May 26 - May 31, 2007

We're considering flying from London to Toulouse on a flight arriving at 5:20pm, renting a car and spending the first night in either Toulouse or Albi, then basing ourselves in Sarlat or in a smaller village nearby and touring on the 27, 28, 29, and 30, before taking an afternoon train on the 31st from Breve to Paris (arriving in Paris around 6:30pm).

With only 4 full days to tour this area, would you do it? I ask because I know there are a fair number of Dordogne experts on this board (and I can't tell you how helpful your posts have already been to me!), and the general consensus seems to be that a week is about the minimal time needed to do it any kind of justice.

I should add that the only reason we would plan to arrive in Toulouse so late is because it looks like the only other flight from London Gatwick to Toulouse leaves at an ungodly (to us -- big night-owls) hour of the morning: 7:15am, which would likely require us to wake up at 4-something-in-the-morning, which is, well, not an option we want to take.

Tara, our two weeks in the Dordogne barely made a dent but I would go for just a few days rather than miss it altogether. You'll definitely want to return for longer another time!

Thanks, moolyn! Your posts were some of the ones that inspired me to want to go there!

Yes, I would definitely spend that amount of time in the Dordogne. The travel times (plane and train) are such that your travel time isn't too much compared to other places you could visit, and you'll enjoy the time that you do spend there. That's only a little less than the amount of time we spent on our first visit to the Dordogne, and we're returning this May (a bit earlier in the month than you) to explore some more.

It sounds like you're taking the right approach - stay in one place and view what you'd like from that location, rather than trying to blitz around a large geographic area, and only seeing a blur.

Of course do it. You will have four full days and that is a lot better than not going at all. The first time I was in that region, I had only three days and also based in Sarlat. You can see quite a bit since distances are not that great between many sites. And that is a great time of year to visit.

Would do it in a flash. We liked Martel and Gluges villages (discussed in my trip report), but that's 46 km from Sarlat. Happy trip.

Sure, why not? We did something similar the summer before last. We flew from London to Toulouse from Gatwick, probably on that 7:15 AM flight, spent two nights in Albi, then three nights in Le Bugue in the Dordogne before heading off toward the Loire valley for a couple of days.

In that time in the Dordogne at a relaxed pace we were able to see Font de Gaume, the Roque St. Christophe, Pech Merle, markets in St. Cyprien and Le Bugue, and the castle at Beynac.

Do it. It is no less time than some of us spend going through the Loire or visiting the Alsace. You probably will want to concentrate on the area around the Sarlat-Montignac-Le Bugue triangle, with some excursions to places like Monpazier and possibly Périgueux (either on Wed. or Sat. for its market).

Albi is probably a better overnight than Toulouse. At a minimum you should visit the cathedral and the bishop's palace which is now a Toulouse-Lautrec museum.

Another vote for doing it. Visit Albi, then head north & stop at Peche Merle & St Cirq Lapopie on the way to Sarlat.

May 26 is a Saturday, so see as much of Albi as you can then. On Sunday, almost all shops will be closed, so see the Toulouse Lautrec museum & cathedral then (they will be closed by the time you get there on Sat)
Stu Dudley

If you plan to visit St. Cirq La Popie, it's very easy to miss the freeway exit. We missed it coming from the south and it was a long backtrack. I don't remember what the proper exit sign said, but we were past it when we saw the sign indicating the River Lot.

Hi T,

4 days in the Dordogne in late May is better than 4 days in Madison, GA.