after flying all night.

Berry: <BR>Please let us know how the trip was...it sounds fabulous!

Berry:<BR><BR>You have lucky insofar as you have a plethora of choices are far as town/villages are concerned within a 3 hr drive from Paris. If you were to drie straight thru, you could be go to either Angers or Saumur (Anjou/Maine et Loire, or if you head straight south from Paris, Poitiers, which is a lovely town that sadly, tourists avoid. Poitiers is a gem for the connoisseur. A town full of history, as far back as the 8th century i.e Charles Martel defeating the Arabs in 732, etc.<BR><BR>Drop me a line if you need any other suggestions..<BR><BR>Regards..<BR><BR>Luis