After our week in Paris,my husband and I have 17 days in France.We are thinking of hiring a car in Chartes then driving through the Loire <BR>valley.After the Loire we will drive to the Dordogne.We think this will take 2 weeks.With our final 3 days we wanted to go by train to Pau,and maybe visit Cauteret.Is this itineray too ambitious? Would it be better to drive along the coast from the Loire to the Dordogne? I will be very grateful for any advice.Also I am not pre booking any accomodation.We will be travelling at the end of may to the middle of june. <BR>

Sorry, but I can't help with the car thing, but one suggestion about not pre-booking. Don't do it! You will have an awful time finding hotels on the road if you don't pre-book! You are traveling during tourist season, and I am even having trouble finding a hotel now! Try looking up B$B's on the inter-net. (Bed and Breakfast)They are a great way to spend a night after traveling. Good-Luck and don't forget to stop and look at some chateaux!

Catherine--- With 17 days and a car, your itinerary is doable (Pau is about 500 miles southwest of Paris). What you really, really need is a plan on the sigths and towns YOU guys will like to see because there are a number of ways you could get to the Dordogne from the Loire Region. Last May my husband and I drove from Paris to Calais and then went from there to the Normandy region bordering the coast (we had been to the Loire Region on a prior trip). I suggest that after you visit the Loire Region you head out towards the Bordeaux Coast on your way down to the Dordogne. Not only you'll have the experience to visit exquisite wine country, but staying along the Atlantic coast will afford you more lodging alternatives, so you should not have to worry about making reservations in advance. What about from Loire Region towards Poitiers-La Rochelle-Cognac-Bordeaux-Agen-Tolouse? I wouldn't pre-booked in a 17-days driving tour of Southwest France. <BR> <BR>Have the best time! You are about to do one of my dream trips!!!!

For the accommodation issue, I honestly don't think you need to book ahead. Since you will be on the road for quite a while, I recommend you buy an issue of "Hotels et Restaus de France" by Rough Guides, the English translation of the eponymous best-seller by the French Guide du Routard. It's a kind of budget/budget + Michelin, it's revised every year and a wealth of information. You could just book one or two days ahead, it would give you more flexibility en route, and, if I may repeat myself, at this time of the year no problem to find hotels. One exception though : Whit Monday is a holiday in France, and tourist places might be very crowded during this extended week-end (May 22 - May 24). <BR> <BR>One last warning : you say you intend to go by train from Dordogne to Pau. Wow ! If the train network is generally good in France, it mainly serves big cities. And I am afraid that going, say, from Sarlat to Pau, could be the experience of a lifetime (I don't even know if the station in Sarlat is still in use). You'd better check before on the French railways' site : www.sncf.fr

A few years ago, my wife and I made a journey around France, much as you are planning to do. We found that, other than August, rooms can be arranged with little or no problems. Many towns have a rooms booking office, usually with a "syndicat d'initiatif" sign -- something like a chamber of commerce. Some weekends, such as described above, can pose a problem. So, in that case, we phoned ahead. Or rather, the syndicat office phoned for us. Such a plan calls for the use of cash. No credit cards. But this was never a problem. We ran into all sorts of interesting people who welcomed us with enthusiasm. You are in for a memorable trip. The only difficulties we had were intermittent rail strikes which screwed up schedules. Smile -- and take it easy.

Thankyou so much for the advice.This is a great site.I wish I could take my lap top with me to ask questions on the road.Ha, ha can you imagine being stuck in traffic on the rue Victor Hugo in some french city and then someone responds to the post to help you! This site is so refreshing after the financial one I visit.All the folks on that one talk about socking money away and some boast about how big their investments are.Every one here is in to spend, spend, spend,much more fun.