geetika

We will be spending 10 days near Avignon this June and have rented a villa in a small village near Monteux from June 13-23. I need to be in Paris June 26 and my sister in Reading, UK, so we have about 2 days in between and are looking at ideas about what to do and where to go. The easiest and most uncomplicated would be to take the TVG to Lyon for a couple of days, we've been there before and would love to go back. Or just go straight to Paris, no problem spending any amount of time in this wonderful city!

But of course women are hard to please and never want the simple solution. I suddenly realised that we'll be relatively close to Pech Merle (450kms) and am debating whether we shouldn't miss the opportunity of seeing the pre-historic caves. We'll already have a car, so I thought we could drive to Cahors on June 23, if we leave by 10 we should get there around 4ish. I believe the route is via Toulouse, mainly on the autoroute. We visit the caves on June 24 and take the TGV to Paris the next day, my sister continuing on to London/Reading.

Does this make sense or do you think I'm absolutely crazy to even contemplate such a detour? We'll be in a lovely part of the country and won't have time for anything but Pech Merle, but this is one of the very few such caves which are still open to the public and it would be a once in a lifetime experience.

Please tell me what you think of my idea, as always I welcome your comments and suggestions. Thanks in advance

StCirq

Well, I wouldn't call 450 kms "relatively close," but as a prehistory addict I would definitely make time to visit Pech-Merle. It's quite amazing.

You don't go to Cahors, though. Pech-Merle is just outside Cabrerets, near St-Cirq-Lapopie. You could of course go on to Cahors if you like.

Where would you take the train from to get to Paris? Seems like Brive would be your best bet. Or back to Toulouse.

geetika

Thanks for the thumbs up StCirq! DH and I lived for 5 years in Paris in the early to mid 1980s and saw quite a bit of the country. But we never made it to the prehistoric sites, even though in those days Lascaux and some others were open to the public and I’ve always regretted this. When you’re twenty something your interests and priorities are different I guess.

Anyway, Pech Merle it is. And from what you say we don’t have to go all the way to Cahors, which is even better. Tickets are available for our date, though I only see guided tours in French. Doesn’t make a difference to me but my sister and niece might prefer English. Will check to see if this is an option, otherwise it’s not a big deal.

Will look for accommodation in Cabrerets, it would be nice to stay in the village. As for the TGV back to Toulouse might offer better and more connections, especially for my sis who could probably connect to the Eurostar to London.

Thanks again and enjoy your Sunday 😊

StuDudley

You can stop in Carcassonne for a 2 hr visit on the way to Pech Merle. It will break up the drive a bit - which is quite boring for most of the way.

We've spent 6 weeks in Gites that are within 1 hr of Pech Merle, and that region is one of our favorites. These stays re in addition to our 11 weeks in the Dordogne near Sarlat. Here are some other things to do in the region. It's from my Dordogne itinerary.

Visiting the sites east of the A20

My wife & I stayed in this region and rented a gite in Carennac for 2 weeks in early Sept 2016. As I mentioned earlier, if you are planning on visiting the Dordogne for 6 nights or more, spend some time in this area by either staying for 2-3 nights, or visiting it on the way from or to the Languedoc or Provence regions east of the Dordogne.

Someone recently asked me to name our favorite "cute little villages" in this "east of the A20" region. They are:
St Cirq Lapopie**
Carennac*+
Martel*
Collonges la Rouge**
Rocamadour does not fit my definition of a "cute little village"
As noted below, Figeac is one of our "top 5" small cities in France

To describe the sites to visit, I'll suggest two "day trips" from the Central/Sarlat Dordogne area, plus comments on "what's left?"

If you only have time for one day-trip in this area
I would recommend heading out early and drive to the St Cirq Lapopie and the Pech Merle Cave area. Pech Merle is a 1 1/2 hr scenic drive from Sarlat via Gourdon. Reserve ahead for Pech Merle*** Pech Merle prehistory centre and cave and try to get an early morning tour. The cave opens at either 9:15 or 9:30 in the tourist season. There is also a museum associated with the cave. Pech Merle is the only cave you can visit that has both stalactites & mites and pre-historic cave paintings. It's our favorite in the region. After visiting Pech Merle (or before, if you reserved later in the morning) visit St Cirq Lapopie** - one of the best "Plus Beaux Villages" in France https://www.francetoday.com/travel/t...llages-france/ . St Cirq would be a good choice for lunch. After Pech Merle/St Cirq, drive along the beautiful Cele River* (D41) to one of our "top 5" small cities in France - Figeac**. While driving along the Cele River to Figeac, admire the medieval houses built into the sides of the stone cliffs. Espagnac Ste Eulalie is an good village for a walk-around and St Sulpice has some interesting troglodyte buildings. Marcilhac sur Cele is only OK - walk by the Cele river next to the Abbey.



They have done a very good job of making Figeac** a tourist friendly town. There’s a walking itinerary in the Michelin Green Guide, and you can also obtain an excellent walking itinerary (in English) at the tourist office. The Tourist Office itinerary is much better than the Michelin one. The various sites are marked with placards along the way. Note the top floor “porches” around town which were used for drying laundry, storing wood, growing plants, etc. in medieval times. This is a beautiful town – we spent 1 ½ hrs walking around, following the itinerary we obtained from the tourist office. Almost every store in town was closed for lunch (not that great of a shopping town anyway), and most stores were closed on Monday (Sunday also). By contrast, we spent less than 30 minutes touring Cahors.

In '05, we drove from Cahors to Figeac following the Cele River, and back to Cahors following the Lot River. We thought that the Cele River was the more scenic of the two, although both are quite picturesque.

After visiting Figeac, head back to the Sarlat area. It should take you 2 hrs via the D802, and 2 1/4 hrs via the D80 which passes close to Rocamadour*** (no time for a visit at this point) and through Martel* (visit if you have the time - see below).

Another day trip from Sarlat
Get an early start from Sarlat and head to Collonges-la-Rouge**. It should take you 1 1/2 hrs to drive there from Sarlat. This "red" village is ultra touristy – in fact, I don’t think anybody lives there – it’s just a mecca for tourists. That's why you should visit it first on this day-trip - to avoid the hordes. Nevertheless, it is very lovely if you can ignore the many trinket shops. Get a walking itinerary from the tourist office and just wander around. We spent a couple of hours visiting Collonges la Rouge in '16 (third visit).

After Collonges la Rouge, drive the short distance to Turenne*. Park the car in the large lot at the entrance to the village and take a few pictures from the parking lot. Pick up a walking map at the Tourist Office and walk to the square in town, through the narrow streets, and up to the chateau. This town is on the cover of my “the Most Beautiful Villages of France” book.

From Turenne, take the scenic D8 north, then the D158 west to Noaillas. There is an interesting chateau in Noaillas that caught my wife's attention. Then take the D920 north into Brive La Gaillarde. When you drive under a train overcrossing, take a left on the first busy road, and then another left (maybe first left) onto Ave Jean Jaures and park the car on the street or the lot near the train station.

Next, visit the "big surprise" of our 2016 trip - Brive la Gaillarde++. This small city was not awarded any stars by the Michelin folks. We mentioned this "no stars" to the proprietor of our gite in Carennac & she said "don't tell anyone about Brive - we want to keep if for ourselves". See the map of Brive in the Green Guide and head into the old section of town by following Ave Jean Jauras. When you see some marvelous Belle Epoque buildings on the busy ring road around Brive, cross the ring road onto R. de l'Hotel de Ville and to the central square in town next to the St Martin Church. Then follow the walking itinerary in the Green Guide. Be sure to walk up & back on the pedestrian streets of both R. de la Republic and R. du Lt-Col Faro (which you might use to get back to your car). We visited Brive on a Saturday - which I think would be the best day to visit it (definitely not on a Sunday or Monday). Brive would be a good place for lunch. We had an ice cream sundae there.

If there is time left on the day, head west on the D1089 to Terrasson Lavilledieu*. This town is on the Vezere River and their weekly farmer's market actually extends out on a bridge over the river. Wander around the village a bit.


Continued on next post

StuDudley

What's left to see east of the A20
The following can't be visited on a day-trip from Sarlat. There is just too much to do & see. Perhaps visit these sites in the order listed, and stop when you get tired or run out of time.

Rocamadour*** - how to avoid the kitsch
On a sunny Friday on Sept 9 in 2016, we headed out from our gite in Carennac and arrived in l'Hospitalet around 9:15 AM to take pictures of Rocamadour in the distance (views are only good in the morning sun). There is a huge dirt lot where you can park & walk through to get different view perspectives. Then we arrived in Rocamadour at 9:45 and got "lucky" & parked our car in the small lot directly in front of the Porte du Figuier (which is the easternmost entrance to the main medieval street in Rocamadour). We walked along the main medieval street, and there were virtually no tourists then. We had arrived before the shops opened and before they had the opportunity to pull the postcard stands, racks with toothbrushes (with every possible child's names on them), and other junk out onto the street. We walked down the medieval street and back, taking pictures without any people or postcard stands in them. We then took the elevator up to the cluster of churches and wandered around until around 11am when the bells started tolling to call people to mass. My wife & I are big architecture fans. My wife leads two "Victorian House" themed tours in San Francisco sponsored by the public library. If we find ourselves in a village with tacky/kitsch on the streets, we remind each other to "look at the upper floors of the building & don't look at the shops on the street level". That's why I advise people to visit Rocamadour very early in the morning or late in the afternoon - to avoid the kitsch. We departed around 11:30 - and Rocamadour was getting very crowded. We've visited Rocamadour three times, and this was our best trip (we did not visit the upper Chateau on this '16 trip). After visiting Rocamadour, we headed on the D32 south of Rocamadour to take pictures of this fantastic village clinging to a cliff from a distance (others were doing the same).

Next, drive the short distance to Gouffre de Padirac**. This is a large "wet" (still living) cavern/cave with an underground river, and stalactites & mites. You can take the elevator down the cavern (or walk on stairs), then walk a bit on a path, and get on a boat. When 10 or so people fill up the boat, it takes off along the underground river. The boat stops and you meet a guide for the stalactites & mites tour. Then back on the boat & up the escalator (avoiding the photograph pickup line). We've visited The Gouffre de Padirac three times - and find it to be fascinating. Many of the caves in the region were carved out by underground rivers which dried up thousands of years ago. The Gouffre de Padiriac still has the river flowing through it.

Small villages of Autoire* and Loubressac*
Driving to & from these villages is very picturesque. Follow the roads shaded in green on the 329 Michelin map to get to these villages. Autoire is the more interesting of these two. Much of Loubressac around the castle is "not accessible". In Autoire, park in the big lot just outside & below the town (pay the parking fee - which you may not notice), walk into town past the mushroom vender on the left, to the center of town with the fountain, cafe on the left, & wine merchant opposite the cafe. Then further along to the house with turrets. Then retrace your steps back past the cafe, uphill to the right - then just follow your nose back to the parking lot. Perhaps a 45 min visit. We had a very enjoyable Sunday lunch at the one cafe in Autoire - the Auberge de la Fountaine (also a hotel). Reserve ahead, or get there early (especially on Sunday).

Head towards St Cere, but first take the D940 south to Grotte de Presque*+. The is a interesting cave with stalactites & mites & well worth a visit. Pick up tickets at the small concession stand then follow the tour guide to the entrance of the grotte. This is a privately-owned grotte, and the owner (woman) may be the person who sold you the tickets.

Nearby Montal** is a lovely chateau with some interesting features, but the (only in French) tour can get a bit tedious. We've visited it twice.

Head into St Cere*. We stayed overnight in St Cere once, visited it three times, and had dinner at the very pleasant Hotel de la France. It is a tad difficult to drive into & out of this village - most of the streets are one-way. From Montal, just keep driving until you pass most of the town and arrive at a large intersection with lots of parking. If it is market day (Sat + 1st & 3rd Wed) this square will be filled with vendors. Park where you can (we parked near the Hotel de la France), and follow the walking itinerary in the Michelin Green Guide. The "biggie" here is the Place du Mercadial - there is a photo of one of the shops on the Place in the Green Guide.


As you drive into St Cere, you will probably notice the tall towers on a huge hill above St Cere. When you leave St Cere, circle clockwise around this hill until you find the entrance to chateau area. This chateau is where the artist Jean Lurcat lived & worked. It is now a museum about him. We were not interested in his work, but we walked around the chateau quite a bit - enjoying the views, and admiring the grounds.

From St Cere, drive north on the D940 (with a bit of commerce - we had our car repaired at a garage on this road) to the scenic D43 to Chateau Castlenau-Bretenoux**. You have likely viewed this chateau already - it can be seen from many, many different spots in the region. We've visited it three time (we're "chateau nuts"). The views are good, and the chateau is interesting. A few people have found it to be a bit boring, though we didn't.

Continued on next post

StuDudley

Get back on the D940 heading north through some ugly commerce & grocery stores, to Beaulieu**--. We've visited this town twice - and we can't figure out why it gets two stars from Michelin. One of my "pet peeves" about the Michelin rating system is that they give stars to a site if there is a historic or nice church in the town. I didn't think the church was that great, nor the town very interesting. I suggest that you bypass Beaulieu and instead:

Take the very scenic D12 to Argentat*. It's best to visit Argentat in the morning - just before lunchtime. Look up Argentat in the Green Guide and notice the picture of the buildings along the Dordogne River. To get into Argentat, do not follow the D12 into town. Instead, when the D12 intersects the D1120, take the D1120 south & over the Dordogne River, then take an off-ramp from the D1120 north back towards Argentat. I think this route is well marked - because it is the "scenic" route into town. As soon as you spot "the bridge" over the Dordogne into Argentat - park the car. Grab the camera, walk towards this bridge into Argentat and take about 10-20 photos of the picturesque riverside promenade from the bridge that crosses over the Dordogne (beautiful). We walked around Argentat quite a bit (only a C+), and also visited the mildly interesting Maison du Patrimoine (skip it). The "thing" you do in Argentat is to have lunch at one of the cafes on the riverside promenade. We had a very enjoyable Sunday lunch at Auberge de Garabiers. As lunchtime approached 2:30 pm, the sun lit up the beautiful buildings on the "other" side of the Dordogne River - where you parked the car.

Get back on the scenic D12, to the un-scenic D940 heading south. Cross the Cere river into Brentenoux (an interesting "drive through"). Take the D14 heading west, the D43, and then follow the scenic D30 west into Carennac. Do not take the faster but non-scenic D803 on the north side of the Dordogne.

Carennac*+. This is a gem of a town. The best time to visit is in the afternoon when the sun lights up the view. Park anywhere you can (it's a small town). I think there is a parking lot outside of town a bit. Wander through town - the main street, castle area, and also the other streets away from the river. Pick up a village map at the tourist office inside a courtyard that also provides access to the church & chateau. Look up Carennac in the Green Guide and notice the picture. This view is at the west end of town on main street and across a bridge. Walk across the bridge to a small private parking pad on your right. Look back over the bridge for the view and take 5-10 pictures. Just past this "pad" take the paved road to the right - down towards the river. Just on your left across the street from the upper "pad" is a wood gate with a medieval house inside the gate. This is where we stayed for 2 weeks in 2016. Walk past our gite, and to a dirt path going down to the river. Continue on this path past an abandoned square tower, a vegetable garden to the left, to the path along the river. Look back at our house & see the balcony & tower of our gite (more photos?). Then walk along the river until you encounter a road that will get you back to the village.

Next, here is a very scenic drive to Martel*+. Depart Carennac heading west from the viewon the D43 along the Dordogne river. Pass through Mezels and soon you will encounter a 1-car-wide bridge over the Dordogne River. Turn right & cross the Dordogne on this bridge, and proceed straight on the D80 (lots of orchards along the way) until you see a tunnel under a train crossing. Turn left before the tunnel and proceed west until this road hits the D32. At the D32 turn left (southwest) and follow this very scenic stretch of road along the Dordogne. The D32 will hit the D840 where you will head north to Martel. Do not stop at the Belvedere de Copeyre*--. Martel*+ is a very attractive Bastide town. It has some interesting shops to browse through and would be a good place for lunch around the central square with the 18C Covered Market. Follow the walking itinerary in the Green Guide. We've visited Martel 3-4 times.
Now - another scenic drive to Grottes Lacave**-. Retrace your route on the D840 heading south to the D23/D43 at Gluges. Turn right (west) on the D32 and proceed to Creysse. We wandered around in Creysse and really enjoyed this very small village. There was a charming outdoor cafe that we though might be a good place for lunch on an upcoming day - but we did not return. The church was undergoing roof repairs. We went inside the church and noticed the "Monument to the Morts" that exists in every hamlet, village, town, & city in France. We noticed one family named Lafon that lost three "sons" in WWI. We then walked outside the church to find that "Lafon & Co. Construction" was painted on the side of the truck belonging to the roof construction crew. Follow the D114 from Creysse counterclockwise around the Dordogne to St Sozy. We took some pictures from the road of the towers in tiny St Sozy. Then continue on the D15 to Meyronne. Then take the D23 past the beautiful Rochers de Monges (steep limestone cliffs) to Grottes Lacave**- (well marked). As I indicated earlier, this is not one of our favorite caves, but the drive there is worth it. When we went on the tour just after the lunch opening, it was quite crowded. We were the only people on the tour of Grotte de Presque. This was our 2nd visit to Lacave.

Proceed from Grotte Lacave on the D23 south, and take an abrupt right on the D43 to Chateau La Treyne (mentioned earlier in the "places to stay" section), and where we had our anniversary dinner. Drive past La Treyne & over the bridge, and then back over the bridge again to La Treyne to view the fantastic site of this Chateau high above the Dordogne River. Park the car at La Treyne, browse through the gardens, and then poke your nose into the chateau & wander around a bit.

Well - that's the end of the "east of the A20" suggestions. I did not fit Curemonte* into any driving itineraries. But you can visit it from the Collonges la Rouge itinerary or the Rocamadour one. Curemonte is a very small village with a picturesque chateau, a cafe, a covered wooden market, and one vendor selling dried onions and shallots out of his garage. There are not many tourists in Curemonte. We walked the streets thoroughly in '16.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

If this was my trip, here is what I would do:

- Hit the road at 8am and drive 2 3/4 hrs to Carcassonne & visit for 2 hrs. Then drive 2 3/4 hrs to St Cirque Lapopie and check into the Auberge du Sambral in St Cirq Lapopie. Stay for 2 nights. We've stayed there - it's a bit "rustic", and St Cirq (the poster here on Fodors) got a bad cup of coffee there about 20 years ago. St Cirq Lapopie won the award as the prettiest village in France a few years ago. https://www.francetoday.com/travel/t...llages-france/
- Or depart Avignon at 10am, Skip Carcassonne, & arrive in St Cirq Lapopie at 3:30PM
- Visit the Pech Merle cave (It's a short drive there from St Cirq Lapopie).

- Next morning, drive along the lovely Cele river, seeing the villages & houses built into the cliffs (see above post), and then visit one of my "top 5" small cities in France - Figeac. It will be Sunday & all shops will be closed - but it's not really a shopping city. We love the beautiful architecture there. You will have time left in the day - but I won't suggest anything because I'll leave room for a visit to Pech Merle in case you missed it yesterday. You'll visit St Cirq Lapopie yesterday evening and/or today.

- Next morning get on the A20 heading north. Take exit 55 & head east to Martel for a visit. This is a very nice Bastide town. Then find your way to Carennac for another visit. This is one of my favorite "cute little villages" in France. Then head north to Collonges la Rouge for a visit. Again - one of my favorite "cute little villages" - but others like it too & it might be a tad mobbed with tourists.
- Drive 30 mins to Brive la Gaillarde, return the car, and take the train to Paris
Take the 5:05 train that arrives at 9:19PM, or skip Carennac and take the 2:03 train that arrives at 6:21

Stu Dudley

geetika

Stu, many thanks for the detailed tips and itineraries, as always you're a fund of information and I am bookmarking your recommendations. Unfortunately we'll have just about time to visit Pech Merle and drive along the Cele to see some of villages and Figeac, the rest will have to be for a subsequent trip. You have already emailed me your Provence itineraries and we intend to follow several of your suggestions, thanks again.

I somehow seem to have tagged this thread for Albania too, no idea how to untag this. In case anyone's wondering, lol!

geetika

I"m back again with more questions. I've booked rooms at the Hotel des Grottes in Cabrerets for June 23 & 24 and want to book tickets to Pech Merle. I believe they do have tours in English, but their website only shows the ones in French. I've tried calling them, even just a little while back, but there's no response, nor have they replied my email. Can anyone of you confirm tours in English, if not will just go ahead and book a regular one in French.

Secondly, we will be taking the TGV back to Paris Gare de Lyon, which would be better, Brive or Toulouse? From what I hear Brive is a lovely little town, so would it make sense to get there by late afternoon of the 24th? We'll need to return our car before taking the train on the 25th but I understand the car rental company is right next to the station.

Thanks again!

StuDudley

Brive indeed is a hidden gem - and they want to keep it that way (according to the proprietor of the gite we stayed in nearby). The Europcar office is adjacent to the train station's parking lot and there are many OK restaurants next/near the rental office. We had lunch at one. Parking is a tad difficult, however. We parked in a somewhat restricted space just in front of the office & it didn't seem to be a concern for the office agent.

The train to Paris arrives at the Austerlitz station - just across the Seine from the Gare de Lyon. Late departures from Brive are at 14:03 & 17:05 for the 4 1/4 trip.

Stu Dudley

StCirq

You can reserve tickets online for Pech-Merle. There are two English tours daily, one at 11:15 and one at 14:15. Go to Centre de préhistoire et grotte du Pech Merle and click on Billetterie en Ligne. Fill in the number of visitors and click OK. Choose your date and time (all the visits are listed for each day, with the language noted). I didn't proceed any father than that, but it looks pretty simple.

Yes, leave from Brive.

StCirq

You can reserve tickets online for Pech-Merle. There are two English tours daily, one at 11:15 and one at 14:15. Go to Centre de préhistoire et grotte du Pech Merle and click on Billetterie en Ligne. Fill in the number of visitors and click OK. Choose your date and time (all the visits are listed for each day, with the language noted). I didn't proceed any father than that, but it looks pretty simple.

Yes, go to Brive.

geetika

Thanks Stu and StCirq. I finally did manage to get through to the office at Pech Merle and was told they don’t offer tours in English over the weekends, which is why I didn’t see them when I tried to book tickets. But they have leaflets in English, so I guess this should work for the others.

Any suggestions for a hotel in Brive? I did a cursory search but haven’t had the time to check in details, Mondays are always hard 😬