My husband has an educational meeting to attend in Amsterdam May 15th-19, 2016, however, he thinks he can duck out on the 17th or 18th. We were able to book a companion ticket on BA, but couldn't travel directly to Amsterdam on the 14th, so we are traveling to Paris on the 10th and will train up to Amsterdam on the 14th. Not enough time in Paris, but we've been a couple of times before, so we are just going to take it easy.Our flight back is June 2 out of Nice.

Here's my wish list. Loire Valley for 3-4 day, Dordogne 3-4 days, and then Nice. We will have 13 days after Amsterdam. The difficult part of my wish list is attending the Saturday market in Sarlat. Although we love trains, I am thinking about using planes to maximize time.

Is it crazy to fly from Amsterdam to Bordeaux, rent a car and drive to Sarlat on Friday the 19th for the Saturday market and spend 3 days in the Dordogne, then, to somehow go up to Amboise for 3-4 days. Not sure the fastest way…drive, train, fly (is that even possible?).? Then fly from Nantes to Nice for the last 3-4 days?

It's a lot of territory and if I hadn't had to think quick while on the phone to BA, I would have flown back from Bordeaux, but it's not possible to change now. I know we can't do a great job of seeing even a portion of each of these areas, but it might be a good introduction. We are interested in the chateaus (I have a pretty good idea which ones and their location), wine tasting, markets, gardens, canoeing and maybe some light biking.

Is this plan just a big mess? Any suggestions?

Why not fly to Nice then work your way back to Paris by car - returning the car in Amboise or nearby St-Pierre-des-Corps the main train station in Tours and train back to Paris. It takes a day between Nice and Dordogne by car but you can hit some neat little places en route and a day from Dordogne to Amboise- again hitting some neat places en route like Brantome, Limoges for its glass, etc.

Cut a day off Amboise and a day off Nice and make a nice driving tour - I've biked over those routes and you'll see lovely things on the way - flying you see nothing but clouds usually.

For lots on French trains and Thalys check www.voyages-sncf.comand www.capitainetrain.com - same tickets same trains - latter said to be easier to book for Americans; www.thalys.com for Paris to Amsterdam - book up to 4 months early I think for deep discounts - perhaps 39 euros Paris to Amsterdam vs about 200 euros or so I think for full walk-up fare; www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets and for general info on trains www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Or consider flying to Nice and then take the TGV bullet train to Avignon TGV station and pick up rental car there and go over to Dordoge - much shorter drive and then up to Amboise, to me the perfect base for the best of the Loire chateaus.

Planes will absolutely not help in this case.

I agree with kerouac about the planes.

Also, the month of May includes several holidays, and is one of the biggest months for strikes to occur, which can make travelling in general - either by plane, train or rental car - simply hell.

First - make certain that what you plan to see and do will be open on the days you arrive, and definitely book anything you can ahead. Again, since May is full of holidays, roads and attractions will be crowded and you'll be spending a lot of time in traffic jams and standing in line. You should also check to see if any general strikes are planned during May - easy to do using Google.

Second - I believe you're making a mistake in thinking that you'll just get "a good introduction" to the areas you mentioned. Things always take much longer than you have planned, so you will probably end up spending less than half the time you wanted to.
I think trimming down your trip would be much better than being frustrated. Figure out what's really important to you, then leave the rest for a subsequent trip.

I think Palenq makes sense, go to Nice first. But then you can return by train. You can take the train west and end up in Toulouse and I know there is a train from there to Bordeaux. YOu can get a train direct from Bordeaux to St Pierre (Tours) in only 2.5 hours.

And, if you don't care about seeing Toulouse (and don't really have the time), you can fly from Nice to Bordeaux nonstop on either Easyjet or Hop in only 1:20 hrs. And Nice airport is close, Bordeaux isn't that bad, either, that will take a lot less time than the train (which is 7 hours alone from Nice to Toulouse).

That wouldn't be so bad if you really want to see all those places.

PalenQ, that sounds like a great trip, but our tickets on BA are already booked. Since we are using a free companion ticket, our choices were to fly into Paris and out of Nice, so I cannot reverse that order.

Oh Fuzzbucket, I had no idea about the May holidays! Thanks for the info. I will start digging. Geez, how far are strikes scheduled in advance?

From what everyone has said, it sounds like I need to either go to the Loire or to the Dordogne which has been my dilemma for months now. I thought I had decided to forgo the Loire until I started reading about the gardens being so lovely in May.

Kerouac, why wouldn't planes be helpful? Looks like we could fly from Nantes to Nice in about 1 1/2 hours. That would be less time than driving, right?

Fly in to Paris on the 10th, go directly to the Loire, spend 3 days, train/fly to Amsterdam from Paris on the evening of 13th or morning of 14th.

From Amsterdam, train back to Paris on 17th or 18th, spend 2-3 days, train to Perigueux or Bordeaux, get to Sarlat in time for the Saturday market on the 21st. (What's so special about the market at Sarlat? Lots of markets where you're going). Then go wherever your hearts desire until your flight out of Nice on the 2nd.

Or spend more time in Paris after Amsterdam, maybe even another short visit to the Loire Valley if you didn't see all you wanted, then go to Sarlat for Saturday market on the 28th, then to Nice.

Sarlat is the most widely-acclaimed "foodie" market in the region. If you're interested in bring back food items, you need to check first with US customs - many things won't be permitted.

Strikes can be announced a couple of weeks to a few days in advance. The main thing you should keep an eye on is anything to do with airlines and train transport.

In Paris, it's common for people to march peacefully in the street, which causes traffic tie-ups for a couple of hours, but no other trouble. There is always a route posted (try a Google search) so you can avoid the area if you want to. Sometimes Metro stations will be closed and buses will be rerouted or even stopped during the march. If you plan to use public transportation, you can check for daily alerts on www.ratp.fr

"How can I do everything????"

You can't. Make some hard choices -- perhaps using the Michelin Green Guide to help you plan -- and then savor every moment you have in the places you do end up seeing. JMO.

Good luck!

Yes, Sarlat is the biggest, best-known "foodie" market in the area, but it's not wildly special. There are great markets all over France. Unless you've been to hundreds of markets already and know there's s omething truly special you need or want from Sarlat, seems like a waste of mileage. I would never plan a trip just to get to a certain market. Plus 3-4 days in the Dordogne isn't really sufficient to get to know the place at all. It's not at all what I would call "a good introduction." And then there's the holidays...

I think I'm OK with the holiday schedule. It looks like there are 4 holidays in May. The first one, May 8th, is before we get there, the next 2, May 15 & 16, we will be in Amsterdam and the last one, May 29th, we will already be in Nice.

I've only been to a few markets in France with my favorite being the Sunday market in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. I read MaiTaiTom's trip report of the Dordogne and he said he doesn't usually care for markets, but really liked this one. The food intrigues me plus I would love to walk out of my hotel right into the market, rather than drive as we usually have to do. I wasn't planning my trip around the market, but if I was going to be in the area, I wanted to include it.

StCinq, what do you think would be a decent time to spend in the Dordogne? I'm not interested in hitting all the caves, but probably 2 would do it.

I wouldn't come for less than a week. It's not all caves and prehistoric sites, it's castles and museums and festivals and fairs and concerts and vide-greniers and wonderful vistas and beautiful villages and romanesque chapels and incredible food everywhere.

There are many markets you can walk out the door of a hotel to all over the country.

and gardens, too!

Is there a website that lists the festivals, fairs and concerts?

Would you stay in the same place for 7 days? Example, Sarlat for 7 days. What about the gardens?

I guess my question is what your top 10 things to do in Dordogne would be?

Sure, the tourist office websites for Sarlat, Le Bugue, Les Eyzies, and all other towns list every activity that will be going on, but not this far in advance probably. There are also posters in every town for upcoming events.

I wouldn't want to hazard a guess as to the top 10 things to do in the Dordogne, as mine would be primarily prehistoric sites, which you've said don't interest you and are my personal fascination. And I'm not a "top 10" sort of person.

Yes, I'd stay in the same place for 7 days (if renting a gîte or something similar it will be necessary, probably, and usually Saturday to Saturday). It doesn't have to be Sarlat. It could be in any number of beautiful villages nearby.

Not sure what you mean by "what about the gardens?" There are famous gardens all over here, Eyrignac being probably the best-known one. What they're like in May I can't say as I've never been. I know my own garden is already blooming with many species of flowers by early May, and the acacias are in full bloom and the fruit and nut orchards are often blooming, too - pears, apples, plums, apricots, kiwis, walnuts, hazelnuts...everything is usually beautifully in bloom in May.

I visited in May, and the various gardens I visited -- Jardin d'Eyrignacs, Marqueyssac, Jardins d'Eau, and Jardin de Cadiot -- were all glorious.

Thank you so much for the information. I'll start researching in earnest now! BTW, would you fly from Amsterdam to Bordeaux or Toulouse. The milage looks to be about the same.

It's a prettier and slightly shorter ride from Toulouse.

StCirq, as usual, has very accurate advice and info re the Dordogne. We first went about 10 years ago after hearing about the area from her and other Fodorites. We are planning our third trip there for next Spring.

On our last visit, we were there for 5 days or so, and stayed right in Sarlat. I loved being able to walk around, walking to dinner so not having to worry about drinking, then driving. It was the end of May, and the traffic wasn't too horrible getting in and out each day to do our sight-seeing. We were there for the Wednesday market, which was still quite large. We ended up getting enough food not only for our planned picnic lunch that day, but also for a picnic lunch the following day on the train back to Paris.

I'm not a big garden person, so my comments may be biased. But enough though the chateaux of the Loire are gorgeous, the Dordogne has so much more to offer - great castles, plus the prehistoric caves and natural beauty of the area (10x more beautiful than the Loire). And the food, which is fantastic.

On one trip, we flew into Bordeaux, then spent one night in St. Emilion, then one night in Brantome before ending in Sarlat. If you like Bordeaux wine, you would enjoy driving through the area even if you don't stop anywhere. The other trip, we had begun in Barcelona, so drove to Sarlat.