I am looking at renting a cottage or vacation rental in Dordogne.

I have found a cute cottage in Domme called "La Petite Nadalie" through Holiday-rentals.com. The change over is on a Thursday which may pose a problem. I had originally wanted to be in a slightly larger town such as Sarlat but have heard about traffic problems. Domme was my next choice and I understand Cenac et St Julien is located at the foot of Domme.

I have an option to rent "Gite Laurier" on the outskirts of Cenac through the same website. The property is spacious, has a nice garden and is decribed as being walking distance to shops and restaurants.

There is a second option in Cenac et St. Julien called "Cottage du Capiol" which is cute but very compact and the patio is decribed as being small with no photo. This property is available through PerfectPlaces.com

I have tried the Gite de France site but the description is in french with listed symbols and only 1 photo of the exterior. The pricing does look more attractive but it is hard to tell what you are getting.

My question is...which location would be a better base?...Are you familar with Holiday-rentals.com or PerfectPlaces.com?...Has anyone heard of these properties?

Thank you in advance

ttt.

Check also www.gite.com - a commercial site in English with lots of photos and good descriptions. Depending where you are in Sarlat you can get in and out without too much difficulty. Also, Domme is impossible in the summer, and Cenac is very busy. SO depends when you will be there.

We rented for two weeks in September 2004 in the Correze and made several day trips to the Dordogne, including to Domme. I enjoyed Domme, but even at that time of year, I found it somewhat crowded. Just for what that's worth...

We recently spent a year+ traveling in Europe and did 20 rentals, most directly from owners. I found properties on www.holiday-rentals.com and also www.gite.com. (Our house in Turenne was through www.gite.com.) I also rented a couple of places I found on www.vrbo.com. Another website (in English) you should search is www.frenchconnections.com.

Keep in mind that all of these are rent-by-owner websites... listing services. The quality of the rental and your experience is based on the owner... not the website.

I'd encourage you to visit the Slow Travel website (www.slowtrav.com), which has a focus on vacation rentals. There are several properties in the Dordogne that have been rented and reviewed by board members: http://www.slowtrav.com/france/vr/list.asp?r=Aquitaine. You could also post your question on the message board there.

Kathy

I posted a bad link on the French Connections website... sorry!

Here's the correct link: http://www.frenchconnections.co.uk/

Kathy

Thank you both for your feedback. I have checked out the sites you listed and many more. We are traveling in May 2007 but I understand the better accommodations get booked well in advance. I have a few options for the area just outside Sarlat (2 minute drive) as well. I thought it would be nice to be within walking distance to some restaurants at night so we don't always have to get in the car which would be the case with the ones outside of Sarlat. It might be more enjoyable to have some outdoor activity nearby and I understand Cenac and Domme are very close to the river. I have heard that Domme is very touristy and crowded but hoped that perhaps where Cenac is a few minutes away that it would not be quite as congested. I have not been able to find much in the way of general information on Cenac...I guess because it is a very small centre and not as note worthy from a touristic standpoint. I have recently been to Tuscany and know how busy touristic towns such as San Gimignano can get during the day. While staying in San Gimignano we spent our daytime hours driving through Chianti and neighboring towns returning at night when I found the town magical and more serene...as well as the early morning hours before the hoards of tour buses arrived. I have seen on some of the posts about how busy the Dordogne is getting and I wonder how it compares to Tuscany so I will know what to expect and hopefully not be disappointed.

Crazy, maybe your day-tripping idea is a good approach if you decide to base in Domme or just nearby...

Domme sits just up above the river and the view is so beautiful!!

See a couple of photos here:

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...8&cat=3394

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...hp?photo=13269

I know exactly what you mean about San Gimignano. We spent a month in Tuscany last summer and had read about the crowds and buses in San Gimignano. We were staying in a small village maybe an hour away. We decided to plan our arrival for around 4 pm and as we drove up the road, a stream of buses was heading down. We had several enjoyable hours... I didn't feel badly at all that some of the tourist shops closed down when most of the daytrippers left!

Kathy

Thank you for those photos Kathy. I think the formula to fall in love with San Gimignano is to enjoy the late afternoon and evening...and early morning. We took a walk around the wall of San Gimignano and the views were breathtaking...not one tourist in sight. It was one of the most beautiful walks I had ever taken. We laughed as we were leaving town to see the first group of tour buses arriving like a tide washing in...group leader charging ahead with her little white flag. We were glad to be heading in the other direction and out of town for the day. We pretty much plan to do the same on this trip and perhaps Domme or Cenac will be a fairly good choice if we follow that plan. We were worried that renting a small apartment right in Sarlat would feel confining after a couple of days since there was really no outdoor space included (patio or garden). The cottage that we are looking at in Cenac has a 200m garden space which would be nice in the evening for sitting outdoors (weather permitting).

Thanks again for your info and photos

The "Carlux" who posted has lovely rentals. I have one rented for a month in the fall 2007.

I will also be in the area this Sept. and will visit them while there. Nice, nice people.

Look at their site and places:

http://www.yourfriendsinfrance.org/

Thank you for the info on the rentals Carlux offers. I'll have a look at the website. I hoping for something closer to Domme, Roque Gageac or Beyac areas.