We're hoping to stay at the Auberge de la Riviere in Beynac in August. Does anyone have any experience of this location? Suggestions for good day trips from Beynac (we will have a rental car)?

Also, we fly into CDG and have five days to get to Beynac. Would you suggest the train to Lyon, then drive slowly to the Dordogne, or the train to Toulouse,and then the slow drive? All help very much appreciated - it's difficult to sort through so much information.

Click on my name & you will find lots of past posts by me & others about the Beynac area.

I would take the train to Montpellier, and spend 5 days getting to the Dordogne from there. The region between Montpellier & Beynac is stunning. I have a 35+ page itinerary that describes a multi day drive from Montpellier to St Cirq Lapopie (Dordogne is just north of St Cirq) - with places to stop, sites to see, beautiful villages, breathtaking gorges, pre-historic caves, caves with stalactites & mites, markets, & restaurant descriptions. I also have a 20+ page itinerary on the Dordogne. We stay near Domme, which is close to Beynac. E-mail me at [email protected] if you want a free copy.

Stu Dudley

If you do not have one, get yourself a map of France. That might tell you how to get to the Dordogne most efficiently. Some take the TGV to Bordeaux and rent the car there. Others suggest going from Bordeaux to Périgueux. You can also take the train directly to Limoges or Périgueux or to Brive. If you have five days and have not yet seen the Loire valley, you might want to drive down from Paris. Lyon might make sense (it's one long day to Sarlat) if you are interested in the Auvergne (le Puy-en-Velay particularly) and then follow the Gorges du Tarn to Millau and then back up to the Dordogne.

As for day trips: La Roque-Gageac, Domme, Monpazier are destination towns within an easy drive of Beynac. Lascaux II is also easily reachable; and of course Sarlat.

If photos whet your appetite, here are some:

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=j4n04qu...&y=-wl70uc

Beynac in August? You are in for some really, really big traffic jams. Beynac as I trust you know is situated in the ciffs alongside the river Dordogne. The one road through town is very narrow and runs along the river. By early July, that road is clogged during daylight hours (meaning until about 10:30 pm)with huge tour buses, caravans, and of course cars. I've spent more than a half-hour just crawling from one end of the town to the other, a length of about 4 city blocks.

Also, I hope you don't have a room overlooking the street for the same reason - if the Auberge de la Rivière is what I'm thinking it is, it's the little inn attached to the Café de la Rivière, run by a British couple.

The good news is, the Dordogne is paradise, and if you can get in and out of town, there are innumerable day trips to make. But how many days do you have there, and why are you going? What interests you about the Dordogne -the prehistoric sites? The castles? The bastide towns? The markets? The food? The plus beaux villages? There are dozens of daytrips you could make but it would help to know why you chose Beynac to begin with.

Same question holds true for what to do with your five days before you get to the Dordogne. Sure, Lyon and Toulouse would make good starting points, but so would La Rochelle, Tours, Rouen, or any number of other places. Give us a hint about what this trip is all about for you and I'm sure people can assist you. Without more info, it's like tossing darts.

Thanks to all for your responses. We're going to be on our honeymoon (12 days in total. Our plan was to travel from B+B to B+B until the first Saturday, then stay in some sort of self-catering accommodation for the final week. The Auberge de la Riviere is, as you suggest St. Cirq, part of the Cafe, and they apparently have one (new) apartment, with its own terrace, overlooking the river. We just liked the look from their webpage - no other concrete reason for Beynac.

Interests - certainly the caves, my partner would love to take a cooking class, perhaps some vineyards. One or two chateau would be good. We know August is not the best time of year, but other reasons dictate the timing. We are not at all interested in bus tour types of attractions, but would prefer to sit outside at a cafe and watch the world go by, then walk or bike and stop again.

For vineyards I would recommend the Chateau de Monbazillac, a few kilometers south of Bergerac. It has a wine tating room and the chateau itself is of historical interest, having been a Protestant center in the Renaissance. It also has a nice view over the valley toward Bergerac.

mcburja:

Are you absolutely committed to the Auberge de la Rivière? If not, I'd find another place to stay. Trust me, it's hard to appreciate the charms of Beynac in August and the traffic is simply awful.

You need to make reservations now or very soon for cave visits in August, at least for the major chromatic ones (Font-de-Gaume, Combarelles, Lascaux II). You'll need to get to other attractions like castles and markets early or you'll have a hard time getting a parking spot. Sarlat can be overwhelming on market days in August -I'd go there on non-market days (any day except Wednesday or Saturday). And like it or not, these are all "bus tour attractions," and in August there will be more bus tours than you can imagine.

You can take a nice gabarre ride right from the boat landing in Beynac. And you can do lovely canoe rides from many places (we like to use the canoe outfitter at St-Vincent-de-Cosse and begin in La Roque-Gageac and end in Allas-les-Mines). I wouldn't even contemplate biking there in August - think roadkill. And for boat rides, canoeing, etc., plan on reserving at least the day before.

It's going to take you quite a few days to exhaust the local sights alone, but if you do feel the need for a daytrip or two, do a loop to Souillac, Martel, Collonges-la-Rouge, Gouffre de Padirac, and Rocamadour - expect these places, especially the last two, to be packed. I'd also take the time to visit Monpazier and Beaumont and Lalinde and some of the bastide towns. You might make a circuit that includes Limeuil and Trémolat and Cadouin. An excursion into Périgueux would be worth it, too. The old quarter of town has been nicely restored in recent years. And you might ride over to Gourdon and thereabouts in the Quercy. It's a nice town and the scenery along the way is interesting and shows how quickly French topography can change.

Hi StCirq,

>Beynac in August? You are in for some really, really big traffic jams.<

Is this also true for Sept 17 - 22?

Hi, ira:

No, everyone flees well before your arrival. In fact, Stu Dudley was just telling me that he's heard that the Dordogne does start to empty out after the second week in August. I've never been there in late August, somaybe it does thin out. ira - mid- to late September is my favorite time of year there. You're in for some beautiful weather.

mcburja - when in August are you going to Beynac?

Thanks, StCirq.

I feel much better.

St.Cirq and all - thanks again for such helpful advice. We're married in Canada on a Sunday, fly to Paris Monday, arriving Tuesday morning. We thought to spend Tuesday - Saturday seeing les plus beaux villages, then staying put in one place for the next week. If Beynac itself is too busy, are there any gites that you especially favour? Stu - is the place you've stayed in Domme something you'd suggest we look into?

>>Stu - is the place you've stayed in Domme something you'd suggest we look into?<<

I'm sure most good Gites that are booked through the Gites-de-France program are already reserved by now for August. Anyway, I don't divulge any of the Gites we stay in - they are getting harder & harder to book each year.

Slight correction to St Cirq's statement about the Dordogne clearing out after the second week in August. I've never been there the third week in August, so can't pass judgement on that week. We arrived on Aug 26th one year for a 2 week stay & it was not nearly as crowded as I expected. The roads out of the Dordogne were packed with people with caonoes on the roofs of the car, pulling trailers, and I suspect they were going home. We had no trouble getting into Michelin Restaurants with 1 days advance notice. The Jardin d'Epicure & Plume d'Oie were only about 1/4 full for dinner. There were no 40 minute traffic jams through Beynac. like St Cirq experienced during the first two weeks of August.

Stu Dudley

Stu, I understand completely about not wanting to divulge your best finds!

Your original question about travelling from Lyon to the Dordogne has got kinda lost here though you have had some interesting suggestions for alternatives.

To return to your question: I would not recommend traveling from Lyon. While the route is motorway and some of the scenery is spectacular, it is not a nice trip -- empty, frequently dull.

Secondary roads are often clogged with that one big truck you never have space enough to pass...

Hi mc,

>we fly into CDG and have five days to get to Beynac <

You can

Day 1 take the TGV from CDG to Montpelier (4 hr)

Pick up car and drive to Carcassone (2:30 hr)

Day 2 See Carcassone. Drive to Albi via Graulhet (2:30 hr)

Day 3 See Albi. Drive to St. Chely du Tarn through the Gorges du Tarn (4 hr)

Day 4 Drive to Cahors via Figeac and the Valley of the Cele River - See Grotte du Peche Merle (6 hr)

Day 5 Drive from Cahors to Beynac via the Valley of the Lot River and Bonaguil (2hr)

You could stop at Figeac on Day 4 and not bother with Cahors on day 5.

Have a nice visit.

mcburja:

Here are some towns I would NOT recommend staying in August (still don't know what part of August you're going):

Beynac
La Roque-Gageac
Domme
Les Eyzies
Limeuil
Montignac
Sarlat

Here are some towns that would not pose such bad traffic/noise problems in August that are enjoyable and right in the midst of all the sights:

St-Cyprien
Le Bugue
Tamniès
St-Léon-sur-Vézère
Le Bugue
St-Alvère
Le Buisson

If you contact the Tourist Office in Sarlat, Le Bugue, or Les Eyzies by email, they can send you a list of B&Bs and gîtes and other accommodations that are private listings - i.e., not published in the guidebooks or on the web. There's still time to find a nice place to stay, IMO.

Let me second StCirq's recommendation for a canoe trip on the Dordogne. One of my best memories of the area. And easy to stop along the way, pull the canoe to shore, and get a Magnum bar. Mmm...

You're all so helful.

St. Cirq - based on your advice, I'm now looking at a gite in Salignac-Eyvigues (August 6-12).

Althom - champagne and a canoe sounds like my idea of perfect.

Ira and all - we're down to 2 choices for the first 5 days. Either TGV to Tours, and down through the Loire to the Dordogne, or as you suggest, TGV to Montpellier and back up. Between the two, any other thoughts?

Thanks again - your help has been much appreciated.

Unless you plan to stay in the Loire area, Montpelier to the Dordogne has more things to see.

Addendum to my last post--you could loop around on your way to the Dordogne, via Bourges and then southeast to the Auvergne and then west to the Dordogne.