Hello,

I am interested in renting a Gite called La Metairie Haute just outside of Sarlat - has anyone ever stayed there? Does anyone know how close it is to town? We are hoping it's walking distance...

Also, has anyone visited Sarlat? We're planning on spending a week in the area - making little excursions to other towns but generally just relaxing around Sarlat. Any recommendations for interesting things to do, great restaurants to visit, challenging and beautiful rides (cycle)?

Thanks.

>>Also, has anyone visited Sarlat?<<

Yes - perhaps a million visitors each year.

We returned in Sept from our fourth extended stay in the area - this time for four weeks. I have a write-up on the Dordogne that I've sent to hundreds of people on this message board. I'm in the middle of updating it with "new stuff" from our most recent trip. E-mail me at [email protected] around the last of January to get my updated verson. It has lots of detailed restaurant reviews.

Stu Dudley

You might be interested in my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34653387

If you have a detailed map, you can check see how close some of the photographic locations are from Sarlat. The photos also include a couple of menus, including one from a restaurant in Sarlat itself, but you have to ask for the large version to be able to read it well.

No, It's not really walking distance. I suggest you get Michelin map #329 for touring the area and judging distances.

I own a home 20 minutes from Sarlat and spend many days there each year. If you click on my name you'll find hundreds of posts with information on things to do in the area.

Happy travels. The Dordogne won't disappoint you.

Thank you very much for the replies so far. I'll definately email you Stu later next month for your trip report.

I have a question regarding local transportation & transportation from Paris.

1. Do you recommend the train or renting a car and driving down from Paris? (We were thinking we might be able to make a detour to the Loire Valley on the way down....)

2. What is the best way to get around Sarlat? Do we need to have a car? We're brining our bikes - is that a good option? What about taxis? Are there taxis available that could take us from a restaurant out to our Gite?

Thanks again!

You can take the TGV to either Angouleme, or Libourne and pick up a car there. Brive might work also. If you are not staying in Paris, it might be better to book an open Jaw or round trip ticket through Bordeaux or Toulouse.

A stop in the Loire on the way to/from the Dordogne would work great. The TGV services Tours, and there are trains that take you to/from the CDG airport. A good plan would be to take the TGV to the Dordogne area, rent a car, visit the Dordogne, drive to the Loire, visit the Loire, then take the TGV from Tours to CDG for your return home.

You will need a car in the Dordogne. The area is beautiful & the only way to thoroughly fall in love with it, is to explore it using a car. This is a "no brainer" Taxis are scarce in the small villages.

Stu Dudley

If you want to see the Loire on the way, I suggest you take a train from Paris to Tours and rent a car for a few days to visit the châteaux and so forth. Then drop the car off in Tours and hop on the TGV to Bordeaux, then take the pokey train to Périgueux or Sarlat itself (connections to Périgueux are easier - you'll be a bout a 45-minute drive to Sarlat from there).

Definitely rent a car. There's no useful public transportation in the Dordogne and you'd spend a fortune on taxis to take you to all the sights you'll want to see if you can even locate one.

I wouldn't bike in the Dordogne myself - think roadkill - but if you're experienced it could be fun. It's very hilly, the roads are narrow, and the drivers fast. Enough said.

I know (and visited) people who stayed at La Metairie Haute in the summer of 2003. The house is actually much lovelier than some of the photos I have seen, but at that time the owner did not have a proper caretaker to look after the property and the house. If this has been remedied, it would be a great place to stay. It also had an amazing collection of oriental art. But you can't walk to anywhere from there. And while there are some roads that would be good for biking, the one that you take from Sarlat to the turnoff to La Metairie Haute would not be one I would use for cycling.