Cheri

Hello,

My husband and I will be traveling to France in May and we plan to spend two weeks and stay in Paris (4 nights), somewhere near the Dordogne River (4 nights) and somewhere in Provence/Languedoc (still undecided, but will stay 5 nights). I have been to Paris before, so I already know where we will stay, and we will have a car once we leave Paris, so I would appreciate some advice as far as which towns we should stay in for the other legs of our trip. We plan to make a couple of homebases and then daytrip around the area. Based on our experiences traveling in Italy, we prefer to stay in the smaller towns.
Thank you!

Selena

I love Aigues Mortes in the Camarque. It is a beautiful area with alot of sites and shopping !! Within the castle walls are shops, restaurants,and galleries.

StCirq

Cheri: In the Dordogne, I would suggest that you stay in or near Sarlat, as it is central to all the major attractions. If you'll be traveling in high season, you probably want to say in one of the small towns outside Sarlat and make a daytrip into the town, as it can be quite crowded in summer. Some popular small towns are Domme, Beynac, La Roque-Gageac, and Les Eyzies, but these can also be crowded, especially as they are on narrow lanes where traffic easily becomes congested. If you have some idea of the type of accommodation you're looking for I'd be happy to recommend specific places in towns with easy access to the main sites that wouldn't be overcrowded.

francesca

In the Dordogne, we loved the little town of Martel. A place we'll go back to...

Janice

In Provence think about Aix-au-Provence and Hotel Pigeonette. Cezanne's studio is a good walk. Enjoy.

gary

In Languedoc, consider Albi. It's certainly not a small town, but not a large city either. The old city is dominated by St. Cecile, the fortress-cathedral built after the end of the Cathar wars, but obviously with siege of the city still in mind. It is imposing outside and beautifully painted inside. If I'm not mistaken, it's still the largest brick building ever constructed.
Close by the cathedral is the Toulouse-Latrec museum, and not far away, still in the old city, the house where he was born.
To the southeast of Albi in western Provence, consider Arles. Close association with Van Gogh, Roman arena and cemetary, and an easy day trip away from Les Baux, location of a ruined castle stronghold situated among spectacular rock outcrops.

Davidx

Two ideas - both small places and wonderful centres. 1. St Pons de Thomiere in Languedoc - or if you find the valley too hot, the village of Fraises just above it.
2. Annot on the private railway line between Digne and Nice.

Wayne

Might as well toss in my favorites in the 3 areas you named:
-Languedoc: Meyreuis
-Provence: Fontvieille
-Dordogne: Vezac

They are all small towns, all charming, and all easy to get into and out of for day trips. Each town has adequate hotels in and around the area.

djm

We are also going to Paris and then take a train to the Sarlat region and staying in a rental home in St. Cyprien and renting a car for our stay. My husband and myself have never been to France and are looking forward to seeing the sites that sound so wonderful on this web site-and getting a lot of information. We are traveling with another couple and hoping to see as much of the area as we can...any recommendations would be welcom.