Is a 3 night reconnaissance trip to Sarlat worth it?
 

I've got a couple extra days to fill in mid-Oct. between Bordeaux and a rental car drop off in the Moissac/Montauban area of the Garonne. At some point we want to take a slow, extended trip to the Dordogne area but don't have the time on this trip.One thought I have is to fit in a 3 night stay in Sarlat. This would give us a little more than two days to see the town and perhaps scope out the surrounding area a bit so I'd have some familiarity for planning a future trip where we'd want to do a week long rental in the area. Plus, we'd be there for the Wednesday market. Is this really and truly an exceptional market (for foodstuffs)?

Viamichelin tells me it will take 2.5 to 3 hours to get to Sarlat from Bordeaux, and perhaps 2.5 hours from Sarlat to get to where we need to drop off our rental car.

I know that going to Sarlat means driving further north than the direction we plan to go, but there seems to be nothing that really calls to me in the southerly direction between Bordeaux and the Moissac/Mountauban area. Plus, we will be doing a leisurely cruise of the Garonne Canal so we'll see all of that later anyway.

In this context, is Sarlat a dumb idea? Thanks.

Save Sarlat for another time.

The market there isn't any more exceptional than any of the markets in the Périgord, all of which are exceptional. It's just bigger.

You won't have near enough time to do it justice.

Go to Bergerac and Monbazillac and thereabouts. Or Brantôme and Bourdeilles and thereabouts.

3 nights in Sarlat means two full days. That's more than enough for the town itself and even a side trip to Domme.

Don't miss the Place de la République in Montauban, and if interested in 19th cent. French art, the bishop's former palace which is now an Ingres museum. In Moissac, don't miss the portal and the cloister of the main church.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7623877915948/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7623877915948/ and the next half a dozen pictures.

Instead of Domme, you could go to Lascaux II (tickets purchased in Montignac), which is about half an hour to the north.

I agree with St Cirq -- especially about Bergerac and Monbazillac. I really enjoyed Bergerac. (And Bergerac reds are among our favorite wines, which are pretty hard to find back in the States.)

However, the first place we stayed nearly 20 years ago (and we were only there for 2 nights) in the entire region was Beynac (slightly south of Sarlat). We planned a much longer stay a couple of years later, because we enjoyed it so much. But there is so much in the region that as, she says, 3 nights won't do it justice. Of course, if you just want a "look-see" for ideas for a future longstay, I wouldn't count it out as a dumb idea.

In October you have to purchase Lascaux tickets at the box office on the site itself, not in Montignac.

I wasn't really planning to do a whole lot of true tourist running around and sightseeing in Sarlat. It would be more of a look see visit for future reference, but now I've got my map out again and am going to check out the Bergerac Monbazillac area which might tie in to another thought I have of perhaps taking a day drive up the east side of the Gironde estuary.

Now I'm also thinking I just just make this a couple days of the classic road trip (moving every night) which I normally don't like to do but might work in this situation.

Too many great choices as always and too little time. All of this help is truly appreciated.

Nice to know that the Sarlat market really isn't anything all that different and special from others in the area.

I have been participating in various travel forums for over 20 years. I've also helped around 10 personal friends make gite or hotel reservations for the Dordogne, and then I've suggested itineraries for them. So far, I have not read any trip report on these forums, or any comments made by my friends where they've said that they were disappointed with the Dordogne. In fact, like me (and my wife) - it is the "favorite region" of many friends/forum participants.

Therefore, I suggest that you do not make a reconnaissance trip to Sarlat to determine if you would like it. Chances are that you will love it, and a special trip now would just subtract time from other places you could visit on your upcoming trip.

We were in the Dordogne last week (our 11th week).

Stu Dudley

Stu thanks for that perspective that a reconnaissance trip now would just take time away from other places I'd be able to see on this trip. You are right.

I wasn't implying that I wouldn't like Sarlat and the area; I was thinking that with a bit of familiarity with the area I might be able in the future to make a better decision about where to stay there.

<i>Nice to know that the Sarlat market really isn't anything all that different and special from others in the area.</i>

The Périgueux Wednesday market is better.

I too would save Sarlat for your next trip, when you have the time to really explore the Perigord Noir properly. For this trip, you can easily spend a couple of nights on the outskirts of Bergerac - explore the vineyards to the north for reds (eg Pecharmant), or even stay in Issigeac, a gorgeous village about 20 mins drive south of Bergerac. From there you can visit wineries like Chateau Monbazillac, Belingarde or La Jaubertie for their whites. You could even splurge on a Michelin star lunch at the beautiful La Tour des Vents, near Monbazillac.

From Issigeac, you can cross over to the D660, dropping into Chateau Biron and Monpazier for a visit, then drive straight to Montaubun from there. The medieval Old Town in centre of Bergerac is being steadily restored, so it is now a pretty little town to wander around on foot - and it has an excellent market on Wednesdays, full of the exactly same sorts of stalls as Sarlat.