Finalizing 3 day itinerary to Dordogne -what do you think?
Aug 1st, 2009, 07:30 AM
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Finalizing 3 day itinerary to Dordogne -what do you think?
After much reading and research, I have a pretty good idea of what I think we should do for the 3 days we have around Sarlat (I know it's not enough - but it's that or nothing!!) I am very interested in your opinions -what have I left out? Is it doable? It will be the weekend of the 22 August (I know - the worst time) but it is difficult to factor in crowds and traffic. So here goes:
SAT: very early Sarlat market. Will probably send DH and son (history buffs) straight to the museum in Les Eyzies so daughter and I can enjoy the market. Planning to catch a taxi to join them around 11am. How much will this cost? Will taxis be readily available around the market? Then Font-de Gaume (hoping to reserve for around 3pm) and Cap Blanc. Dinner suggestions please? Le Vieux Moulin, Les Eyzies ??
SUN: Beynac, Castelnaud, canoe or garbanes tour on the river, La Roque Gageac, Domme.
Dinner - Belle Etoile or La Plume d’Oie in Roque Gageac ?
MON: Lascaux 2, La Roque St Christophe (and pretty drive on the way). Will there be time for Rouffignac? Any other must sees on this route?
And a general question...can we turn up in these restaurants after a day of touring without going back to our b&b to shower and change? Of course I would prefer to go out to dinner in style, but it does not seem feasible to drive back (near Sarlat) if we are right near the restaurant?
Many thanks to all those who have contributed...
Kathy
SAT: very early Sarlat market. Will probably send DH and son (history buffs) straight to the museum in Les Eyzies so daughter and I can enjoy the market. Planning to catch a taxi to join them around 11am. How much will this cost? Will taxis be readily available around the market? Then Font-de Gaume (hoping to reserve for around 3pm) and Cap Blanc. Dinner suggestions please? Le Vieux Moulin, Les Eyzies ??
SUN: Beynac, Castelnaud, canoe or garbanes tour on the river, La Roque Gageac, Domme.
Dinner - Belle Etoile or La Plume d’Oie in Roque Gageac ?
MON: Lascaux 2, La Roque St Christophe (and pretty drive on the way). Will there be time for Rouffignac? Any other must sees on this route?
And a general question...can we turn up in these restaurants after a day of touring without going back to our b&b to shower and change? Of course I would prefer to go out to dinner in style, but it does not seem feasible to drive back (near Sarlat) if we are right near the restaurant?
Many thanks to all those who have contributed...
Kathy
Aug 1st, 2009, 07:45 AM
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If you have dinner at 8PM, how late in the day are you going to be sightseeing??? Belle Etoile & Plume d'Oie are 15 mins from Sarlat. You will see other people at dinner who will be scruftier than you will be if you don't clean up before - especially at Belle Etoile.. However, I sure would want to clean up, relax, change clothes - especially after a canoe trip on the Dordogne (if it's hot - you'll be sweating quite a bit, and maybe even on the garbanes trip too).
You might want to arrange for a taxi the day before you need one. There is a taxi stand next to a small parking lot on the main road into Sarlat from the south. It is just a block or two south of the old section of town and on the east side of the road. There are 2 different roads to the south - 1 into town and 1 out of town. I believe that there is a telephone number on this taxi stand. Perhaps arrange for the taxi to meet you there at 11PM.
Stu Dudley
You might want to arrange for a taxi the day before you need one. There is a taxi stand next to a small parking lot on the main road into Sarlat from the south. It is just a block or two south of the old section of town and on the east side of the road. There are 2 different roads to the south - 1 into town and 1 out of town. I believe that there is a telephone number on this taxi stand. Perhaps arrange for the taxi to meet you there at 11PM.
Stu Dudley
Aug 1st, 2009, 07:54 AM
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Thanks Stu,
You might have guessed that your itinerary helped me quite a bit (as did your Provence one last year). We will certainly clean up if we can - just checking options. Have I put too much in each day?
You might have guessed that your itinerary helped me quite a bit (as did your Provence one last year). We will certainly clean up if we can - just checking options. Have I put too much in each day?
Aug 1st, 2009, 08:40 AM
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>>Have I put too much in each day?<<
I don't think so. Don't try to "see" Sarlat on the day bof the market. Wander around on Sun or Mon early morning or late afternoon - when it's not so crowded. I would dine in sarlat 1 night (be aware that many restaurants close on Sun & Mon).
I revised my Dordogne itinerary a few weeks ago - e-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy.
Stu Dudley
I don't think so. Don't try to "see" Sarlat on the day bof the market. Wander around on Sun or Mon early morning or late afternoon - when it's not so crowded. I would dine in sarlat 1 night (be aware that many restaurants close on Sun & Mon).
I revised my Dordogne itinerary a few weeks ago - e-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy.
Stu Dudley
Aug 1st, 2009, 08:46 AM
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I would definitely arrange a taxi ahead of time if you really want to do that on Saturday. This part of France does not have taxis 'cruising'.
And, it will not be easy for the taxi to find you in Sarlat on market day. There will be LOTS of traffic. Like Stu, I think you are better off doing this on another day when you can see the town, and dont have to fight your way out of it.
And, it will not be easy for the taxi to find you in Sarlat on market day. There will be LOTS of traffic. Like Stu, I think you are better off doing this on another day when you can see the town, and dont have to fight your way out of it.
Aug 1st, 2009, 12:37 PM
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You have a lot to do to pull this trip together.
You'll definitely need to call a taxi ahead of time and plan to meet it FAR from the market area. As noted, traffic will be awful. I've never seen a taxi anywhere in the Périgord just roaming around looking for a fare. You might want to look into taking a train between Sarlat and Les Eyzies. In summer there is a train touristique between them, but it might be pricey as it includes narration and a dégustation. There might be the occasional regular train too.
If you plan to see Font-de-Gaume, you must have, and have paid for, a reservation by August 9. If you haven't reserved and paid for your ticket 15 or more days before your visit, you won't get in. You may not even get a reservation at this point at all, especially one in English. My nephew just reserved yesterday for mid-September. He asked for a tour in English, gave them 4 possible days, and they wrote back and said his only possibility was at a specific time on one of those days. It's probably unrealistic to think you could pinpoint "a tour around 3 pm" or one in English at this late stage. You need to do this immediately. I wouldn't bother with Cap Blanc.
Le Vieux Moulin is my favorite place to eat in Les Eyzies (though I don't often head there when I want to eat out). You'll need reservations. You'll need to be clean and presentable. Try the risotto aux truffes.
There is a huge difference between taking an hour-long gabarre trip (you need to reserve this in advance too) and going canoeing, which will take a minimum of 4 hours from Beynac or La Roque-Gageac. You have to be driven to the originating point and as traffic CRAWLS through those towns in August, that alone can take an hour. The shortest trip will take you 2+ hours, and you'll be navigating among crowds of people boating and standing and swimming in the river. Then another hour to dock, clean up, and make it out of town through more traffic. You also may need to book canoes several days in advance. Last summer we needed kayaks for 6 people and had to wait 3 days for a reservation. Then it thundered and poured all that day and we had to wait another 3 days.
I wouldn't go out to dinner at either the Plume d'Oie or the Belle Etoile (which is the better restaurant) without showering and cleaning up. You'll be feeling pretty grotty after a canoe ride, and even if you just tour and take a gabarre trip you won't be fresh. If you can't clean up, go back to Sarlat for dinner.
As far as I know, Lascaux II is closed on Mondays - maybe they make an exception in high season. If it is open, again, you need to make reservations in advance. On the road between Les Eyzies and Montignac you'll come across a ahuge goose farm at Tursac, the Préhisto-Parc, Le Village Troglodytique de la Madeleine, a small detour if you like to see the Moulin de Chaves, the Buddhist colony in Cubjac, La Roque-St-Christophe (reservations in advance here, too),and the stunning village of St-Léon-sur-Vézère, with its beautiful chapel that was along the pilgrimage route to Compostelo. If this turns out to be at lunchtime, have an inexpensive, refreshing salad or something in the garden of Le Petit Léon. I wouldn't continue to Rouffignac. After the chromatic caves, it's a bit of a letdown.
You'll definitely need to call a taxi ahead of time and plan to meet it FAR from the market area. As noted, traffic will be awful. I've never seen a taxi anywhere in the Périgord just roaming around looking for a fare. You might want to look into taking a train between Sarlat and Les Eyzies. In summer there is a train touristique between them, but it might be pricey as it includes narration and a dégustation. There might be the occasional regular train too.
If you plan to see Font-de-Gaume, you must have, and have paid for, a reservation by August 9. If you haven't reserved and paid for your ticket 15 or more days before your visit, you won't get in. You may not even get a reservation at this point at all, especially one in English. My nephew just reserved yesterday for mid-September. He asked for a tour in English, gave them 4 possible days, and they wrote back and said his only possibility was at a specific time on one of those days. It's probably unrealistic to think you could pinpoint "a tour around 3 pm" or one in English at this late stage. You need to do this immediately. I wouldn't bother with Cap Blanc.
Le Vieux Moulin is my favorite place to eat in Les Eyzies (though I don't often head there when I want to eat out). You'll need reservations. You'll need to be clean and presentable. Try the risotto aux truffes.
There is a huge difference between taking an hour-long gabarre trip (you need to reserve this in advance too) and going canoeing, which will take a minimum of 4 hours from Beynac or La Roque-Gageac. You have to be driven to the originating point and as traffic CRAWLS through those towns in August, that alone can take an hour. The shortest trip will take you 2+ hours, and you'll be navigating among crowds of people boating and standing and swimming in the river. Then another hour to dock, clean up, and make it out of town through more traffic. You also may need to book canoes several days in advance. Last summer we needed kayaks for 6 people and had to wait 3 days for a reservation. Then it thundered and poured all that day and we had to wait another 3 days.
I wouldn't go out to dinner at either the Plume d'Oie or the Belle Etoile (which is the better restaurant) without showering and cleaning up. You'll be feeling pretty grotty after a canoe ride, and even if you just tour and take a gabarre trip you won't be fresh. If you can't clean up, go back to Sarlat for dinner.
As far as I know, Lascaux II is closed on Mondays - maybe they make an exception in high season. If it is open, again, you need to make reservations in advance. On the road between Les Eyzies and Montignac you'll come across a ahuge goose farm at Tursac, the Préhisto-Parc, Le Village Troglodytique de la Madeleine, a small detour if you like to see the Moulin de Chaves, the Buddhist colony in Cubjac, La Roque-St-Christophe (reservations in advance here, too),and the stunning village of St-Léon-sur-Vézère, with its beautiful chapel that was along the pilgrimage route to Compostelo. If this turns out to be at lunchtime, have an inexpensive, refreshing salad or something in the garden of Le Petit Léon. I wouldn't continue to Rouffignac. After the chromatic caves, it's a bit of a letdown.
Aug 1st, 2009, 01:02 PM
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Rouffignac is my wife's favorite cave. It is geologically quite different from Font de Gaume and Lascaux II, and the monochromatic drawings are spectacular in their own right. Is a painting better than a drawing?
Aug 1st, 2009, 01:15 PM
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Regarding a few of St Cirq's points - the tourist train from Sarlat to Bergerac is not operating in 2009. Not enough customers.
I too thought Lascaux was closed on Mondays, but their web site says open every day in the season. You'll need to book.
Also, remember that nothing you want to do will be fast - there will be traffic, lineups, lots of people. Not so many that they will spoil your day, unless you are determined to get somewhere at a specific time. So leave yourself lots of flexibility.
Frankly, with that amount of time, rather than try to see too much,I would probably just drive along the river at the Valley of the 5 chateaux, checking out Beynac, Castelnaud, Domme, etc., on one day, Sarlat on another, then one cave and surrounding area on the third.
I too thought Lascaux was closed on Mondays, but their web site says open every day in the season. You'll need to book.
Also, remember that nothing you want to do will be fast - there will be traffic, lineups, lots of people. Not so many that they will spoil your day, unless you are determined to get somewhere at a specific time. So leave yourself lots of flexibility.
Frankly, with that amount of time, rather than try to see too much,I would probably just drive along the river at the Valley of the 5 chateaux, checking out Beynac, Castelnaud, Domme, etc., on one day, Sarlat on another, then one cave and surrounding area on the third.
Aug 1st, 2009, 01:16 PM
#9
hi Katpen,
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/
this is the link i found to Lascaux II - it says that it opens every day in high season [bound to include august] but doesn't give details about booking tickets, etc.
my recollection is that when we went about 5 years ago, we booked at the office in Les Eyzies, the day before. but this was at easter, not august so I would make getting tickets a top priority as soon as you arrive in the area.
as we left the site, we were approached in the car park by a very old chap handing out fliers for a local restaurant. normally we would avoid such places, but as it was already past 1pm, we were hungry and didn't know where else to go, we followed the directions [head left away from the site then left again, I seem to remember] and soon found ourselves inside a very nice restaurant eating excellent and reasonably-priced roast lamb.
have a great trip
regards, ann
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/
this is the link i found to Lascaux II - it says that it opens every day in high season [bound to include august] but doesn't give details about booking tickets, etc.
my recollection is that when we went about 5 years ago, we booked at the office in Les Eyzies, the day before. but this was at easter, not august so I would make getting tickets a top priority as soon as you arrive in the area.
as we left the site, we were approached in the car park by a very old chap handing out fliers for a local restaurant. normally we would avoid such places, but as it was already past 1pm, we were hungry and didn't know where else to go, we followed the directions [head left away from the site then left again, I seem to remember] and soon found ourselves inside a very nice restaurant eating excellent and reasonably-priced roast lamb.
have a great trip
regards, ann
Aug 1st, 2009, 01:20 PM
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Hi KP,
Good advice above.
May I suggest that the beauty of the Dordogne lies in realxing and enjoying your time there, rather hustling from attraction to attraction.
Unless you are going to McD's or equivalent, yes you have to shower and change.
Enjoy your visit.
Good advice above.
May I suggest that the beauty of the Dordogne lies in realxing and enjoying your time there, rather hustling from attraction to attraction.
Unless you are going to McD's or equivalent, yes you have to shower and change.
Enjoy your visit.
Aug 4th, 2009, 01:10 PM
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Thank you so much for all your suggestions. I emailed Font-de-Gaume but then decided to ring them and managed to reserve an English tour for the Sunday (they said they were closed on Sat), so I will change things around a bit. Then I received a reply to my mail saying they were booked out. So maybe the answer is just to ring. The mail did say that they save a few tickets for people who turn up first in the morning.
Thanks again
Thanks again
Aug 4th, 2009, 02:54 PM
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Font de Gaume does save a few tickets for first come first serve visitors, but the ticket is not necessarily for the morning. We came in the morning and got reservations for the last English tour of the afternoon. So you may have to plan on something in between.
Aug 5th, 2009, 09:53 AM
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FOr Lascaux tickets you need to go to Montignac, not Les Eyzies. (Font de Gaume is in Les Eyzies, Lascaux not at all.)
In August the tickets are sold at the tourist office in Montignac rather than the Lascaux site itself.
It will be busy.
In August the tickets are sold at the tourist office in Montignac rather than the Lascaux site itself.
It will be busy.
Aug 5th, 2009, 10:40 AM
#15
well, carlux, i bow to your superior knowledge, but I'm pretty sure we booked our Lascaux tickets at the information office in Les Eyzies.
but it was a while ago and i could be wrong. I know that it was quite a drive to Lascaux from where we go the tickets.
booking asap is a good tip.
but it was a while ago and i could be wrong. I know that it was quite a drive to Lascaux from where we go the tickets.
booking asap is a good tip.
Aug 5th, 2009, 01:06 PM
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You've gotten wonderful advice. Question about the market - I can't imagine anyone going to the market and being able to resist the urge to buy some of the wonderful foods there. Are you planning to buy foodstuffs for a picnic lunch that day?
I would suggest that you try to plan for that. When we last went to Sarlat, we scheduled our day so we spent plenty of time at the (Wednesday) market, bought way more than the 3 of us could eat, then visited Castelnaud. After Castelnaud, on the way to Beynac, we stopped by the river and had a fabulous picnic lunch.
FYI, La Roque-St-Christophe was much more interesting than we expected!
I would suggest that you try to plan for that. When we last went to Sarlat, we scheduled our day so we spent plenty of time at the (Wednesday) market, bought way more than the 3 of us could eat, then visited Castelnaud. After Castelnaud, on the way to Beynac, we stopped by the river and had a fabulous picnic lunch.
FYI, La Roque-St-Christophe was much more interesting than we expected!
Aug 5th, 2009, 01:12 PM
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I have indeed received great advice on this forum - as always. And yes I was planning on buying lunch in the Sarlat maket and of course finding a "secluded" (if possible) spot for a picnic. I was even planning on bringing a padded cooler bag for our purchases...
Aug 5th, 2009, 01:16 PM
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Any other comments on Cap Blanc? St Cirq, my husband and son are very into horses (we have our own) so that was the main reason for choosing this spot. Is is worth it? How long would it take?
Aug 5th, 2009, 03:02 PM
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It takes about 5 minutes, but if you're into horses, it wouldn't be a waste.
There are also some good stables in the area where you can ride along the Vézère and through medieval villages - if it rains the day you plan to canoe, you might want to do that.
There are also some good stables in the area where you can ride along the Vézère and through medieval villages - if it rains the day you plan to canoe, you might want to do that.
