sugarmaple

Hi Fodorites

I'm hoping I can get a bit, ok, a lot, of help with this trip, our first to this area. Any replies gratefully accepted!

My DH and I have bought the plane tickets and are headed to France at the end of September. We land in Toulouse September 26th, and fly home (Toronto) on October 15th.

We are renting an apartment in Sarlat from Oct 4th - 10th, and then train to Paris for the last five nights.

I think it would be a good idea to stay in Toulouse on the 26th and 27th (Fri and Sat) . Any hotel recommendations would be appreciated. With parking would be advantageous if we have the car already. I don't want to spend more than 100E if possible. Clean and a location near the train would be good, other than that, we don't care about extras such as a pool or a bar that we won't use.

Pick up the car at the train station, probably Saturday late afternoon, to avoid wasting time Sunday morning, when we'll be anxious to get going.

That leave six nights before we need to be in Sarlat.

The only thing booked so far is a visit to Pech Merle on the afternoon of September 30, booked then because it's the only English tour I could get anytime during that week.

Ok, so leave Toulouse Sunday morning, and visit Carcassone. Question - spend the night there or drive to Albi (avoiding Mazamet...lol - I've been scouring the boards!)

I would like to visit Figeac, St. Cirq Lapopie and Rocamadour. I've read varying opinions on St Cirq and Romamadour, but it would be nice to see them, as this may be our only trip to this area.

I'm having difficulty coming up with an itinerary that makes sense and will get us to Sarlat in the time we have. We have no problem moving every night or staying put for a couple or three nights if that's the most sensible.

I'm a bit overwhelmed, so any suggestions gratefully appreciated.

Sue_xx_yy

We had a night in St. Paul de Fenouille (from which we viewed Peyrepetuse and then drove through the gorge to Carcassonne) - but we were coming from Provence. Then a night in Carcassonne, a night in Albi, a night in St. Cirq LaPopie (from which we visited Peche Merle) - for 4 nights in all - followed by a night in Sarlat and then a night in Limoges, where we dropped the car and took a morning train to Paris. That's six nights in all including Sarlat and Limoges, and you have six nights and THEN another six in Sarlat. You have an enviable amount of time.

kja

Depending on your interests, you might want to give Toulouse a bit longer, especially since you will likely face jet lag upon your arrival. Its a BEAUTIFUL place with a LOT to see and do.

If you don't already have one, the Michelin Green Guide for the area is excellent. No amount of scouring the boards will replace it!

sugarmaple

Thanks, kja. I have the Green Guide for the Dordogne, as well as a Rough Guide. The GG will be invaluable. I also have Stu's itineraries, just chock full of information.

Sue, that sounds like a great trip. What time of year did you go, and did you book ahead?

I'm thinking about spending two nights in albi after two in Toulouse. Then maybe two in Figeac and two in Roamadour.

It doesn't have to be two in each, maybe three somewhere and one somewhere else?

StuDudley

We stayed at Le President once - which is close to the train station.

Albi will be dead on a Sunday - and maybe Monday morning also. Perhaps visit Carcassonne first, and stay there for 2 nights. Carcassonne is only a 3 hr visit, IMO, but there are some interesting things to visit in the region - Cathars castles, pretty countryside, etc. See my Languedoc itinerary for suggestions.

We visited St Cirq Lapopie last year after not having visited it in the past 8-10 years or so - and were impressed with how "cleaned up" it was. No postcard stands sitting around, very nice shops, less "junk" than we expected. It shouldn't be too infested with tourists in early October.

Stu Dudley

sugarmaple

We will be heading to Carcassone on Sunday morning, so will miss shut-down Toulouse.

Would it be better to stay in Carcassone for the night and take a scenic route to Albi, or head to Albi Sunday for two nights?

Is two nights in Figeac reasonable, then two near Rocamadour?

Or two Figeac, one St. Cirq Lapopie and one Rocamadour?

StuDudley

DO NOT spend Sunday & Monday in Albi!!!!! We were there once during their lunch closing - and the "interesting area" was deserted and all the wonderful shops were closed & boarded up. Same for all-day Sunday & Monday morning.

Staying 1 night in Carcassonne, and then taking a scenic route to Albi would be fine. Actually, west & north of Albi visiting Revel, Gaillac, Castelnau de Montmiral (short visit), Cordes, Gorges de l'Aveyron, St Antonin Noble Val (shops may be closed - their market was Sunday), & Bruniquel. Get to Albi around 4-5 PM. I've visited several towns Albi's size, where MOST shops were closed all day Monday. I don't know about Albi's situation.

>>Is two nights in Figeac reasonable, then two near Rocamadour?

Or two Figeac, one St. Cirq Lapopie and one Rocamadour?

aliced

Bookmarking for ours Sept '15.... thanks all. Stu and Suexxyy, did you find parking 'reasonably' easy in Sarlat, Rocamadour, Toulouse? We are undecided whether to join a tour from Bordeaux-Sarlat-Rocamadour-Toulouse before taking the TGV back to Paris through Limoges (where we'll spend a night or two), as much as we like driving on country roads, the cities are another story. If we arrv in Bordeaux, we would rent the car the day we leave heading east or vice-versa from Toulouse. Thinking about 10-12 nights + the Limoges overnight and like to avoid one-nighters.

StuDudley

We've never really parked in Toulouse - just drove in twice, dumped the bags at the hotel, and returned the car. Did the opposite when we started our trip in Toulouse.

Never had any trouble in Sarlat or Rocamadour.

Stu Dudley

sugarmaple

Thanks, Stu. We'll take your route from Carcassone to Albi,thus avoiding the dreaded town closing!

How does this look

Sept 26,27 Toulouse, day1,2
Sept 28, Carcassone overnight, day 3
Sept 29 Albi overnight, day 4
Sept 30, October 1overnight Figeac, day 5,6
Oct 2,3 overnight Rocamadour, day 7,8
Oct 4-9, overnight Sarlat,days 9-14
Oct 10-14, Paris, days 15-19

Day 5 means driving from Albi to Figeac and then to Pech Merle for a p.m. tour back to Figeac for the night. It sounds like a lot of back and forth. Maybe we should go from Albi to st Cirq, then do the tour and then Figeac.

Hotels or B & B recommendations in Carcassone, inside the walls better??

Hotels or B & B's in Figeac and Rocamadour? (The Domaine is closing end of sept this year. Too bad)

We still have to flesh it all out, but I feel better having the bones somewhat organized!
Thanks as always for any replies!

kja

You might want to stay in Toulouse through Sunday night/Monday morning-- there is a LOT to do there that IS open on Sundays, more than enough to justify an additional day there (especially because you will have likely have jet lag on the first day), and you have no reason to rush onward since you have PLENTY of time moving forward.

In Rocamadour, I was satisfied with Le Terminus des Pelerins, which still gets decent reviews.

sugarmaple

kja

We decided to stay in Toulouse Sunday night, and leave for Carcassone Monday morning, then on to Albi.

Thanks for the Rocamadour hotel recommendation. I just booked it!

kja

I don't think you'll regret the extra time in Toulouse. Le Terminus des Pelerins isn't perfect, but it met my needs. Do be sure to read some of the reviews first so you know what to expect, and be sure to contact them to make arrangements for parking.

sugarmaple

It sounds just fine. I grabbed it because it was the last room at the best price. My very first booking.com reservation, with a generous cancellation policy.

Cheers

kja

I've been very satisfied with booking.com (although I don't book ALL of my rooms through it) -- just be sure to pay attention to the cancellation policies BEFORE you book, because NOT all rooms come with free 24-hour cancellation periods.