French Caves, Castles, Abbey's and Hikes-Trip report
Jul 15th, 2011, 12:39 PM
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French Caves, Castles, Abbey's and Hikes-Trip report
We are just back from three weeks in Southwest France. Since our visit focused on prehistory, castles, hiking and Romanesque art, I am dividing up my trip report by category (three weeks of daily reports also being deadly). I am so thankful for all the postings I read which helped us plan our itinerary. Hope this helps others in the future,
Prehistory
We hit the ground running so to speak with a day visiting Lascaux 2, and Rouffignac. We had made English reservations via email for Lascaux but did not really need them that mid June Sunday. The visit was less than satisfying though, because there were so many people you could hardly turn around, and they do not give you enough time going through. The artwork is so sophisticated and deserving of study that we probably should have just gone through a second time! For Rouffignac we just showed up after lunch and got into a tour where the guide alternated English and French. The train ride down was not our favorite part because there is very little to view except cave bear nests and scratches, and the train is quite rickety. But the ceiling room at the bottom more than makes up for it. What brought the artists so incredibly far down to do their work is quite a mystery. We also visited Le Thot Park that day, where we had our picnic lunch, its low key, but worth the stop to see the reproductions.
We did Font de Gaume, Comberelles, Cap Blanc also all in one day. We had made email reservations ahead of time, and were glad we had, as we met people who were unable to get tickets since the tours are limited to so few people. We loved all the sites, maybe Font de Gaume the best both for the art and the cave feel. Comberelles was difficult viewing because the artwork is so overlapping. Our guide really did not speak English despite it being an English tour so several times we were wishing we had a guidebook with us because we had no idea what he was referencing.
Visiting Bernifal cave came as a suggestion from a staff member at the Pole international de la Prehistoire in Les Eyzies. She also made the reservation for us. (The PIP has a very cheap cyber café where you can use wifi or computers even cheaper than at the tourist office.) Visiting Bernifal was unlike any other cave experience. The owner of the cave takes you in with only one vintage light and you bump and slide around in the dark in a very casual way compared to the very regimented more prestigious caves. The art was not as good, but it was an interesting cave experience. We also visited many of the other prehistory sites in the area. The museum in les Eyzies is also a good stop, but it’s a very serious museum so not everyone will appreciate the endless flint displays. But the artwork on the upper floor is excellent as is the building itself. We saved the visit for a hot afternoon and had a good time.
After leaving the Vezere, our next cave stop was Pech Merle. The cave is fantastic, and if I could only visit one, it would be this one. The art is really interesting and so perfect. No trial and error in this cave. The museum is also good, and had reproductions of the artwork so you can spend time studying it..The guide spoke English and French to a mostly English crowd. Niaux was our last cave visit. I would also suggest this cave to anyone who only has time for one cave. The artwork is more random than Pech Merle but the cave experience is a good one. We liked the lack of electric lighting in favor of individual flashlights. It is a long hike in so good shoes are really needed. We had email reservations for both those caves, but in late June they were not needed. But we would not have risked not reserving, after going so far.
Castles and fortifications
We added castles to our tour when we saw that so many were in proximity to the caves we were visiting. In the Dordogne we enjoyed the tour of Beynac which we did right as they opened one morning so we had the place to ourselves. The views of the other castles perched on the surrounding hills is lovely. Further south we visited three of the Cathar castles- Montsegur, Queribus and Peyrepetuse. It’s worth studying the history of Montsegur before the visit for impact of what you are visiting. The hike up is only a half hour but very steep. The views are a reward. At Queribus the hike up is a little easier but its high peak was blasted with winds during our visit so we did not linger long. Peyrepetuse was just simply amazing and we probably would have just settled for the views of Queribus rather than a full visit if we had done Peyrepetuse first. It is so much larger than it looks from the ground. We barely had time to explore it, and got distracted by an excellent falconry demonstration which apparently is done quite frequently there. I actually would like to visit again when I have several hours to nose about and relax with the views.
Romanesque Art
We visited Moissac, Souillac and Cenac to see the Romanesque art in the churches. We love the little stories the carvers have told on the column capitals. In Moissac we also got to listen to the nuns chant vespers. The highlight of our trip was visiting St Martin du Canijou. The signs tell you that the hike up is from 35-50 minutes. Its not long, and not hard actually because it’s a narrow paved road, but it is steep and full of switchbacks so seems to take an eternity to get up it. There is a possibility of hiring a jeep to take you but there is no way I would want to be in a vehicle on that scary road. You can’t wander the abbey alone, but they have hourly tours. A nun led our tour, doing it in English because there were no French in our group. She offered very interesting commentary and history. It’s a breathtaking place, and when you send home photos from the point above the monastery, everyone will be in awe also.
Hiking
We got a couple good hikes in, besides up to the castles and St Martin. There are GR routes everywhere, and it seemed that every tourist office has a book of local circle hikes or hikes where you can take a train and hike back. We followed one from Le Buque to Les Eyzies; had a delightful few hours passing through St Cirq. Our second hike was a circuit from Carenac to Mezels. We did not get the river views we were hoping for either but lots of peaceful as pastures and woodlands. Our third hike was in the Foret des Hares in a somewhat isolated region where you have two choices of getting there- a nervewrackingly windy road over the Pic de Tarbezou or down the Gorges de L’Aude in which the road just never seemed wide enough. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful mountain hike to a beautiful lake nested among peaks. We passed a few other hikers and everyone seemed to say the same thing-Paradise. I would do it again, even knowing how hard it is to get there.
Cars and Lodging
We arrived in Toulouse via Iberia Air through Madrid. We were happy to have had a two hour connection because it took over an hour to switch terminals, and go through both a security checkpoint and customs. We had to do both in Madrid even though it was not our final destination. We did not argue the point, and we happy not to have to do either in Toulouse once we landed. On our return our connecting flight was rescheduled to a later time so we used the layover to take the express bus to Atocha where we had a couple hours to visit the Reina Sophia Contemporary Art Musuem.
At the Toulouse Airport we had a rental car reserved from Avis- by far the cheapest I could find, and I really wanted to have a company with English language operators in Europe, after prior bad experiences. We had reserved the smallest car available (Twingo size) but had not been able to specifically reserve a diesel car. The Avis people did not have any diesel in our size so gave us a free upgrade to a Peuget which drove wonderfully and needed less than two tanks of gas despite our driving for two weeks. On the day we were to return the car, we took it to a self service cash wash because it was so filthy. We had two scratches that could have fallen into the “charge” category but we think that since the car was so clean, the person inspecting did not look very closely. Thanks to other posters we found the gas station at the huge shopping mall near Blagnac. It was the cheapest gas we saw all trip. I believe it was exit 4.
We had decided to base ourselves first in Les Eyzies because so many of our destinations were on that side of the Perigord. Our apartment was a very good deal (250euros for the week!), and walking distance to everything in the village including a grocery store and a boulangerie. In Cabrerets for our visit to Pech Merle we stayed in a wonderful hobbit house feeling B and B called Un Jardin B and B. The house and garden are way up the cliff face with wonderful views of the Cele River. My first reaction was that I need to go back and stay longer! Another interesting place we stayed was in Moissac at a gite run by an Irish couple called Ultreia Moissac. They play host to many of the pilgrims of the Way of St James. We enjoyed conversation with the many hikers who gathered with us for a hearty dinner in the garden. In Toulouse before leaving we stayed at the Albert 1er which so many folks recommended. It was a comfy place to wind down and because it was a weekend and we got a city card, we had a very discounted rate. Won’t hesitate to stay there again.
All in all, a very successful trip. And we are very appreciative of all the postings that helped us assemble it!
.
Prehistory
We hit the ground running so to speak with a day visiting Lascaux 2, and Rouffignac. We had made English reservations via email for Lascaux but did not really need them that mid June Sunday. The visit was less than satisfying though, because there were so many people you could hardly turn around, and they do not give you enough time going through. The artwork is so sophisticated and deserving of study that we probably should have just gone through a second time! For Rouffignac we just showed up after lunch and got into a tour where the guide alternated English and French. The train ride down was not our favorite part because there is very little to view except cave bear nests and scratches, and the train is quite rickety. But the ceiling room at the bottom more than makes up for it. What brought the artists so incredibly far down to do their work is quite a mystery. We also visited Le Thot Park that day, where we had our picnic lunch, its low key, but worth the stop to see the reproductions.
We did Font de Gaume, Comberelles, Cap Blanc also all in one day. We had made email reservations ahead of time, and were glad we had, as we met people who were unable to get tickets since the tours are limited to so few people. We loved all the sites, maybe Font de Gaume the best both for the art and the cave feel. Comberelles was difficult viewing because the artwork is so overlapping. Our guide really did not speak English despite it being an English tour so several times we were wishing we had a guidebook with us because we had no idea what he was referencing.
Visiting Bernifal cave came as a suggestion from a staff member at the Pole international de la Prehistoire in Les Eyzies. She also made the reservation for us. (The PIP has a very cheap cyber café where you can use wifi or computers even cheaper than at the tourist office.) Visiting Bernifal was unlike any other cave experience. The owner of the cave takes you in with only one vintage light and you bump and slide around in the dark in a very casual way compared to the very regimented more prestigious caves. The art was not as good, but it was an interesting cave experience. We also visited many of the other prehistory sites in the area. The museum in les Eyzies is also a good stop, but it’s a very serious museum so not everyone will appreciate the endless flint displays. But the artwork on the upper floor is excellent as is the building itself. We saved the visit for a hot afternoon and had a good time.
After leaving the Vezere, our next cave stop was Pech Merle. The cave is fantastic, and if I could only visit one, it would be this one. The art is really interesting and so perfect. No trial and error in this cave. The museum is also good, and had reproductions of the artwork so you can spend time studying it..The guide spoke English and French to a mostly English crowd. Niaux was our last cave visit. I would also suggest this cave to anyone who only has time for one cave. The artwork is more random than Pech Merle but the cave experience is a good one. We liked the lack of electric lighting in favor of individual flashlights. It is a long hike in so good shoes are really needed. We had email reservations for both those caves, but in late June they were not needed. But we would not have risked not reserving, after going so far.
Castles and fortifications
We added castles to our tour when we saw that so many were in proximity to the caves we were visiting. In the Dordogne we enjoyed the tour of Beynac which we did right as they opened one morning so we had the place to ourselves. The views of the other castles perched on the surrounding hills is lovely. Further south we visited three of the Cathar castles- Montsegur, Queribus and Peyrepetuse. It’s worth studying the history of Montsegur before the visit for impact of what you are visiting. The hike up is only a half hour but very steep. The views are a reward. At Queribus the hike up is a little easier but its high peak was blasted with winds during our visit so we did not linger long. Peyrepetuse was just simply amazing and we probably would have just settled for the views of Queribus rather than a full visit if we had done Peyrepetuse first. It is so much larger than it looks from the ground. We barely had time to explore it, and got distracted by an excellent falconry demonstration which apparently is done quite frequently there. I actually would like to visit again when I have several hours to nose about and relax with the views.
Romanesque Art
We visited Moissac, Souillac and Cenac to see the Romanesque art in the churches. We love the little stories the carvers have told on the column capitals. In Moissac we also got to listen to the nuns chant vespers. The highlight of our trip was visiting St Martin du Canijou. The signs tell you that the hike up is from 35-50 minutes. Its not long, and not hard actually because it’s a narrow paved road, but it is steep and full of switchbacks so seems to take an eternity to get up it. There is a possibility of hiring a jeep to take you but there is no way I would want to be in a vehicle on that scary road. You can’t wander the abbey alone, but they have hourly tours. A nun led our tour, doing it in English because there were no French in our group. She offered very interesting commentary and history. It’s a breathtaking place, and when you send home photos from the point above the monastery, everyone will be in awe also.
Hiking
We got a couple good hikes in, besides up to the castles and St Martin. There are GR routes everywhere, and it seemed that every tourist office has a book of local circle hikes or hikes where you can take a train and hike back. We followed one from Le Buque to Les Eyzies; had a delightful few hours passing through St Cirq. Our second hike was a circuit from Carenac to Mezels. We did not get the river views we were hoping for either but lots of peaceful as pastures and woodlands. Our third hike was in the Foret des Hares in a somewhat isolated region where you have two choices of getting there- a nervewrackingly windy road over the Pic de Tarbezou or down the Gorges de L’Aude in which the road just never seemed wide enough. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful mountain hike to a beautiful lake nested among peaks. We passed a few other hikers and everyone seemed to say the same thing-Paradise. I would do it again, even knowing how hard it is to get there.
Cars and Lodging
We arrived in Toulouse via Iberia Air through Madrid. We were happy to have had a two hour connection because it took over an hour to switch terminals, and go through both a security checkpoint and customs. We had to do both in Madrid even though it was not our final destination. We did not argue the point, and we happy not to have to do either in Toulouse once we landed. On our return our connecting flight was rescheduled to a later time so we used the layover to take the express bus to Atocha where we had a couple hours to visit the Reina Sophia Contemporary Art Musuem.
At the Toulouse Airport we had a rental car reserved from Avis- by far the cheapest I could find, and I really wanted to have a company with English language operators in Europe, after prior bad experiences. We had reserved the smallest car available (Twingo size) but had not been able to specifically reserve a diesel car. The Avis people did not have any diesel in our size so gave us a free upgrade to a Peuget which drove wonderfully and needed less than two tanks of gas despite our driving for two weeks. On the day we were to return the car, we took it to a self service cash wash because it was so filthy. We had two scratches that could have fallen into the “charge” category but we think that since the car was so clean, the person inspecting did not look very closely. Thanks to other posters we found the gas station at the huge shopping mall near Blagnac. It was the cheapest gas we saw all trip. I believe it was exit 4.
We had decided to base ourselves first in Les Eyzies because so many of our destinations were on that side of the Perigord. Our apartment was a very good deal (250euros for the week!), and walking distance to everything in the village including a grocery store and a boulangerie. In Cabrerets for our visit to Pech Merle we stayed in a wonderful hobbit house feeling B and B called Un Jardin B and B. The house and garden are way up the cliff face with wonderful views of the Cele River. My first reaction was that I need to go back and stay longer! Another interesting place we stayed was in Moissac at a gite run by an Irish couple called Ultreia Moissac. They play host to many of the pilgrims of the Way of St James. We enjoyed conversation with the many hikers who gathered with us for a hearty dinner in the garden. In Toulouse before leaving we stayed at the Albert 1er which so many folks recommended. It was a comfy place to wind down and because it was a weekend and we got a city card, we had a very discounted rate. Won’t hesitate to stay there again.
All in all, a very successful trip. And we are very appreciative of all the postings that helped us assemble it!
.
Jul 17th, 2011, 12:23 PM
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We also just returned from a 3-week trip to Dordogne region which has to rank as one of our best trips ever. We enjoyed all the caves we saw all of them different but would have to agree on Pech Merle. We also thought Font de Gaume was great. We did not get to some of the other caves you saw and will have to put them on our list for our next visit.
Thanks for your interesting report. We are in the process of putting our report together.
Thanks for your interesting report. We are in the process of putting our report together.
Jul 17th, 2011, 12:58 PM
#6
Hi, italyagain,
great start - I'm looking forward to the rest of it. we "did" this area with our kids a few [ok, more than a few] years ago, and we all liked the caves very much, though i don't remember being as aware as you of their relative merits!
just one thing - do you think that you could throw in a few more paragraphs and gaps between them to make it easier to read? my ageing eyes struggle after about 8 continuous lines!
but do keep it coming!
great start - I'm looking forward to the rest of it. we "did" this area with our kids a few [ok, more than a few] years ago, and we all liked the caves very much, though i don't remember being as aware as you of their relative merits!
just one thing - do you think that you could throw in a few more paragraphs and gaps between them to make it easier to read? my ageing eyes struggle after about 8 continuous lines!
but do keep it coming!
Jul 17th, 2011, 01:41 PM
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Hi annhig,
Actually, alas its over- three weeks seemed so short. Sorry about the spacing. I copied and pasted and did not see how it ended up. Happy to write more but I did feel like it was so long already.
The bonus was being "bumped" to firstclass on Iberia Air coming back. No idea at all what brought that about but we were sure thankful.
Actually, alas its over- three weeks seemed so short. Sorry about the spacing. I copied and pasted and did not see how it ended up. Happy to write more but I did feel like it was so long already.
The bonus was being "bumped" to firstclass on Iberia Air coming back. No idea at all what brought that about but we were sure thankful.
Jul 17th, 2011, 08:10 PM
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Thanks for your report!! We were at some of the same places in early June.
Didnt go to Peche Merle, but were near it. (Wish i'd have gone there instead of St Cirq la Popie--we only had time for one that afternoon). Now with your rec for the nearby B and B, and the cave ...we'll have to return!
Didnt like Toulouse much, but the Albert 1er was perfect, and breakfast was yummy.
Didnt go to Peche Merle, but were near it. (Wish i'd have gone there instead of St Cirq la Popie--we only had time for one that afternoon). Now with your rec for the nearby B and B, and the cave ...we'll have to return!
Didnt like Toulouse much, but the Albert 1er was perfect, and breakfast was yummy.
Jul 18th, 2011, 01:57 AM
#11
Didnt like Toulouse much, but the Albert 1er was perfect, and breakfast was yummy.>>
Cali - that's another fodder vote for the Albert 1. We stayed there for 2 nights a few years ago and I'm pleased that it's still going strong.
Cali - that's another fodder vote for the Albert 1. We stayed there for 2 nights a few years ago and I'm pleased that it's still going strong.
Jul 18th, 2011, 07:34 AM
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Here are the places we stayed. I tried to vary type of place, and price. Moissac was the cheapest at 53e with 11e for dinner, but actually the room was the nicest. With the exception of the Albert 1er, Le Moliere was the most expensive at 59e I believe (97euros half pension for 2). I would go back and stay in any of them again, except the one in Tarascon which was a little depressing (maintenance and groundskeeping lax). I actually have reviewed them all individually as well as many of the attractions in (hush..Tripadvisor!)under the name "cssnowshoer".
My favorite innkeepers were in Moissac, but Cabrerets and Casteil both I dream about a relaxing return.
In Moissac:
http://www.ultreiamoissac.com/
IN Cabrerets:
www.unjardindanslafalaise.com/jardin.htm
In Tarascon sur Ariege:
www.domaine-fournie.com
In Casteil (Pyrennes)
http://www.lemoliere.com/index-en.htm
In Souillac:
http://www.lapromenade.fr/
and the Albert
http://www.hotel-albert1.com/
My favorite innkeepers were in Moissac, but Cabrerets and Casteil both I dream about a relaxing return.
In Moissac:
http://www.ultreiamoissac.com/
IN Cabrerets:
www.unjardindanslafalaise.com/jardin.htm
In Tarascon sur Ariege:
www.domaine-fournie.com
In Casteil (Pyrennes)
http://www.lemoliere.com/index-en.htm
In Souillac:
http://www.lapromenade.fr/
and the Albert
http://www.hotel-albert1.com/
