lhopp

Hi. We're planning a return trip to France this September. On previous trips, we've been to Normandy & Loire, and Provence (St. Remy & Bonnieux) and French Riviera.

For this trip, I love the idea of spending time in the Dordogne & Lot. However, when we went to Provence, we missed the area of Orange & Vaison la Romaine, and I'm longing to return to Provence and spend some time there.

We have about 11 nts for this trip. Given that timeframe, is it too much to try to spend a few days in Provence in addition to Dordogne? Should we just plan on Dordogne and Lot with 11 nts? From what I've read on the forum and from Stu's itineraries, Dordogne and Lot have plenty to do for that timeframe.

Also, I checked driving times, and it's a bit of a drive from Provence to Dordogne (although we were considering stopping in Carcassonne for a night..)

I'm thinking we should probably save more of Provence for another trip?

Once I decide for sure, will repost our itinerary for review.

Thanks!

TuckH

> I'm thinking we should probably save more of Provence for another trip? <

Yes - I agree with that.

> Dordogne and Lot have plenty to do for that timeframe. <

I agree with that too!

jamikins

I agree....there is so much to see in the Dordogne...concentrate on that area for this trip!

lhopp

Thanks Tuck and Jamikins! I guess I'm on the right track then.

Jamikins, I saw your post on Les Granges Hautes outside Sarlat and that looks like a lovely place to stay in the area, so we'll be looking into that for sure!

I'm thinking I'd better nail down an itinerary so we can start inquiring about accommodations...I assume it's not too soon to do that for Dordogne? It seems a lot of places are closed in February, but probably still are answering emails or faxes?

jamikins

We booked our places well in advance so I think now is a great time to start. I believe les granges hautes will answer emails. I HIGHLY recommend them...it was so lovely, and close to everything. My hubby is still begging to go back!!!

TuckH

Sarlat is a GREAT town - one of my favorites...

lhopp

Thanks to you both again.

Sarlat looks so lovely! It's exactly the kind of atmosphere we love on our trips. Of course, the difficult decision (which is asked often on the forum) is do we stay in Sarlat or outside? We're planning to go around the 2nd or 3rd week of September, so I imagine it won't be too jam-packed with the summer crowds dying down. I love the idea of being right in town to walk to restaurants at night, but we also love staying in cozy B&B's in the nearby countryside. Such decisions!

jamikins

Good decisions to have to make!

We were there the first week of Oct and it was very easy to drive in and out. No problem at all. We were about 10 mins out of town...and loved it! There is a great place to eat about 2 mins drive from the B&B. Sigh..cant wait to get back...

lhopp

How was the weather at the beginning of October? Were you able to eat on the terraces at restaurants at all, or was it chilly? I was thinking beginning of October, but hubby wants to go earlier when it's warmer! I'm sure it's hard to predict the weather..we've had good luck normally in September.

KL467

lhopp,

I really like Sarlat and the huge Saturday market. I was there on Bastille Day 2008.

This is the hotel that I stayed at:
www.la-couleuvrine.com

Room 26 has a view of the town. Room 11 has a view of the town and a huge balcony. There is a place to drop off laundry right across the street and an Internet cafe a short walk away. They did not have air conditioning at the time, but did have fans.

lhopp

Thanks KL for the recommendation. I will take a look at that hotel. I have several in Sarlat I like (especially La Lanterne & Les Cordeliers) as well as a couple outside Sarlat, so I will begin figuring out dates and availability soon and making inquiries. I must go back and study Stu's itinerary some more!

jamikins

Weather the first week of Oct was a bit transitional. We were able to eat outside, but we had some wind, some rain, and it was noticably cooler than the week before. We could tell that Fall was setting in. Hope this helps!

lhopp

Thanks Jamikins, yes it does. We're probably going to end up taking this trip in September, starting either the 2nd or 3rd week.

Now we need to figure out where to fly in & out of. We probably won't be visiting Paris this time, because we're likely to make a separate, short trip there in June. So, we'll either fly use Bordeaux or Toulouse, or possibly even Montpellier, stopping at the Gorges du Tarn on the way to Lot & Dordogne. Airfare seems relatively the same to all of them from Ohio.

Thanks for you help!

lhopp

Jamikins, I forgot to ask in my earlier response...at Les Granges Hautes, did you happened to get a look at the little independent house there, Pigeonnier? It looks cute, but quite small with the bed upstairs and a bathroom downstairs. Just wondered, because we love the little independent towers or cottages that some B&B's have..we stayed in a little independent suite/house in Loire valley once and loved it.

moolyn

Ihopp, we were advised to fly in and out of Toulouse whan we visited the Dordogne. Stu planned us a scenic two day itinerary for the drive to Sarlat and we made lots of use of his itinerary too.

We were happy to stay in Sarlat and wander around the streets in the evening after the tourists had mostly left but I'm sure you would be happy staying somewhere else in the area too. Good decision to concentrate on the Dordogne rather than try to fit Provence in too because there's so much to see and do. Here's my report in case it is of help:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34839073

kwren

My son and I went to Sarlat and by chance alone ended up at La Couleuvrine. It was charming.

We had the tiniest room on the top floor, but loved lying in bed and looking at the old beams on the ceiling. My son thought the square-seated toilet off the lobby was a riot! He was 8 and I'll never forget how he laughed when he saw it! There was a huge street market within a block of the hotel one of the days we were there.

gaelle

I spent a week in la dordogne area a couple of years ago. We had a car and stayed at a hotel just a kilometer outside of Sarlat which was my favorite town. Hope you like goose! A visit to Rocamadour is a must because it is a beautifully situated town although you wouldn't want to stay there. make sure you also visit the lescaux cave...the original is not open to tourists, but this excellent copy is a unique, wonderful experience...the highlight of our trip really.

lp_nyc

We stayed at Les Granges Hautes in 2006. It's a lovely B&B. We stayed in one of the rooms in the house. I have read reviews of the Pigionnere that were negative...most of them had to do with the summer months and excessive noise from the pool (the room is directly above it) and an issue with mosquitoes. I don't think either of these problems would be an issue in Sept.

With only 11 days, I would concentrate on the Dordogne. If you do split between the Dordogne and Provence- the Gorges du Tarn is incredibly beautiful. I'd recommend it over a night in Carcassone.