Folks - 2 of us and our 2 toddlers are coming in May for 2 weeks. Are markets open by May or very few of them? Which of these are open - Monbazillac, beaumont-du-perigord, Eymet, Issigeac, Le buisson, Le Bugue. Also, are local fresh fruits & vegetables available in May or they only come later in June, July? Is it true that a 3-week car rental is cheaper than 2 weeks? Lastly, Also after the winter, by what date the trees are completely green and back to full bloom? I'm asking because I'm allergic to tree pollen - in particular oak and birch and as soon as trees are in full bloom, I'm fine

Also, there is no non-stop flight into the area from NY and hence we are planning flying into Nice, maybe spend 2 days to see the Provence region and then rent a car there. Is there a better to get into Dordogne such as a high-speed TGV from Nice or France or Geneva?

Thanks all

Every market in the Dordogne is open every week all year long. Most have been operating on this schedule since the early Middle Ages without any interruptions. I would skip Eymet and Monbazillac and Beaumont unless you want to spend a lot of time with British expats and have a load of time for this vist. They aren't on the normal track for visiting the main sites, except possibly Monbazillac if you are driving into the Dordogne from the Bordeaux area.

Local fruits and vegetables are always available at every market, in season.

No it is not necessarily true that a 3-week car rental is cheaper than a 2-week car rental. Why would that be? It IS true that a 1-day car rental can cost as much as a 3-day rental.

If you are allergic to tree pollen, I would stay away from the Dordogne, which is the most heavily forested area of France. Our oak trees, which are the last to bloom on our property normally, aren't completely green until the end of June. Our acacias bloom earlier, as do the fruit and nut trees. We don't have birch trees in the Dordogne. But who can say with climate change? The trees don't broadcast their bloom dates.

Driving from Nice to the Dordogne would not be particularly pleasant unless you had several days to do it and could enjoy the N and D roads. I also wouldn't ever go to Nice and spend a paltry 2 days there - hardly worth it.

To get to the Dordogne (at least the part most people want to visit) you take the TGV from Paris to Bordeaux or (preferably) Libourne, then drive or take a local train to Périgueux or Sarlat and pick up a rental car there.

Markets and local are not the same. Most of the people selling at the market buy from a central location and then six days a week sell the produce at different markets. Aside from strawberries, fruit did not generally come from the Dordogne (we usually were there in May and June). There were local farmers selling vegetables and lettuce, as well as cheese without the variety of the cheese monger, duck products, and bread. Local butchers usually offer local meat.

It is easier to get to the Dordogne from Paris. You can go to Bordeaux and pick up your car there, or to Brive-la-Gaillarde and pick up a car there. It all depends on your destination in the Dordogne. If memory serves me right, the towns you list are more in the western part of the Dordogne, so Bordeaux would be the better choice.

I don't know of a single vendor in Le Bugue or Le Buisson who buys from a central location, except the guys selling clothing and trinkets. The foodstuffs? All local. I've visited many of their farms and fields.

<i>The foodstuffs? All local. I've visited many of their farms and fields.</i>

Peaches in May or June came from the Roussillon or Spain. Avocados don't grow in commercial quantities in France, yet are readily available from some market vendors. Cheeses sold by the cheese monger in the market can come from the Alps, the Pyrénées, or any other cheese producing area. In the weekly market in Thiviers, the local farmers (two or three) were in front of the church, the rest did not depend on local produce; strawberries may have been the exception, but even those are more likely to come from the large strawberry farms in the western part of the Dordogne.

You can tell the local producer by his/her hands.

Is there any organization in the region that measures pollen spores count in the air

The strawberries here come from Vergt and surrounds; that's a short way away. The cheese comes from Stéphane in Audrix. The pork comes from the pig farmer (Jean-Jacques Servolles) just outside Le Buisson. The honey and honey products come from our friend Isabelle's farm outside Le Bugue. The apples come from an orchard down the road from our house; the walnuts from an orchard on the road to St-Cyprien; the apricots and plums from a friend's orchards just outside Sarlat; the wine comes mainly from Le Château de la Ménardie outside Bergerac, where our friend Jean-Marc makes several wines and travels to many markets in the Dordogne...I could go on.

We don't ever see avocados at the fresh markets. Hardly ever see peaches, either.

Foie gras?

St Cirq: near what town in the Dordogne are apples harvested in June?

<i>near what town in the Dordogne are apples harvested in June?</i>

or walnuts

With the new super fast TGV now running from Paris to Bordeaux - I would certainly take it there instead of to other places.

No train changes. Weekday departures in May

Departures from Paris to Bordeaux - all 2 hr trips
8:27
9:52
10:52
12:52
2:52
3:52
5:52

Departures from CDG airport - taking 3 hrs:
2:01

Paris to Libourne:
Depart 8:27 arrive 11:12
Depart 2:01 arrive 4:55

Paris to Brive la Gaillarde
10:35 - 3:00
12:29 - 5:00
2:29 to 7:00
You may have some car rental office issues in Brive if you travel on a Sat or Sun

Stu Dudley

Wow-Paris to Bordeaux in 2 hrs! Now book those TGV tickets ASAP to get nifty discounted tickets much cheaper than walk-up but they do often sell out early and are non-changeable non-refundble I believe. Book your own at www.voyages-sncf.com - lots on trains - www.seat61.com (sage advice on booking discounted tickets online yourself); www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

I didn't say they were harvested in June, just that they are harvested locally, not purchased from some central location.

But the OP is going to be there in May. Moreover, what a local like you can find with local farmers might not apply to a temporary visitor who might not even know the language. I stand by my original statement: most of the fruit and vegetables to be found on the open market will come from a central location and will have originated elsewhere. In addition , do you really think that the green grocer stands go from farm to farm even if only twice or three times a week to pick up their vegetables before coming to the market and be set up at 8 a.m.?

Visitors to the Dordogne don't need to know the language; almost every vendor speaks enough English to make sales.

The vendors in the markets we frequent manage to drive themselves to markets all over the region almost daily to set up their own stalls. They bring their own products - they don't have to go "from farm to farm." They pack and unpack their trucks on their own premises. with their own products.

<i>Visitors to the Dordogne don't need to know the language; almost every vendor speaks enough English to make sales. </i>

You obviously are living in a different part of the Dordogne than the one I experienced.

<i> They bring their own products - they don't have to go "from farm to farm." </i>

And their selection is much more limited than what the green grocer stalls offer: aubergine, courgettes, champignons, tomates, artichauts, fenouil, brugnons, poivrons, etc.

We have a farmers' market in our (Michigan) town, too. Opens in May each year. Some farmers' stand sell apples, pineapples, oranges, as well as other locally grown produce. Farm-fresh, some insist.

There are none so deaf as those who will not hear.

If you have issues with Oak trees in the spring you may have issues in the Dordogne in the spring as there appear to be many oak trees in the area and there are a lot of trees. Are medications such as antihistamine or nasal steroids ineffective for you in controlling your allergies? Would not spend two nights to see "Provence" via Nice if traveling to the Dordogne. As others have noted you should fly into Paris and take the TGV to Bordeaux or fly via CDG to Bordeaux than rent a car. Would also look at Libourne per St Cirq. If you had more time you could fly into Nice, move onto to Avignon, than onto Sarlat and out of Bordeaux or vice versa but that is a lot of territory to cover in just 2 weeks, especially with two toddlers.

<i>Some farmers' stand sell apples, pineapples, oranges, as well as other locally grown produce.</i>

Pineapples and oranges as locally grown food in Michigan? Has global warning progressed that much?

<<Pineapples and oranges as locally grown food in Michigan? Has global warning progressed that much?>>

I don't think you noticed the tongue in tomboy's cheek.