Four Days between Dordogne and CDG
 

We leave the Dordogne area on a Saturday and must return our car to CDG early Wednesday morning. We will have been in the Dordogne area for a month and have already spent a week in Paris.
Would you suggest dashing to one area and staying put for 3 days or wending our way north for 4 days? We have visited the Loire area. Any suggestions?

HI, robjame:

I'd head through Armagnac country to La Rochelle and Ile de Ré. There's plenty to see along the way (Saintes and all the armagnac towns), and La Rochelle and Ile de Ré are delightful (oh, the seafood!). You could even ditch the car in La Rochelle and take the TGV back to Paris.

If you haven't been to Oradour-sur-Glane, you might want to do a detour there on your way to the coast.

Hi StCirq - Thanks - I hadn't thought of going west and hanging around the coast for a few days. We had considered Dinard and Mont St Michel but that is pretty far our of the way.
We have all but discarded the idea of traveling by train to CDG. I know we will laden down with cans of foie gras, bottles of Cahors, jars of truffles and bags of dried cepes (and those are just my "souvenirs". Sandra will find other treasures). We may need a caravan by then.

If you prefer mountains, go east to the Auvergne and then north via Bourges and the Sancerre area.

I second the Massif Central (Auvergne and Cantal). We spent 4 days there en route from the Dordogne to Picardie in October and really enjoyed it. It is a treasure trove - gorgeous scenery, interesting geological history, beautiful villages and castles, and delicious food (ahhhh, the cheese!). Puy-en-Velay is one option, but while the city itself is fascinating, it is a bit isolated (maybe you could do one night there); I would suggest the cluster of towns to the southeast of Clermont-Ferrand, including Mont Dore, St. Nectaire, Besse-en-Chandesse, Murol, etc. Gorgeous - and unlike anything else I've seen in France! On a clear day the trip up Puy de Dome is really interesting and worth the trip.

So Michael and hausfrau (and others) - would you suggest staying in and around Clermont-Ferrand for 3 days and then dashing north around the east side of Paris to CDG? Or are you recommending one day in this area and another at (say)Bourges(?) and a third at Orleans(?) or Sens(?)?

Last July we spent 2 weeks in the Auvergne - just west of Clermont-Ferrand. Like hausfrau said, this is a very beautiful area & you will encounter very few American tourists. If you'll be there in June, July, or Aug, there are many private chateaux that are open for visits then. Pick up a copy of "Route Historic des Chateaux d'Auvergne" to get opening days & times.

Stu Dudley

I would not stay put for 3 days. I would stay in Sens for the last night. It has a nice cathedral and old town, and being closer to the airport is less stressful in my opinion. Le Puy-en-Velay is definitely worth seeing as is La Chaise-Dieu for an enormous church in the middle of a nothing town, but with well known frescoes (the dance of Death). Instead of going to Bourges, you could go straight north, passing by Apremont-sur-Allier (un plus beau village) which has a carriage museum in the chateau and a beautiful garden à l'anglaise at the edge of the town. I also like La Charité-sur-Loire.

I agree with Michael that you should be up close to the airport for the last night, if you have to return your car in the morning.

The Massif Central is such a big area, there are really multiple routes to take (of the places Michael mentions, I've only been to Puy-en-Velay and La Chaise Dieu), so you'll have to make a decision about which way to go.

If you like castles, here is the website for the route that I think Stu is talking about:
http://www.route-chateaux-auvergne.o...ex_Anglais.htm

I personally found the countryside around Mont Dore / Murol more spectacular than around Puy-en-Velay, but that is just my preference. I would do some reading up on these towns and see what strikes your fancy. One possibility would be one night in Puy-en-Velay and two nights in the Mont Dore area, if you don't mind moving around. (Of the towns I listed, Mont Dore is the biggest and is more of a ski/spa resort town. It will have the most hotel/restaurant options. We would have stayed in Murol if the hotel we wanted was open, but it was the very end of October and we ended up in St. Nectaire. Besse-en-Chandesse was our favorite of all these villages.) If you like hiking and scenic drives, they are plentiful in this area!

Oh yes, and if you head up the western side, so that you are going around Clermont-Ferrand on the west, there is a new autoroute that will hook you up quite easily with the autoroute heading north to Paris. I don't know the numbers but maybe someone else does! (Speaking of C-F, we decided not to stop there, although the "black" cathedral is supposed to be pretty interesting.)

>> I personally found the countryside around Mont Dore / Murol more spectacular than around Puy-en-Velay.<<

So did I

Stu Dudley

Thank you so much for the suggestions. Once again the experts come through with help. Now I have the framework to do some in-depth research.

The speed and thoroughness of reply from veteran travelers on this forum is great. Useful stuff. Thanks all.

Hear hear.... or is it "here here"?