<i>Yes, I do mean the gardens at Eyrignac and St. Genies is on the listSt. Amand de Coly came off to make time for St. Leon s Vezere on the way to Sarlat. </i>

Geographically, Hautefort, St. Amand de Coly, St. Geniès make the most sense on the way to Sarlat. I prefer St. Amand de Coly to St. Leon-sur-Vézère anyway.

Shoot, Wren, by the 11th we'll be in Puy en Velay and moving on to our final 4 days in Lyon. Too bad, it would have been fun to see you again and in the Dordogne. Where are you basing there? I think you've been once before also, right?

Michael, I'm just going to play all that be ear as we move along. Something tells me we're a bit overplanned and that I may need to be prepared to give up several stops to be more realistic. I know that's what happened to me the last time we were in Dordogne. Thanks for everyone's info I 'll now be able to muddle through with better intelligence.

Hi Julie, we will be near St Cyprien--a base we have used before. This will be our third time there. I wish you happy travels and hope our paths cross again!!!

Well, wren, our paths may actually cross. We're staying in Beynac for a week starting on the 25th. I'll keep my eyes open for you!

For the OP - when staying in Brantome, you might consider Aubeterre sur Drome, on the far west side of the Dordogne.
http://aubeterresurdronne.com/pages/...outerraine.php

There is an amazing monolithic church - cut out from the rock, which hardly anyone mentions, but which we found fascinating. My memory is that the village was attractive, there was another interesting church, and when we went, which was admittedly quite a while ago, a very good potter.

Aubeterre-sur-Dronne is hardly mentioned when it comes to the Dordogne because it is in the Charente.

How could I forget the 2 km. that separates Aubeterre from the departement of the Dordogne. I'm sure that's going to make a huge difference to people who have travelled thousands of miles to get to France.

<i>I'm sure that's going to make a huge difference to people who have travelled thousands of miles to get to France.</i>

It's a two hour round trip from Brantôme according to Google. It also depends on how tight the schedule, and the OP has a tight one which probably will have to be pared down as each day goes by.

Carlux, Looks really interesting and we might be able to fit it in on our way from Bordeaux to Brantome. Seems only to lengthen the trip by 30 minutes or so, drivingwise, maybe less. Thanks for the suggestion.

Michael, you're also right, though, that we will be on a tight schedule which will undoubtedly have to be pared down as each day goes by. Since this will be our first day, we should be ok yet. We'll see how it goes when we get to the crucial cut over.

sap--have a wonderful time! Are you staying in a gites or a b&b in Beynac?

Hi, wren. we're staying in an apartment -- actually a house on the path that winds up to the chateau. Hope you have a fab time, too!