Hello all. We will be visiting the Dordogne region in late June...driving up from Barcelona. I would appreciate any suggestions for a town to base in, mainly to do day trips. We have 4 to 5 nights in the region.

I see Albi is mentioned a lot, and that would work as we are planning to see Carcassonne and Lourdes. But we'd also like to visit Sarlat and Beynac...is Albi too far away for day tripping to that area?

Is it better to spend a few nights in Albi, than switch to Beynac?

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

>>Is it better to spend a few nights in Albi, than switch to Beynac?<<

Yep (I assume you meant "then" switch) - but 1 night/ 1/2 day in Albi is enough. Things close for lunch, however.

On the way to the Dordogne, stop in Peche Merle (make a reservation first).

From Albi, you might take a scnic drive through the Gorges de l'Aveyron, visit Peche Merle overnight in St Cirq Lapopie, visit Rocamadour, visit Gouffre de Padirac, and then travel west on the Dordogne to Beynac via Carennac, with a side trip to Martel.

Stu Dudley

Hi J,

We very much liked our stay in Beynac-et-Cazenac However, our hotel has lost its Logis-de-France rating, so I don't think that I can recommend it anymore.

Check http://www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/ for Beynac and La Roque Gageac. Both towns are right on the river.

http://www.relaisdes5chateaux.com/ is not on the river, but a nice place.

I think that Albi is in the Tarn, not the Dordogne.

In Albi we stayed at
www.ilink.fr/hotel.georgev/en/georgev.html.

It's a pleasant place.

I can recommend Le Jardin de Quatre Saisons for dinner.

Albi is about 3 hr from Beynac on the scenic route.

You might find my trp report helpful:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34676645

Enjoy your visit.

I agree with stu. 1 night in Albi is enough.

In 2004, we flew into Barcelona and spent 3 days there. Then, we took the train to Perpignon, France, picked up a car, and spent two nights in Collioure. We then drove to Carcassonne, visited for half a day, then drove to Albi and spent the night. We loved Le Jardin de Quatre Saisons! One night there is just right. We then drove to Beynac where we stayed for 3 nights, stopping in several quaint towns on the way, and making a stop at Rocamadour. It was a great trip!

Two summers ago, we went back to the Dordogne for a week and loved it. This summer, we plan to go back once again to the Dordogne--this time for two more weeks.

In Albi, we enjoyed: http://www.saint-antoine-albi.com

Our first summer in Beynac, we loved this B&B--the price can't be beat and the owners are wonderful!

http://www.lepetitversailles.fr/page/eng/accueil.html

Albi is lovely and there are a number of daytrips you could do from there; I thought the tiny villages--Bruniquel,Puycelsi, Monasties--among the prettiest I've seen in France.

Albi is not, however, in the Dordogne, as others have mentioned..I think you could make a nice trip by spitting your time between Albi and Sarlat, or Albi and Beynac.

If you do decide upon Albi and would like restaurant info,be sure to let me know; I will dig out my notes from spring, 2006.

Thanks for the great advice and links...I would definitely like some restaurant suggestions, ekscrunchy.

I had gathered from my research that this area would need two bases.

I should also mention that we plan to fly from Toulouse to Paris to catch our flight home...so making a circle in that whole area would work well, I think.

On the other hand, I'm thinking that I might just take a few more days and drive all the way to Paris instead of flying from Toulouse. Does this make sense?

Also, is this an area that hotel reservations are mandatory, or can we just wing it for a few days.

I'm open to any and all suggestions here. Basically, I have a week to get from Barcelona to Paris with the intent of exploring the Dordogne region and the nearby Albi area.

>> I'm thinking that I might just take a few more days and drive all the way to Paris instead of flying from Toulouse. Does this make sense?<<

nope !!!!!

>>I have a week to get from Barcelona to Paris with the intent of exploring the Dordogne region and the nearby Albi area.<,

You'll really need more than a week to explore that region - perhaps 4-6 weeks. Stay in the Dordogne as long as possible. If you're going to Toulouse (one of our favorites), I would probably skip visiting Albi and spend the time in the Dordogne instead. Believe me - a week will just wiz by.

Stu Dudley

Thanks for the great advice, Stu.

Is Toulouse a good base? I've read that the traffic is terrible getting in and out of town.

Would Beynac, or even Sarlat be a better choice?

Jim - you need to get a map & study the area and get to understand the scale of the map. Toulouse is great - but it is a long way from the center of the Dordogne (Sarlat). We have vacationed:
- 2 weeks in Roussillon, which is the area around Perpignan, near the French/Spain border. You'll pass through this area on the way from Barcelona.

- 2 weeks just north of Albi

- 8 weeks in the Dordogne (returning for 2 more weeks in June).

We've flown in & out of Toulouse 3 times, and stayed in Toulouse twice.

Here is what I would do if you hve 7 days to get to Paris.

Day 1 - drive from Barcelona to someplace south of the Dordogne. If you're doing this on a Monday through Friday, it would be fine to drive to Albi if Albi appeals to you. Visit Albi in the pm & eraly morning.

Day 2 - drive north visiting one of my favorite bastide towns - Castlelnau de Montmiral, then through the Gorges de l'Aveyron visiting Bruniquel. Head north & visit one of the best caves in the region with stalactites & mites and also cave-man paintings, footprints, and hand prints at Peche Merle(reserve a week in advance). Perhaps stay at St Cirq Lapopie.

Day 3 - get up eral & visit Rocamadour, Padirac, Carrenac, Montal, then stay in Beynac, Roque Gageac, Domme, or Sarlat in the heart of the Dordogne

Day 4, 5, 6
Explore the Dordogne.

Day 7 - drive to Brive, dump the car, & take the train to Paris.

If you must leave from Toulouse, skip Albi on the first night & on day 6 drive to Toulouse, stay overnight, & take the plane to Paris.

I have a 20+ page itinerary on the Dordogne with lots of restaurant recs. E-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy.

Stu Dudley

Hi JT,

>we plan to fly from Toulouse to Paris to catch our flight home.<

You might want to consider dropping your car in either Libourne or Brive-la-Gaillarde and taking the train.

Toulouse is about 2:15 hr from Beynac.

I second the recommendation for the above mentioned Petit Versailles in Beynac.

Yes, Stu, the region is much larger than I had realized...thanks for the detailed plan. I believe I've found your longer trip report in a previous post. I copied and pasted it.

A couple people in our group want to visit Lourdes as well. Is this possible or is just too far out of the way?

Jim, Jim, Jim......whoa!!

You have a VERY LIMITED amount of time to get from Barcelona to Paris and you are already contemplating trying to see what would normally be a month-long trip or so. Scrap the idea of Lourdes immediately.

Drive from Barcelona to Carcassonne. Stop in Collioure for lunch. Spend the night in or near Carcassonne, visit it the next day, and move on to Toulouse (not my favorite city by any stretch but very popular and plenty of interesting sites). Spend the night and next day wander around through Castelnaud and Revel and Graulhet and St-Ferréol up to Albi. Spend the night there and the following morning seeing the sights. On to the Dordogne, stopping at Peche Merle on your way to Beynac/Sarlat. Now you have about 2 days for the whole of the Dordogne.

Do not drive back to Paris. Take the TGV from Brive, Libourne, or Bordeaux.

If you pull up my posts you'll find a decade's worth of suggestions for the area, including hotels and restaurants.

No brainer - skip Lourdes. You're trying to make this a 3 week trip - and you only have 1 week.

I have never posted my 20 page Dordogne itinerary on Fodors or anywhere else. I may have posted small portions of it, however, or created a long "suggestion" to someone's inquiry about an itinerary for this region. E-mail me to receive it - it's free & I've sent it to hundreds of people.

You need to reslove two issues about getting from Barcelona to the Dordogne. This kinda determines what you can do the first day without wasting it traveling from A to B:

1. Train from Barcelona to Perpignan, pick up a car, & proceed. There is only 1 morning train that does not require a train change (that I could find). Leave at 8:45 & arrive at 11:45. Hopefully the car rental places will be open. It is then 1 hr to Carcassonne, 2 1/2 to Albi (from Perpignan), and 4 hrs to Sarlat. We were in Carcassonne in mid June & it was mobbed by mid day. Best time to visit is early in the morning, or late in the afternoon.

2. Drive from Barcelona, but you will encounter a car drop-off charge (compare the drop off + 1 day's rental, to the cost of train travel). It is 3 hrs to Carcassonne, 4 1/2 to Albi, and 6 to Sarlat.

After I re-thought your itinerary, I would perhaps suggest that you see a little coastline instead of all cities and countryside. You'll visit Barcelona & Paris - so perhaps that's enough big cities. If you either drive ot take the train, you can visit the Costa Brava, and the coast between the French/Spain border from Spain to Collioure - and stay the first night in Collioure (cute coastal town). Then head to St Cirq Lapopie/Peche Merle visiting Carcassonne on the way (get to Carcassonne by 10am) or even linger on the coast the second day & skip Carcassonne unless you don't mind large crowds. This can be a last minute decision.

Stu Dudley

Thanks Stu and StCriq.

I will be narrowing my focus and concentrating on your suggested itineraries.

I like the idea of driving up the coast from Barcelona...that sounds great and it's the kind of thing we like to do. And then staying near Carcassonne for a night

I believe I'm going to skip Toulouse, except for the airport. Easy Jet has flights from Toulouse to Paris (Orly) at great prices. That will give us more time in the Dordogne...although that means we have to backtrack to the Toulouse airport. The train may be an option as you suggest.

I know it's better to have reservations for hotels, but is it possible to wing it for a few nights?

You've gotten a lot of great advice already, from knowledgeable people.

We took a trip similar to what you're considering in 2007. We started in Barcelona, then made our way through the Languedoc, spent 4 nights in Sarlat, in the Dordogne, then took the train from Brive to Paris. Of course it would have been great to have more time everywhere, but that's not in the cards at this point in our lives.

On going from Barcelona to France. If you rent a car in Spain, the drop fee in France is HUGE. We did what's already been mentioned - we took the "express" morning train from Barcelona to Perpignan (in France), and yes, we did arrive in plenty of time to pick up our rental car before the place closed for lunch.

From there, we drove back south into Spain, and spent the afternoon in Girona and Figueres, which we visited primarily to visit the Dali museum. The next day, we drove back into France. We spent two nights in the Languedoc area, mostly focusing on "Cathar" castles, before moving on to the Dordogne (which we'd been to before, minus our son).

Enjoy!

>>I know it's better to have reservations for hotels, but is it possible to wing it for a few nights?>>

I would not advise this in late June - especially if you plan to stay in Collioure. Carcassonne might be a problem too. You could probably find something, but how much time do you want to spend looking, with such a small number of days to spend in this area.

In Carcassonne, there is the "old" fortress town, and the new city. I suggest that you stay in the old town - we've never stayed there at night, but others have said it is magical. I would access www.viamichelin.com and print out every hotel in Carcassone. After you leave Barcelona and determine where you want to sleep that night, start calling - but no later than 3PM.

Regarding flying vs train. I'm assuming that you will be visiting Paris after the Dordogne. If not, don't read any further. If you can nail PREM fares, they are quite inexpensive too. There is much less overhead in taking a train than in flying. You need to get to the train station about 30 mins before departure, and the TGV terminates in the center of Paris - - not 3/4 hr away at CDG. Retriving bags on a train is a non-event. From a plane - I'm certain you already have experience with that. We've taken the plane from Toulouse several times, and have done the train deal too (but not from the Dordogne). In this case, I would take the train unless it costs about $100 more than flying.

Stu Dudley

Great idea about getting the car in France and then going back into Spain...thanks.

The train sounds better to me. I'm off to check prices.

Thanks again.