La Roque Gageac, France in early October
 

Hello,
We plan on renting a car in Bordeaux in early October and driving to La Roque Gageac. Could anyone tell me what time it gets dark at that time of year (first week in Oct)? I want to make sure we have enough time to get the car at the train station, drive leisurely to RG and find our apt. before it gets dark. Thank you!

Sunset Bordeaux

Oct 1- 7:45PM
Oct 24- 7PM
Oct 25- 6PM ( Change to standard time)

3+ hour drive (no motorway drive)
La Roque is a small place. With directions you should have no problems finding your apt.You are in for a treat!

where are you planning to rent the car?

We decided that rather than pick ours up from the airport when we arrived, we would spend a couple of nights in Bordeaux and then pick it up from the station, which looked reasonably easy on the map.

It wasn't that difficult to find, but it was a long walk from the station - about ¾ km, and another ¼ from our hotel and it was quite difficult dragging our luggage all that way, even though we did not have particularly heavy suitcases.

However once we got there it wasn't too bad - the assistant at the Enterprise desk was really helpful and even fetched the car from the garage from us to save us having to lug our luggage up the steps. And there was no queue, unlike at the Europcar desk.

If I did it again, I might collect the car the night before and park it near the hotel, ready to make a quick start, or even get the airport bus back to the airport from the station and pick it up there.

>>3+ hour drive (no motorway drive)<<

I think that's the ViaMichelin estimate for the drive along the Dordogne River to get to Roque Gageac. If you drive the "quickest route" - it's 2 hr 51 mins and 211K, of which 140K is motorways. However, we were once delayed by 3/4 of an hour because of a strike/greve that blocked the ring-road around Bordeaux.

Stu Dudley

Thank you everyone! This is so helpful. If it gets dark at 7:45 pm we should have plenty of time.

We're going to pick up the car at the St. Jean train station in Bordeaux. I know we'll pay a 40 euro upcharge picking it up at the train station vs off site, but for convenience sake it's probably worth it (we're taking the train from Paris and will be arriving at the St. Jean station). I've been assured by AutoEurope that the car rental pick-up locations are "right at" the train station

ANNHIG, I'm not sure which rental company we"ll ultimately be using since autoeurope is the broker for many rental companies, it sounds as though the rental locations may not be "right at" the train station?

No, the station rental offices are right at the station.

BUT be prepared for a minor mob scene when you arrive because you will not be the only people getting off the train who want to rent cars, and the offices are not heavily staffed.

AND certainly on Sundays and perhaps other days, the rental offices close for lunch.

One other note: we had a number of chilly, even frosty, mornings in Perigord in mid-October. Make sure you have something warm to put on.

No, the station rental offices are right at the station.>>

sorry, Ackislander, they really aren't. You have to walk through the station, out the other side round some improvements they are carrying out, and then down a long street running parallel to the railway lines, over a couple of traffic islands, and into what looks like an industrial zone right to the far end of the Rue D'Armagnac. The cars are all kept in a multi-storey garage but if you're lucky, the agent will go and get yours for you.

with any luck, this link will show the map - the main car hire depots and offices are where the Hertz sign is:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@44.82...-0.5518918,17z

I picked up a car from the Europcar depot last September from the rear of Gare St Jean, and it was situated in a small depot alongside the Avis & Hertz offices, on the rue des Terres de Borde, where it has been for some years. Unless something has changed recently, I think these are still in that spot. You follow the signs inside the station for the "Sortie Belcier", which is the rear exit to the station. You then go up some steps onto an open paved concourse area, and the car hire depots are up a path to the right. The rentals are kept in the carpark just further beyond those offices. I've rented there a few times in recent years, and as Ackislander says, there's usually about 30-40 minutes time lapsed before you actually get in your car and drive away, due to crowds after each train and low staff levels. This April, we picked up our car from Libourne instead, as it saved a bit of time on both train trip from Paris and the drive east to the Dordogne (and it was so much easier/faster than the Europcar office in Gare St Jean), so you may want to consider that instead?

Ah, progress in Bordeaux!

Sorry for the outdated information, though my memories are not in consistent with rosemaryoz's. I was contrasting "in the station" with getting on a mini van and being driven several miles, but I was clearly vague and fuzzy on the distance.

How about my "closed for lunch" memories? Do they still do that? That matters!

This forum is great. Thank you everyone for the information and tips you've shared! We appreciate it!

rosemaryoz: I liked the idea of renting a car in Libourne, so looked into it, but the largest class of car they have at that time is compact, and we need a mid size or family size. Great idea though, thank you!

That's a shame Montereycir - but worth a try! I too need a larger car most times, and an Automatic (being an Aussie driving on the wrong side of the road). So I book cars way ahead to get that rare specimen. And I've usually found Europcar or Avis Bordeaux is the best bet for one. Unless their depot has moved this year, it is really only a few steps outside that rear exit at St Jean to get to the rental offices. And you're right Ackislander, Libourne does shut for lunch still, but from memory Bordeaux's hours are all-day.

Unless something has changed recently, I think these are still in that spot.>>

I suspect that the change has been fairly recent [probably due to the building works going on in the station that I referred to above] as the offices are all together in what we Brits call a Nissan hut at the far end of Rue D'Armagnac was as shown on the map. Good news was that the Enterprise queue to collect our car was non-existent though the EuRopcar one was quite long.

I wasn't too interested in the opening hours but I agree with rosemaryoz that they more or less open all day, even on Sundays, but it would be as well to check.

The Gare St Jean gave us one of the funny moments of our trip - we were walking along the front of the station [which is weirdly divided into two almost identical buildings] when we were almost knocked over by a chap running out of the station with luggage in one hand and what at first glance looked like a bouquet of flowers in the other. A few seconds later he was followed by the local police, and we realised that it wasn't a bouquet but a floral tribute from the war memorial in the station which he had clearly nicked. We didn't wait to see what transpired but we didn't think that he was going to be very popular or was likely to have a good evening.