My husband and I will be traveling between St. Jean de Luz and La Rochelle. We could stop over for one or two nights in the Dordogne region which he have never seen. Brantome looks like a pleasant little village, allowing us to see the western area of the Dordogne for one day. Will we regret staying in this town?

Is the Moulin de L'Abbaye worth the high cost? They offer 3 buildings--is the main building preferrable? A nice room is 180E The Relais & Chateau is offering a special 2 night package including room with 2 dinners for 2 @ $380

OR--the Moulin du Roc--5 KM from Brantome--looks great also--this inn offers king beds and looks peacefully quiet--rooms are 170 or 185--

If price is the same, how do we choose?

Brantôme is bigger than a village, and a very nice town. The Moulin de l'Abbaye is delightful, although its restaurant had a disappointing qualityrice ratio for me the last time I ate there. And 180€ is a lot to pay for a room in the Dordogne.

I've only driven by the Moulin du Roc, so can't speak to the interior, but it's a lovely-looking place and being 5 kms from Brantôme wouldn't be a hardship with a car anyway.

You might also consider staying in Bourdeilles, a beautiful town not far from Brantôme - the Château de la Côte there is adorable - http://www.hotels-restau-dordogne.or...p;Etoile=00000

Also, the Hostellerie des Griffons - http://www.griffons.fr/us/index.html

Just curious - are you going to the Dordogne to explore all the wonderful sites that the Dordogne has to offer, or are you going there to stay in a nice hotel? If you're going there for the former, I would choose a spot closer to Sarlat - where most of the "main attractions" are centered around.

Brantome is a popular town, but a bit over-rated IMHO. Most of the "things" visitors come to see in the Dordogne are south of Perigueux, and perhaps 1 hr away from Brantome. For a one nighter, however, it would be fine.

We dined at the Moulin, but didn't want to pay those prices for their rooms, so we stayed elsewhere. The Moulin did not make it into my "Top Six" restaurants in the Dordogne (see another "top 10 attractions" post on the Dordogne to see which ones did make the top 6). Here is our meal at the Moulin:

Sept ’05
We had reserved at the 1-star Le Moulin de l’Abbaye – and inn/restaurant in an absolutely gorgeous setting along the river, with rolling lawns & flowers out to the water’s edge.
We both had the menu a 75E (clearly a 1 star spot!)
We started out (the pre-amuse bouche) with a plate of goodies: melon & raspberries speared on toothpicks, cherry tomatoes on round breads with a small dash of pesto between them, bread rounds layered with thick country ham/bacon topped with a dollop of pesto & melted cheese, and 2 pastry “horns” filled with Brandade.. The horns were spiked into small white soup bowl & secured in place with dried lentils.
The Amuse Bouche course followed:
-a green vegetable emulsion in a glass with a straw. It was served on a frosty rectangular plate with marinated red pepper strips, artichoke heart and some sort of “terrine/meat” cube.
My Menu:
-Marinated Sturgeon in a lemon/dill en gelee-type “sauce”, served in a martini glass topped with caviar and several small dollops of salted whipped cream, accompanied by buckwheat blinis.
-Bar (fish) fillet with langoustines on a bed of spinach with a fricasee of girolles. The fish was served with a miso type sweet ingredient.
-Cheese chariot – they had our favorite – Epoisse from Burgundy
-Raspberry and hibiscus compote with layers of meringue-like puff pastry, red berry coulis and a rich vanilla ice cream

Stu’s menu:
-a cold terrine of sweetbreads & leeks, wrapped in proscuitto with vinaigrette and chestnut dice
-Whole roasted pigeon with foie gras & toast and summer savory & a ragout of artichoke heart & green beans, served in a reduction sauce.
-Slow-poached peach served with honey & thyme with shortbread & almond ice cream.
We also had a “pre” and “post” dessert courses
Pre – a 3 layered warm dessert served in a glass. Bottom layer was barley sweetened rice cooked in milk, middle layer was warm caramel, and top layer was a pear compote.
Post – 2 small cold crème brulees, 2 small profiteroles and raspberry pastry tarts.

This was from my wife's diary.

They also had a less expensive menu, but it was not interesting at all. As I recall, it did not allow for any choices, and the items on the menu included tripe as a main course, or something like that which I usually don't order - and my wife certainly won't order (I'm a very adventuresome eater too).

I would make sure that on your "package" from Relais & Chateau, that you can order any menu you like - I would have been VERY disappointed if I was stuck will the less expensive one.

Stu Dudley

I had dinner there a few years ago. The riverside setting is great, but it seems to be a bit pricey for the region.

Concerning your intended itinerary, Brantôme is indeed a charming old town, circled by the river, with an abbey, but it is only worth a stop (half a day).

If you are travelling between St-Jean de-Luz and La Rochelle, Brantôme is quite far east (unless you absolutely want to explore the area), and the most famous sights of the Dordogne are even further east.

I do not know how many days you'll have. On a more direct route, the places you could stop at are:

- The old city of Bayonne, and the town of Orthez, further east,
- The environs of Bordeaux (Cadillac,St Emilion, the wine châteaux of the Médoc area, north of Bordeaux) The city of Bordeaux itself is interesting, with its 18th century architecture and newly restored waterfront,
- The citadel town of Blaye, the tiny cliff village of Talmont-sur-Gironde, on the Gironde estuary,
- The town of Saintes (interesting roman and medieval architecture) or, further down the Charente river, the port city of Rochefort (18th century arsenal), from were Lafayette sailed to America (his vessel is being reconstructed and the yard can be visited).

If yo are more interested in outdoors, beaches, and depending on the weather/season, you could alternatively drive closer to the coast, and explore :
- the big, flat pine forest of the Landes, with its string of coastal lakes, dunes, marshes, wildlife sanctuaries, etc. See the big dune at Le Pilat near Arcachon, have a look at the Arcachon Ville d'hiver (a quarter with late 1800's villas)
- Board the ferry at the Pointe de Grave, north of Bordeaux, and cross the Gironde to the resort town of Royan (totally bombed down in 1945, but some like the interesting 1950's "reconstruction " architecture).
-Off Royan, the 16th-18th century phare de Cordouan (arguably the most beautiful lighthouse in France) can be visited, if you fancy the boat ride
- the oyster beds at Marennes, north of Royan

This was my impression of the Moulin de l'Abbaye. but can't say about the rooms:

We had a birthday meal at the Moulin de l'Abbaye in Brantôme. Lovely setting by the water, but I would not have been half as pleased if I had to sit inside, and a very good meal (241 euros, $296). But as my wife pointed out, for another $100 you can get a incomparably better meal and wine at the Herb Farm in Seattle. As far as I am concerned, it is nice to go to a fairly fancy restaurant (neither ties nor jackets were de rigueur), but one goes because it is the occasion to go, not because that restaurant is necessarily a destination.

StuDudely is right. If your husband has never seen the Dordogne--I gather that you have--you should show him the highlights rather than go to Brantôme. And for a much better restaurant, try Le Centenaire in Les Eyzies.

At first, we were searching for an interesting over night stopping point, but now in all fairness to my husband, we decided to add one night so he can at least experience a small portion of the area. Sarlat is 5 hours from ST. Jean de luz and 4.25 to La Rochelle--definitely too far east.

Where should we spend the 2 nights on the western edge of the area?

Périgueux is a nice town even if its eastern "suburbs" are ugly, underrated in my opinion, and worthwhile especially during market day (Wednesday and Saturday). It would save you one hour of driving.

I have never been disappointed by a Relais Chateau especially in France. It's true that 180 isn't cheap but I've been looking at a lot of suggested hotels and castles in the Dordogne and environs and there are a lot in the 150 price range and higher. They also do a special which includes dinner, breakfast, boat trip and visit to the abbey for about 400 per couple.

Hi J,

You are 4:30 hr from Beynac-et-Cazenac and the same time from Cabrerets and the Peche Merle cave.

I recommend both.

See www.viamichelin.com.

We stayed at the Moulin du Roc for 2 nights and thoroughly enjoyed both our room and the exceptionally good dinner on the first night. Our room was upstairs, with a sort of little indoor balcony. When we arrived on a warm afternoon we found a bottle of chilled Mon[t?]bazillac awaiting us, along with 2 crystal glasses.

The dinner was amazing--the woman chef is a real star. The following night we had what the restaurant called a light meal, as we had lunched all to well at the Moulin de l'Abbaye. The light repast was delectable soup, cold roast chcken as assorted teeny vegetables, and a yummy crème brûlée--all available to hotel guests only, as it was the chef's night off and the restaurant was closed. Would never have guessed, given the quality of the food!

The hotel sits in peaceful, quiet gardens in the countryside rather than on a busy road that runs through Brantôme. Does that help?

We considered this same hotel a few years ago. We ended up staying in Cahors and near Rocamadour. They were not very far apart but saved us from a lot of travelling back and forth. I am glad we didn't stay in Brantome because it quite a way a way from most of the places we actually wanted to see. It is quite deceptive looking at the map, there was a lot of driving to cover the area - Brantome is too far out. We were tempted by the look of the hotel also. We stayed at a couple of the other Relais and Chateau hotels.

Okay:

Please make all toO well, and cold soup AND assorted teeny...

My proofreading is getting really bad.

Judy, I have stayed at both, and was pleased with both. The staff was very nice, the food was good and the beauty around the places were charming.

Underhill--What did you do in the Brantome area on your second day?

The Moulin du Roc with demi-pension is less expensive than Moulin de l'Abbaye but not enough to make a decision based on price. The Moulin du Roc offers king beds which has great appeal to us. Quiet is very important to us also--all in all, should I flip a coin or go for Du Roc?

We visited the Villars prehistoric caves, located near St-Jean-de-Côle. The cave was on private property, entered through a café near the road, then through a wooden door set into the ground. The tour took about an hour and a half and was led by a local archaeologist (in French, but we could follow fairly well). In the last chamber were wall paintings that took our breath away.

Then we drove on to the market town of Thiviers, above which is the Renaissance-Gothic Cancocour Château.

If you get the Michelin Green Guide to the Dordogne and look at the maps of sights inside the front cover you will find still more.

Go to the Moulin du Roc--I don't think you'll be sorry.

I was completely struck by the beauty and charm of Moulin de L'Abbaye and remember just standing on the bridge overlooking the main building for at least half an hour, taking it all in. There are many more expensive hotels in Europe, but this is the most charming place I've ever seen. Manoir D'Hautegente gets my vote for #2 because of its setting. I've never been to Moulin du Roc, but am now planning to stop by on our trip in June--the photos on the website are gorgeous. Having said all of that, given your preference for a quiet location, you would not pick Moulin de L'Abbaye. It is set on the main street through town and its buildings are on opposite sides of the busy street. Since I must have a quiet room, I remember thinking that it would be necessary to stay in the main building overlooking the waterwheel which would provide some "white noise." On Day 2 you can easily visit Bourdeilles, which is a charming town, or in the other direction, St. Jean de Cole, Puyguilhem or Jumilhac. If you are willing to drive, much of the Dordogne is doable as a day trip from Brantome. By the way, I loved the Moulin de l'Abbaye so much that we will be driving for several hours one way to see it again this year as a day trip!

Thanks to everyone for giving me so much information. I was leaning toward the idea of only staying one night but now I am sure we should stay 2 nights to allow us to explore some the villages nearby.

My husband speaks no French beyond Bonjour so an archaeological tour in French would be out of the question. But it sounds like there are enough interesting town to visit to keep us busy for a day.

We'll stay at Moulin du Roc and visit Moulin de l'Abbaye. Thank you, Gabriele, for mentioning the busy street next to de L'Abbaye--I am the worst sleeper in the world and quiet is ultra important. Now if we could only control the rain....

Underhill--did you take the demi-pension option or order a la carte?

We ordered à la carte, I think, but I'm not positive.

Don't pass on the cave tour! You don't need French to see the beauty of the caves, and on our tour there was a pair of americans who kept up a running translation.

We stayed in a room in the main building at the Moulin de L'Abbaye in September, 2004. It was beautiful. However, the possible "white noise" advantage of being in the main building on the water (to block out the street noise) was abundantly offset by the INCREDIBLY LOUD DUCKS which live in the weir. We found it funny at first, and we find it funny and unforgettable now. There was an in-between time, though (around 5 a.m. in the morning for 3 consecutive days) when our sleepy thoughts ran to cassoulet and confit. So, if you're a light sleeper, I think you're making a good choice on the accommodations. And yes, the food at Moulin de L'Abbaye is very good.