HI Everyone,

After months of researching and reading posts, I have begun to sketch out an itinerary for our July trip to the Dordogne and Paris. I have a long list of things and places we'd like to see as well as restaurant suggestions (thanks to ira, moolyn, StuDudley, the go family, lexma, st. cirq, carlux, and many others).

My husband and I will be traveling with our younger son, 13 years old (our 16 year old is going to Israel for 5 weeks which is exciting, but I am a little sad he will not be with us on this trip). Anyway, we love architecture and history, hiking and the outdoors, and good food and wine. We are not huge shoppers, but I do like to pick up one or two nice things for our home as a reminder of our travels.

So far I feel comfortable with our Paris options, but have found it a bit hard to get a feel for distances and time to allow for things in the Dordogne/Lot area. I would love some comments on my very tentative and flexible itinerary. Is what I have planned workable? Too much? If I need to drop something, what would you suggest? Etc...

<b>Saturday, July 7th</b>
Arrive Toulouse and drive to Albi. Overnight at Hotel St. Antoine

<b>Sunday, July 8th</b>
Drive to Conques for 2 nights. Overnights at Moulin de Cambelong. Any suggestions on route from Albi to Conques? Any stops along the way?

<b>Monday, July 9th</b>
Day trip to Figeac, St. Cirq la Popie and Pech Merle. Overnight at Moulin de Cambelong.

<b>Tuesday, July 10th</b>
Depart Conques and drive to Pont-de-Cause (near Castelnaud) for 4 nights at La Tour de Cause. Would like to stop in Rocamdour, Gouffre Padirac and Lacave on the way.

<b>Wednesday, July 11th</b>
Between this day and Friday, we would like to canoe along the river, visit Chateaux Beynac and Castelnaud, explore Roque Gageac, Domme, Sarlat, and perhaps visit les Millandes. Any suggestions on how to work these two days? I thought Sarlat might be a good evening visit if it would be less crowded then.

<b>Thursday, July 12</b>
Lascaux, Font de Gaume, Les Eyzies prehistory museum, and La Roque St. Christophe.

<b>Friday, July 13th</b>
Some combination of the sights on Wednesday's list.

<b>Saturday, July 14th</b>
Return car to Brive and train to Paris for 5 nights at Hotel Millesime in the 6th.

Once we have organized our daily outings,then I would like to fill in with some lunch and dinner ideas.

Thank you for your assistance. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.
Happy Travels!

fun4all4, all 4 of you will have a wonderful time!

The canoe trip will take half a day. Be there when the canoe rental place opens at 9:00 to avoid the crowds and the noonday sun. I suggest Le Sioux in Cenac below Domme.

Your Thursday plans seem a bit intense to me, three caves plus a museum in one day. Could you possibly divide this between two days interspersed with chateaux or markets so you don't get cave overload? When we were there last June the English tours were at 11:30 at Font de Gaume and 12:00 at Lascaux so it may not be feasable to see both of these on the same day anyway. You definitely want the English tours unless you are proficient in French.

I assume you have already obtained Stu Dudley's Dordogne itinerary. Below is the Albi to Conques section of a scenic route he suggested for me with a couple of minor corrections. This route passes through one Most Beautiful Village of France after another. Some of the villages are fine to just drive through but others such as Ste Eulalie and Estaing deserve an exploration on foot. Follow your instincts and your need for food and/or pit stops.

&gt;&gt; Drive towards Rodez from Albi. I would not visit Rodez. If you just left Albi, I think Rodez will disappoint you - especially if you plan to visit Figeac &amp; Perigueux also. We've visited Rodez twice, and we got lost driving out of the center of Rodez both times. Once you pass Rodez, don't head to Espalion, take the N88 east then the D45 northeast to the D95, then north to St Geniez. At St Geniez, head west and after you pass a grocery store on your left, turn right and head over the Lot River – you will pass a park on your right before the River. When you start to see Ste Eulalie, park in the lot I describe in my itinerary, sit on the bench by the road to St Eulalie, and enjoy the view. Then head over the Lot to Ste Eulalie for a visit – pick up a walking tour guide at the tourist office. St Eulalie, and about 4 other village on the Lot (before you get to Conques) are classified as “the Most Beautiful Villages in France”. After Ste Eulalie, retrace your route back over the Lot to the bench (you will be on the North side), and head to St Come. Notice the twisted church steeple. St Come is another “Most Beautiful”. It can be a “drive around”, or a quick walk through. Continue west to Espalion. Espalion has more commerce than any other village on this route, and the town is not as cute as others, but it has some very nice houses along the Lot River. Consult your Green Guide and explore this town on foot. Then continue west to my favorite – Estaing. Get the camera ready as you get close to town – it’s a real photo-eater. Wander through town, cross the bridge over the Lot, visit the chateau, and perhaps it’s time for lunch or a snack. As you leave Estaing, look back over your shoulder for picture ops. Next town is Entraygues. It’s nicer on the outside than on the inside, so if you are a little behind schedule (it’s later than 3:00), then don’t explore Entraygues on foot. Make sure, however, that you drive by this town and see it from all angles. My itinerary has a description on how to do this via the one-way bridge.

Thanks, moolyn!

The driving route from Albi to Conques sounds great. I am sure that I have it somewhere between your report and Stu's intinerary, but sometimes the amount of info gets overwhelming and hard to sort through. About how many hours of driving time does this route take (not including stops)? I have a green guide as well as a Thomas Cook and Cadogan plus the Michelin maps of the area.

OK, I agree that Thursday seems a bit too much, plus too cave heavy for one day. I guess I just picked that due to their proximity on the map. Do you have any other &quot;groupings&quot; to recommend that might work better?

Thanks again.

I agree completely with Moolyn's comments. It is far too much on Thursday. For us a visit Font de Gaume and the museum in Eyzies would be enough. If you decide on the museum, arrange for an English guide before your trip. The visit will be quite meaningless unless your French is excellent.
Consider some time for one of the neat outdoor athletic parks (wish I knew what they are called) for your son. They have all kinds of tremendous climbing, trapeze, rope, swings apparati if he is so inclined - a great break.

I agree also that Thursday is too intense. There's a lot of traffic in the Dordogne in July, for one thing. You can't just zip around the way you can in spring, fall, and winter.

With regard to Robjame's suggestion for athletic parks, you can combine that with a canoe trip if you hire your canoe from the outfit at St-Vincent de Cosse. Heading from St-Cyprien to Beynac, you'll see the huge Ch6ate de Monrecour on your left (now a luxury hotel), and right about opposite it a sign that says St-Vincent-de-Cosse and (usually) a big canoe rental sign). Follow the road toward the river (winds through lots of fields for 2-3 kms), and you'll come to a riverside canoe rental place that we like a lot and that isn't a crowded as the ones farther east. And right next to it is one of those athletic parks, and a couple of snack stands where you can get sandwiches and cold drinks. We usually do a 6- or 8-km run, which entails the canoe rental folks driving us to La Roque-Gageac or farther and then we canoe back to the base.

I would add a walking tour of Sarlat in your itinerary. They are very well done and cost about 10 euro a person. The schedule for English-language tours is posted on the Tourist Office door, but you should go inside as well, as there is a ton of useful information for visiting the area.

Some other things you might want to consider doing nclude a visit to the walnut mill in Ste-Nathal&egrave;ne, which, even if your son thinks he has no interest in walnut oil, is a fantastic and fun tour. And the Village du Bournat and the Acquarium in Le Bugue were big hits with my kids when they were in their young teens. The narrated boat ride from Beynac is also fun, as is the falconry exhibit at Les Milandes.

I'd also make sure to get to at least one market. The main ones are:

Wednesday in Sarlat
Tuesday in Le Bugue
Sunday in St-Cyprien
Thursday in Lalinde.

There are also small markets in Sarlat and Le Bugue on Saturday, and in summertime there is often a sizable market in Les Eyzies on Monday, and a small one in Domme on Thursday. The &quot;secondary&quot; markets are not immutable, though, so check schedules at a tourist office.

Finally, I just wouldn't plan every minute of every day. Give yourself plenty of time to wander around on the back roads, follow posters advertising special festivals and events, walk or bike ride by the rivers' edges, sit at a caf&eacute;, or just get lost.

&gt;&gt;Consider some time for one of the neat outdoor athletic parks (wish I knew what they are called) for your son. They have all kinds of tremendous climbing, trapeze, rope, swings apparati if he is so inclined - a great break&lt;&lt;

Both kids &amp; adults would love several hours at the Chateau Marqueyssac complex. It's a chateau &amp; &quot;wild&quot; park on a bluff high above the Dordogne river with fantastic views of Beynac off to the west (get there before noon so the sun won't obscure your view), and Roque Gageac down below at the east end of the bluff. Great place for lunch and to walk-it-off after lunch. Lots of places for the 13YO to explore, climb, trapeze, etc, &amp; wander by himself while you're having lunch. Chateau is not the main interest - the park &amp; views are.

Wish you had more time in the Dordogne - so much more to see than you have time for.


Stu Dudley

fun, you could probably make the drive from Albi to Conques in a couple of hours without stops but you won't want to drive straight through, trust me. We left Albi around 11am after stocking up on picque-nicque supplies at the Saturday morning market. With several stops and a couple of driving diversions (by which I mean getting pleasantly lost) we were eating our second lunch of the day perched at a picque-nicque table overlooking Conques by 5pm.

You may find that you have too many things on your list, excellent as it is, so prioritize and save some for the next time. Quality rather than quantity. Everything is so close that you could easily do several things in one day, no problem, but do the higher priority stuff first and schedule lower priority stuff for later in the day in case you run out of steam. I don't know your family's energy level but Robjame and I agree that we couldn't keep possibly up to Stu Dudley!

The route I posted isn't on Stu's Dordogne itinerary although it nicely complements it. He kindly wrote it in response to my request and for the sake of other Fodorites like yourself who might also benefit.

A comment on markets. the main market on Sarlat is on Saturday. It is the Wednesday market which is smaller.

If your son is are looking for something more interesting than chateau visiting, there are adventure playgrounds south of Sarlat.

Leave Sarlat to the south, towards Cahors/Souillac, very close together you will find
· Camping Aqua Viva – mini-golf – open to the public
· Two adventure playgrounds – trapeze, paintball, etc. There doesn’t seem to be much difference between them.
o La Foret des Ecureuils (Squirrel forest!) 05 53 31 27 90
o Indian Forest Perigord. 05 53 31 22 22

I knew I could count on you Dordogne experts - you are the greatest. =D&gt; Now, you have ADDED awesome things to my list when I clearly need to choose some to omit.

robjame - We will definitely reserve Font de Gaume in English. DH and I both had 6 years of French and DS has had 2, but that only seems to be enough to get ourselves into trouble. We definitely cannot handle the subtleties or unusual vocabulary. We will also scale back, especially on that Thursday. I love the idea of checking out some of the athletic parks.

St. Cirq- Thanks for the details on the active stuff. As for the walking tour of Sarlat, what time of day would be best? I am worried about the July crowds, but that is the time we can go so we will just do our best. I hope to be going early each morning and then have a little down time during the late afternoons.

Stu - Chateau Marquesyssac sounds like a great idea - views and castles combined with activity. More than almost anywhere we have traveled, the Dordogne has SO MUCH to do and see that it is almost impossible to narrow down. I thought a full week would be a good start and I am still struggling. Any tips on what to omit for a first visit?

Moolyn - Thanks for the time estimate - we absolutely plan on stops along the way.... I was just trying to get a feel for the actual driving time/ distances between places.

Carlux - Oh No ... I am afraid to mention the option of mini golf to my son. He is interested in everything and loves to learn,but is addicted to mini golf and now we will have to play! ;-)


So, these are all great suggestions. Now, how do I begin to group what we can actually do in a day? Whew. I do want time to sit by the pool and sip wine. Clearly I need a bit of guidance on what to leave out for this visit.

You make me feel behind - we'll be in the Dordogne in May with our son (11 years old), and I'm still only collecting to-do ideas. Though I've starting plotting out dinners and possible lunches - you can see what comes first with me!

In terms of planning, just try to tell yourself that you'll return to the area. We visited in 2002, and I'm excited to be returning with our son.

Our son is interested in chateaux, so high on our &quot;must-see&quot; list are Beynac and Castelnaud. Castelnaud has a museum of life-size weaponry, like catapaults and seige towers. They're close to each other, so whenever we visit them, we'll do them in the same morning/day. Chateau Biron is a bit far south, but when we visited in 2002, I thought that kids would love the dioramas they have there. A smaller chateau that's centrally located is Puymartin. It has a fantastic painted-wooden room that any kid who likes mythology would enjoy, and a (rumored) resident ghost. It's also still lived in by the owners.

Also on our must-see list, like on yours, are Lascaux II and Font du Gaume. Most things in the area are relatively close together, so don't worry excessively about grouping things. On your Thursday, it does look a little crowded, and I think you might be &quot;prehistoric'd out&quot; to do both those places in the same day. But the other places that day would work together well. The day we visited Font du Gaume in 2002, we had a light lunch at some casual place in Les Eyzies that served crepes and pizzas. As I recall, there are several places like that in Les Eyzies; not gourmet dining, but pleasant.

In 2002, on a Wednesday, we first visited the Sarlat market. We bought WAY too much - so hard to resist - and then picnicked on the grounds of Puymartin. They even have picnic tables there! We had enough leftovers that they became our lunch on our train ride up to Paris, several days later. You might be able to do the same there or at other chateaux.

You could probably easily visit Beynac, Castelnaud, Domme, La Roque Gageac and possibly Les Milandes all in the same day. There's not much in Domme and La Roque Gageac except beauty, and both would be excellent places for a rest and a drink.

My thought on the canoe trip is that I'd love to do it if it fits in. But my general trip mentality, kids or no kids, is to put stuff that we can do at home further down on the list. Also, our son is not a real outdoors person, so probably wouldn't miss the canoeing too much (and, I'm guessing, would choose another chateau over a canoe trip).

Stu Dudley sent me his wonderful driving itineraries. They would be great if it was just DH and I, and we will use portions of them. But based on our previous trips, our son just doesn't enjoy scenary and beautiful villages in the same the way us adults do. So our driving won't be so meandering, but will be mostly to get us from place to place, if that makes sense.

Has your 13-year-old read &quot;Timeline,&quot; by Michael Crichton? Right on target for the area, if not totally accurate. Also, our son got the Nintendo version of &quot;Age of Empires&quot; for Christmas, which has really brought some aspects of area's history to life for him. Starting with Richard the Lion-Heart, somehow a figure in the game, I filled my son in on the &quot;real&quot; Richard, and his awesome mother, and why Aquitaine was so important in French (and English) history. After hearing about Eleanor, he said it sounds like famous people of today!

We're also booked for the same hotel as you in Paris - it's very close to Lauderee, which my son and I are happy to note!

A canoe trip down the Dordogne is not in fact anything like what you can do at home - unless where you live you glide down between medieval chateaux, gorgeous villages, lovely bridges - and on an exceptionally attractive river. We always recommend it because it's a way to see the Dordogne, and especially the 'Valley of the Five Chateaux' in a way you don't get from driving, or even walking.

Hi fun,

Very good itinerary.

I suggest:

1. driving Albi/Conques via the Tarn Gorges and St. Chely du Tarn.

You will also see the Millau bridge.

It will add about 2 hr to your drive.

2. For Figeac/Peche Merle take the route along the Lot or Celey river one way and the other river back.

It will add about 2 hr to your total drive time.

3. Plot your course from Conques to Pont-de-Cause via Padirac and Rocamadour at www.mappy.com

Enjoy your visit.

&lt;&lt;We will definitely reserve Font de Gaume in English.&gt;&gt; Just to clarify for Fun and for anyone else.. although arranging for an English guide at Font de Gaume is a good idea, i was talking about the prehistoric museum in Eyzies. This is a new (revamped) facility and quite spectacular built into the rock. As a museum dedicated to one particular period it probably ranks up there as one of the best in the world.
However it does have a serious limitation - all the signs and labels are in French. There are &quot;cheat sheets&quot; available but we found them quite difficult to use as a whole area was printed on one sheet and the numbering system was tiny, hidden or non-existent. English guides are available but must be prearranged (at least as of last May). A little surfing or the help of one of the resident Dordognites should result in contact numbers or addresses.
I am interested in whether others share my observations about this marvelous facility.

Thanks again, everyone. I will report back with a fine-tuned itinerary as we get closer to departure.

You mentioned les Milandes as a possibility. Just want to insure you know about the falconry show they put on 2 or 3 times a day. I suspect your son would enjoy it. Make sure you get a seat toward the front and there's a good chance he'll get to don a leather glove and have a falcon land on his hand.

If he's into castles, consider Chateau de Commarque, located off the D47 between Les Eyzies and Sarlat. It's a huge, largely-unrestored chateau that lends itself to exploration by a kid on his own.

Steve

I just know that you are going to enjoy this trip! When you are in the Les Eyzies area, consider taking the road out to the north and after crossing the river have a look at the &quot;Grand Roc&quot; on your left. A cave has been opened up there which is full of crystals. The temperature is a constant 15C or so. It takes about an hour to see the caves and then another hour to look at the fantastic views over the river Vezere.
Les Eyzies is not a place that I would eat though as it is very touristy, stop for a coffee by all means, but try to move on a few kms for food. You will find better food and better value in some of the outlying villages.
My local town, Rouffignac, does a 5 course home cooked meal with wine for 12 euros a head, you need to ask for &quot;Menu de Jour&quot;.
I have some pictures of the local area on my blog on http://bikesindordogne.blogspot.com/, please excuse the bike pictures if you are not into bikes, but with the weather here we tend to use them most of the time!

Thanks again for all the great info!

I have now tried to &quot;fine-tune&quot; our itinerary. Any additional input would be most welcome.

<b>Saturday, July 7th</b>
Arrive Toulouse and drive to Albi. Overnight at Hotel St. Antoine. It will probably be fairly late by the time we arrive (around 9pm?) so something quick and close for dinner.

<b>Sunday, July 8th</b>
Drive to Conques for 2 nights. Overnights at Moulin de Cambelong. Use driving route suggested by moolyn and StuD. Dinner Sunday and Monday at Moulin de Cambelong.

<b>Monday, July 9th</b>
Day trip to Figeac, St. Cirq la Popie and Pech Merle. Overnight at Moulin de Cambelong. Go to Pech Merle first, then St. Cirq, then Figeac on way back. We need reservations for Pech Merle, yes?

<b>Tuesday, July 10th</b>
Depart Conques and drive to Pont-de-Cause (near Castelnaud) for 4 nights at La Tour de Cause. Would like to stop in Rocamdour, Gouffre Padirac (do we need reservations? are tours available in English? what time would be best?) and am now thinking of skipping Lacave and stopping for a late lunch in Martel at the walnut mill (Ferme Auberge Moulin) suggested by ekscrunchy. Will we have time to go to Rocamadour briefly then visit Padirac and be in Martel for late lunch (around 1-1:30)? Then, we would drive to our hotel and relax for the rest of the day.
That evening, considering dinner in Domme at Cabanoix &amp; Chataigne.

<b>Wednesday, July 11th</b>
Would like to canoe in the morning - have 3 options:
1. Beynac dock, shuttle to Vitrac, then canoe to Beynac
2. St. Vincent de Cosse dock, driven to Roque-Gageac then canoe back
3. Canoe from Cenac to Beynac

Which do you recommend? We would also like to visit Le Roque-Gageac, Beynac w/castle, and Castelnaud that day. Any suggestions for order or logistics?

Considering dinner at La Belle Etoile that night.

<b>Thursday, July 12th</b>
Font-de-Gaume, Les Eyzies prehistory museum, and late lunch at Le Vieux Logis in Tremolat. Return to hotel for late afternoon swim and relax. That night have either picnic dinner by pool at the hotel or walk to very casual place right near the hotel.

<b>Friday, July 13th</b>
Morning visit to Lascaux (what time are English tours?). Lunch, then afternoon at Ch. de Milandes and/or Ch. Marquesyssac.

Considering dinner at Le Presidial and evening walk around Sarlat.

<b>Saturday, July 14th</b>
Return car to Brive and train to Paris for 5 nights at Hotel Millesime in the 6th.


OK, experts, what do you think? Thank you, thank you.

Agree with St. Cirq's earlier post to try one of the morning markets. They're so much a part of the rural area, a great way to get a picnic lunch, and a wonderful source of souvenirs (jams, honeys, p&acirc;t&eacute;s, etc.).

Yes, the morning market thing is a little tough. I have been to markets in other places. Also, we arrive on a Tuesday afternoon and leave on a Saturday morning so it seems our choice of markets is limited. The only one that really seems as if it might work is the Wednesday morning in Sarlat - I believe our 13 year old son would really rather canoe than go to a market. If I really shouldn't miss one, then how would you suggest I rework the itinerary? There is so much to do and see that it is hard to balance. Going to a market would definitely mean giving something else up.... any thoughts or suggestions?

There's a market every day of the week in the P&eacute;rigord. Thursday tehre's a good one in Lalinde. Friday is Montignac. In July I believe there's a market in Domme on Thursdays, too, and also in Belv&egrave;s. And there's usually a Friday market in Les Eyzies in mid-summer, too. It won't be difficult at all to get to a market. Saturday morning there's one in Le Bugue, too.