Dordogne
 

I and my wife will be spending a week in the Dordogne in April. I am basing myself in in Domme for the last three nights. As we want to visit the sights in eastern Dordogne, I would like suggestions where a good location might be to accomplish that including a recommended hotel.

Thanks to all.

Do you have my 20 page itinerary for the Dodogne? My wife & I have vacationed for 10 weeks in that region & the itinerary describes our favorite villages, scenic drives, canoe trips, restaurants, sites, castles, etc. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail.

I've sent my various itineraries to over 5,000 people on Fodors.

Stu Dudley

What part of the eastern Dordogne? I would just stay put in Domme for a week and visit the sights from there. You won't run out of possibilities even if you stayed put there a month or more.

HUGGY

Get Stu's Dordogne report. It's full of detailed information. Both Stu and StCirq helped me plenty with my planning for the trip we did to the Dordogne about 3 years ago.

We combined Dordogne with Bordeaux. Here is the URL of the web page about that trip. Maybe it can help you in your planning.

http://www.travel.stv77.com/bordeaux/bordeaux.htm

I stayed in Hotel Esplanade in Domme. We stayed in one room in the hotel that has a balcony that overlooks the entire valley! The restaurant Espanade is incredible as well.

Stu (and others):

Stu, I do have your report and it has helped me to plan my week. You recommended staying east near St. Cere and then move west near Sarlat where I have booked Hotel Esplanade. It has been a tremendous help as was your information in your posts, StCirq.

However, I was attempting to center in to a location and hotel in the eastern part of the area as I am driving from Geneva. I can always retrace from Domme.

Thanks to all. I wish I had a month but can always go back.

Thanks to all.

Domme is pretty much the eastern part of the Dordogne when one considers that Périgueux is well centered on the departmental map. You may be thinking of seeing places like Collonges-la-rouge, Turenne, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, etc., none of which are in the Dordogne department.

Stay in St Cere or Rocamadour to visit the stuff east of the A20 and north near Collonges. Most of the main sites are around Sarlat, however.

Stu Dudley

Domme IS in the east, as far as I'm concerned. You can easily put together a long day trip from there to Martel, Collonges-la-Rouge, Gouffre de Padirac, and Rocamadour if you plan well. And, as Michael points out, some of those aren't even IN the Dordogne. By far the most interesting stuff, though, is just south, north, and west of Domme. I wouldn't split up a week in two locations, especially in April when traffic will be relatively light.

If you view Michelin map 329, Correze, Dordogne; Perigueux is west, Sarlat is center, and Mauriac is east. Having never visited that part of France, I obviously am not an authority and must rely on the advice of others.

However, I may have to stray outside those given borders to visit Rocamadour and other sites. I hope my auto is not confiscated by doing so.

I am still looking for a hotel recommendation east of Domme. The Esplanade sounds wonderful and I may forgo this search and stay there for the week. Any hotel recommendations for Rocamadour?

Thanks to all for your assistance. Stu and StCirq, your advice is most helpful.

Just got a tour brochure that says the Jardins d'Eyrignac "are what many consider the finest gardens in all of France'!\\I don't know never been there and never even heard of it but you may want to check it out if into gardens - designated a national monumnet of the French government it says. I wonder what our Dordogne experts - yes real experts IME St Cirq and Stu think about that - hyperbole or right on?

I think it's hyperbole. I think that Marqueyssac is more interesting, partly because of its location.

Domaine de la Rhue is an excellent B&B/hotel near Rocaamadour. When we stayed in St Cere we stayed at a cheapie hotel, but dined at the hotel Les Trois Soleils de Montal which has a Michelin 1 star restaurant.

Both Jardins d'Eyrignac and Marquessac are excellent gardens/places - but quite different, IMO.

Stu Dudley

Huggy

I made some additions to my Dordogne itinery in July of 2013. If I sent you my "old" itinerary, ask for a new one. Dates of revision are at the bottom of the itinerary.

Stu Dudley

I agree that the Domaine de la Rhue is an exceptional place. I would never consider staying right in Rocamadour. But as I said, it's perfectly possible to spend a day visiting Rocamadour and other nearby sites from Domme. I'm 25 kms west of Domme and I have done it many times. I'm always glad to get back to the heart of the Périgord after those trips, too. Just so much prettier IMO.

I agree with Michael about the gardens. I even like the Jardins de l'Imaginaire in Terrasson better than Eyrignac.

Huggy - you have three excellent very experienced Dordogne folks here who certainly know just about everything about that fabled place - take their words seriously.

Rocamadour is not in the Dordogne BTW but just across the border - I think it is one of the greatest places in France I have been too but it does have its tacky side as well, especially at ground level and up top with the Forest of the Signes (sp?) or monkey forest, etc which kids may love but purists abhor - yes it is that kind of place, being called the 2nd most visited place in France outside Paris behind Mont Saint-Michel! You'll still see folks climbing those long series of stairs in prayer to the local relic - the Black Madonna if I recall right in the main chapel hewn out of the rocky cliff.

StCirq, I'm curious to know why you think the area in the heart of the Périgord is more beautiful than the Lot River areas near Rocamadour. I obviously haven't been there yet, but when I look at landscape photos of towns like Carennac, Autoire and Loubressac I think they look pretty ideal places.

Those three are pretty ideal places, Blaise, but go look at pictures of St-Géniès, St-Léon-sur-Vézère, La Roque-Gageac, Limeuil, bastide towns like Monpazier, le fôret Barade...there is just endless variety. Deep gorges, beautiful rivers, dense forests, alluvial planes, castles around every bend, romanesque chapels, walnut and fruit groves, pristine villages, and the same warm ochre-hued stone everywhere. In the Lot you can find charming villages, sure, but in the Périgord it's almost impossible to find anything else.

Of course it's all subjective as to what appeals to your particular eye.

StCirq, yes I have looked at pictures of those other towns you mentioned and they all look great. Your comments are definitely interesting though and something I will need to look into further before I am finally able to visit your region!

I was glad to move around a bit while in this area, but then I HATE backtracking and am perfectly willing to relocate if it means moving forward and facilitates seeing/doing what I want to see/do. I understand that my view is uncommon among Fodorites, but I'm a solo traveler and that makes a huge difference. So, FWIW, I spent two nights in Sarlat, two nights in Domme, one night in Rocamadour, and one night in St-Cirq Lapopie.

It's a lovely area. Enjoy!