Dordogne itinerary feedback please!
 

We will arriving in the Dordogne region in early September with 3 other couples and have rented a home near Daglan as our base for the week. Here is our (still tentative) itinerary - would appreciate feedback!

Saturday: Arrive in Toulouse, possibly have lunch with friends then drive to Daglan
Dinner - probably at home, either with chef or pick something up

Sunday: Castle day - visit Beynac, Castlenaud and Le Chateau des Milandes
Dinner - La Belle Etoile in La Roque Gageac

Monday: Open
Dinner: L'Esplanade in Domme

Tuesday: Cycling day with guide
Dinner: Le Petit Paris in Daglan

Wednesday: Sarlat market in morning, poolside in afternoon
Dinner: Le Saint Martial

Thursday: Canoeing - half day (can someone suggest an outfitter and what is the best departure point?) and Marqueyssac gardens
Dinner at home with chef

Friday: Lascaux caves, Saint Amand-de-Coly, Saint-Genies, Eyrignac Gardens
Dinner: Le Grand Bleu in Sarlat

Saturday: depart

Thanks!

For canoe we used Canoes Loisirs departing from Vitrac and ending just past Beynac. This took about 2 1/2 hours. We had lovely dinners at La Belle Etoile, Le Grand Bleu and L'Esplande. I do not believe your have a rushed itinerary except for maybe Friday. Maybe others will help you with this. Happy travels!!!!

Thanks mimipam - did you reserve in advance for the canoes?

Re: canoes - No we did not although I "worried" that we should. Don't think it was necessary at all.

Sounds very minimalistic. I would be doing about 10 other things every day, but that's me. You need a chef? We always rent canoes/kayaks at St-Vincent-de-Cosse and do the ride from Vezac back to the starting point. In September you won't need to rent in advance most likely.

Your Friday schedule is pretty strange, considering what there is to do in the area, but whatever suits you....

For Canoeing, most people leave from Cenac, go down to Beynac. About two hours, you see chateaux,La Roque Gageac, etc. No need to book ahead - even if you do, the weather might mean that you can't or don't want to go the day you've booked.

I don't think your Friday is odd at all. St Genies is a wonderful little village, as is St Amand de Coly. Just down the road from St Genies is the little chateau at St Crepin. It's only open if you book ahead - the owner takes people around in French. But it's a stunning site - well worth walking down from the top of the road so that you see it as you come around the bend.
http://www.perigords.fr/panoramas/F-...acypierre.html

However, none of these villages will take very long, so you may have some time in the afternoon.

Also, after Lascaux, think about going to St Leon sur Vezere, just a little further down the road. Lovely village, gorgeous Romanesque church, the Vezere river with picnic tables, ducks. A scene from a French travel poster.

I agree with St Cirq, you will be able to do more, IMO. On your open day, I would consider going to Rocamadour. It was a highlight of our trip.

Arrange to have lunch in St Genies. There is a fabulous little restaurant just up the road from church on left with a lovely garden.http://www.aubergesaintgenies.com/GastronomieE.php

You might want to check out my trip report from May/June. There are a couple other trip reports here which may help.

Carlux - thanks for the canoeing suggestion and st. Leon sur Vezere sounds lovely! As does lunch at Auberge St Genies LLindaC, thanks! I had considered Rocamadour so will put it on the list - it is a little further from our home base but I am sure the journey is half the fun. I am trying not to overbook for the sake of my friends, I know that we all are looking forward to spending some time relaxing together around our beautiful chateau and probably doing some hiking and cycling. I find when we travel there are always tips we pick up from locals and other tourists and like to leave some room in the itinerary for the unexpected ....

lynn - how nice to read something from someone who isn't trying to squeeze a quart into a pint pot and is open to seeing what happens.

i ref your trip to Lascaux, when we came out we were accosted by an aged chap handing out flyers for a local restaurant. we normally avoid places that tout for business, but it was past 1pm and the kids [and we] were hungry. so we followed the directions - from Lascaux, follow the road that goes north-west from the carpark and drive along the road for about 1/2 km and you'll come to hotel-restaurant in the woods.

it doesn't look great from outside, but it turns out that the dining room looks out over a terrific view, and we had lovely roast lamb etc. so i agree entirely about leaving time etc.

another place you might enjoy is/are the gouffres de padirac. it might be a bit far for you, but my recollection is that we went there first, then rocamdour on the way "home".

have a great trip,

regards, ann

annhig, was that restaurant La Table du Terroir? It's one of my favorite restaurants in the area. It's in St-Chapelle-Aubareil, just down the road from Lascaux.

If you want to see more cave paintings, you might consider visiting Font du Gaume in Les Eyzies. Similar to Lascaux, except that the cave paintings here are real, not reproductions. We were there in July and were very impressed. Access is limited and advance reservations are essential, so it may be too late to book for your entire group, but may be worth a shot.

annhig, was that restaurant La Table du Terroir?>>

sadly stcirq, i have no idea. I know that it was only a very short drive from lascaux, had a great view, lovely food, and the atmosphere of a logis de france or similar.

it WAS 8 years ago.

I don't think the restaurant near Lascaux was La Table du Terroir. There is a restaurant just down the hill from Lascaux - hardly 2 or 3 minutes away, from what I remember. We went a long time ago, not expecting much, because it was so close to such a major tourist attraction, but in fact it was good.

I know a lot of people like La Table du Terroir in La Chappelle-Aubareil, but we prefer le Bareil - just before you get to La Table. Smaller, nice people, good food. Less like a restaurant, more like someone's living room, although like all such restaurants it gets busy in the summer.
http://www.linternaute.com/restauran...e-bareil.shtml

My favorite canoe company is Copeyre. You can park in the Beynac parking lot, take their shuttle upstream to the Vitrac put-in point, then come downstream and finish up in Beynac with your car waiting for you. Very easy to find. Downside: you will have to pay a few Euros to park your car in Beynac. I find the Copeyre canoes to be the most comfortable ones in the area.

I think your itinerary sounds fine, and leaves you the opportunity for some surprises and detours if you come across them.

I second (or is it a third, or a fourth) the vote for a visit and a stroll through St. Léon-sur-Vézère.

Optional day drive: Begin in Castelnaud, drive south 2.2 km to Pont de Cause, turn right and drive to Belvès, visit; then on to Monpazier, visit plus lunch; then on to Villefranche-en-Perigord, visit; return via St. Pompon, Daglan and back to Castelnaud. Lovely drive and a chance to visit several fortified bastide villages, each with its own charm.

Oops, sorry...on that last drive, I forgot you were staying in Daglan. So do the drive beginning in Daglan, head north through St. Cybranet to Pont de Cause, then to Belvès, etc. Returning from Villefranche-en-Perigord, come through St. Pompon and finish up back in Daglan.

Have fun!

Thanks everyone for the restaurants near Lascaux and also La Tour de Cause thank you for the drive, that sounds like a lovely day. Can't wait - our departure is getting so close!!