We arrive Paris Sunday morning Oct 19 at 8:00 am. We hope to take the TGV from CDG to Libourne where we will rent a car and drive to our rental in Sarlat. Just found that the Libourne car rental is closed on Sunday. We had considered staying overnight at St. Emilion Sunday night so as to start on our way to Sarlat on Monday am rested, so now wondering if it's possible to take a cab there and then pick up the rental car on Monday Am? Does that sound logical?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

It sounds expensive. And what will you do Monday morning? Take a train back to Libourne or Bordeaux from St-Emilion to pick up a car? That's just a waste of good vacation time.

What car rental outfit are you renting from? It's often possible to pay a bit extra (25-30 euros) to have someone come open up the rental office for you during off-hours. Plus SNCF has an arrangement with Avis, I believe, where for a fee they'll do the same. Or see if there's a rental agency open Sundays in Brive or Bordeaux. Brive to Sarlat is a lot easier than Libourne to Sarlat anyway.

Otherwise, I'd change my plans. October is a long way away and it's too early to get train tickets anyway.

The Bordeaux railway rental car agency is open however we're not sure how difficult it will be to drive out of Bordeaux, especially after having been on an overnight flight from Boston and then the train to Dordogne. The Brive car rental is also closed.

I thought that St Emilion was only a few miles from Libourne? Is it quite far?

Thank you for your help.

The car rental office we dropped our car at in Libourne was right across the street from the train station, where two streets met at a point (45 degree intersection). Quite a small office...room to park maybe 3 cars. Be wary of what selection they have there (of course, I suppose they could have 799 cars stored off-site).

I would prefer to take a train to Bordeaux itself from CDG and spend the night in Bordeaux after a long flight. We were just there and it is super nice-the city is so much nicer than it was years ago. And Sundays are fun there because they have a lovely market along the quay and everybody is out walking and if you are lucky there will also be swing dancing going on in that same area. The tram system is really great. It stops right in front of the gare and a day pass is only 4,30 euros and a great way to see the city.

The gare itself is right on the river, so when you go to Sarlat you can avoid most of the city itself-you cross the river and head away from town. I is pretty easy compared to other cities IMO. So it isn't to hard to leave from there versus Libourne. But that said I would personally choose to stay and enjoy Bordeaux a bit.

Thank you everyone. We once rented a car in Florence to drive through Tuscany and had a tough time finding our way out of the city, so we are are a bit wary. Happy to hear leaving Bordeaux May not be quite as tough. I will look into that for sure. Is getting back in to drop off the car on a Saturday as easy?

<Take a train back to Libourne from St-Emilion to pick up a car? That's just a waste of good vacation time.

I thought that St Emilion was only a few miles from Libourne? Is it quite far?>

It's only a few miles - trains take all of 6 or 7 minutes from St-Emilion to Libourne - so I think 'wasting' six minutes of travel time is not much of a waste of 'good vacation time.'

Heck a taxi could not cost much to travel those few miles and St-Emilion to me is one of the nicest, very nicest towns in any wine district - a neat old town around which vineyards literally swirl - the train station is a dumpy little used one on the edge of town.

St-Emilion is a dream town - go for it.

https://www.google.com/search?q=st+e...w=1455&bih=978

Taking a train to St-Emilion and back to Libourne the next day would also save you a day or part of a day on the car rental, no doubt more than the few euro train fare. And in St-Emilion itself you need no car in this fairly small compact old town - several wineries are right in town.

And do not judge the town by the shabby shabby train station - unless spruced up in the several years since I've been there - it looked abandoned and may not be staffed so buy a return ticket from Libourne or there is probably a machine at this sleepy station that may or may not take your American credit card but may take cash - in any case buy a round trip ticket for the dates you want in Libourne, a mainline station with manned ticket windows I'm sure.

jpie has the best idea - take the train to Bordeaux and spend the night there. It's far more interesting than St-Emilion, which IMO isn't a "dream town" at all, but rather an overhyped, overpriced tourist draw.

Trains on Sundays between Libourne and St-Emilion run about 4 hours apart, so no, it's not just a short little jaunt despite the actual distance between the two.

As an aside, there is no such thing as a round-trip ticket in France. You'll need to buy two separate tickets to and from St-Emilion if that's what you choose to do.

Trains to Bordeaux, if that's what we do, seem to take much longer from CDG or maybe it's because it's a Sunday? Another option is to stay in Paris one night and take the early am train on Monday from Montparnasse which seems a quicker ride. Does anyone know if the TGV schedule might possibly be different in mid Oct?

It's unlikely to be much different, but it probably won't be exactly the same as it is now. You can't get PREM fares until 3 months out from your date of travel anyway, and by that time the schedules will be up.

Trains from CDG can take up to an hour longer than trains from Paris. Another option is to take the train from Paris to Brive. And another is to take the train from Gare d'Austerlitz to Périgueux, with either a change or a stop in Limoges. It's about a 45-minute drive from Périgueux to Sarlat, a little over an hour's drive from Brive to Sarlat.

You can book the idTGV now. Montparnasse to Bordeaux is 19 euro. http://www.idtgv.com/en/

I should mention that idTGV has limited destinations. The website has a drop down menu with the locations.

take the train to Bordeaux and spend the night there. It's far more interesting than St-Emilion, which IMO isn't a "dream town" at all, but rather an overhyped, overpriced tourist draw.

Suggesting Bordeaux over St-Emilion to me is being rather autistic from what the average non-jaded traveler will like - I spent days driving around the nearby Dordogne and if you want overhyped overpriced tourist draws practically any of the well-known places there fit that bill.

But I had not really heard much about St-Emilion but found it to me at least, compared to the Dordogne anyway, this was a dreamy town and this was in August and it was not as heavily touristed as the Dordogne was.

to me it was, compared to the vast number of towns in France, dreamier than most and will fulfill the romantic notion of what foreign tourists may call dreamy than the huge city of Bordeaux, which to me was yeh OK but nothing to do out of one's way for, especially on a Sunday when virtually everything is closed and the town, like any large city in Europe that is not a tourist magnet, dead.

If trains are running as infrequently on Sunday as St-Cirq says and that is plausible - take a taxi the few kilometers to hyour St-=Emilion hotel - at Bordeaux's St-Jean station, you could probably take a taxi about the same mileage to get to the nicer parts of town.

St-Emilion would be called a dreamy town by most tourists, including me - vineyards literally swirl around the town.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and to me St-Emilion was gorgeous and Bordeaux just another large city with some imposing governmental buildings and churches but nothing exceptional.

I think one night in St Emilion is fine. It is as touristy as many Provence and Dordogne towns and that isn't necessarily bad. We stayed once and enjoyed a winery visit, touring the church and taking a wine tasting class.....none of them a waste of our time.

It looks like you have to spend Sunday night somewhere (and that's not a bad idea after an overnight flight). Just pick whichever appeals to you.

I would choose a city that I could access from CDG even if a longer train ride. It probably is no longer than getting from CDG into the city and then catching a train and infinitely easier.

But there's no good reason to take the very unavailable Sunday train to St-Emilion when you can stay in Bordeaux, which has completely revamped itself in the last 10 years and is a very exciting city these days - Pal, when the heck were you last there? Saying things aren't open on Sundays is absolute BS. There is absolutely no reason, IMO, to go to St-Emilion, which is also a tourist zoo, and then have to go back again to pick up a car.

Pal, when you have some more recent information to contribute, please do so. What you're offering now is such old news it's not worth paying any attention to. I honestly don't think you have a clue about what Bordeaux is all about these days. Yes, it's still a conservative city with less tourist appeal than many other French cities, but do you have any idea what's gone on there in the past 10 years? When did you last set foot there? Saying there is "nothing exceptional" there is just plain ignorant these days.

I think the option of staying in Paris overnight is a good one. We have stayed 2-3 times at this hotel near Montparnasse and it is nice-particularly if you get a room with a balcony:

http://www.hotel-odessa.com/

I suspect you are right about the limited train schedule given that it is a Sunday. The only thing I would definitely suggest if you can do it is to avoid driving after a long flight whatever you decide. Just as an aside, we flew from Boston to France this past May and we loved the Aer Lingus flight that left from Boston at 9PM to Dublin. We spent 3 nights there just to realx, enjoy the city and get over a bit of the jet lag, and then did a little 1 1/2 hour flight to Bordeaux. It was the easiest connection I have made to France in a long time. So if you haven't made your Paris ticket yet, you might consider that route. It was super easy.

Also, I don't know how long you are staying, but if it is over 3 weeks you might consider the Peugeot Open Europe car lease program. We picked up the car when we landed at the Bordeaux airport and since the airport is pretty small, it was super easy. We used these guys: http://autofrance.net/

It sounds like you probably already have your ticket booked but I thought I would at least add the info for future trips or for others considering Bordeaux as a starting point.

Thanks so much everyone. We now have several solid options to choose from, so by the time tix come available we will have decided which way to go.

Jpie, I did already get our air, but did consider the Aer Lingus. Wish I had seen this before booking, but will save it for future trips!

Thanks again everyone...

St Cirq - the average traveler - not a veteran traveler - will love St-Emilion a lot better than yes I know a spruced up Bordeaux - have you ever been in a huge French city on a Sunday - I have and they are dead as doornails - now are you telling me your lovely Bordeaux is the exception - on a weekday perhaps.

And St-Emilion is exactly the type of place most folks would lovely immensely better - an old small town with famous wineries and nothing real modern - completely surrounded by vineyards - love better than Bordeaux and I will stand by that recommendation. and especially since the OP wants a town near Libourne and St-Emilion is just a short taxi or train ride away - Bordeaux is way out of the way if wanting to go to Sarlat, right, rather than St-Emilion?

Just does not make any sense in this case for going to Bordeaux, especially on a Sunday.

St Cirq - the average traveler - not a veteran traveler - will love St-Emilion a lot better than yes I know a spruced up Bordeaux - have you ever been in a huge French city on a Sunday - I have and they are dead as doornails - now are you telling me your lovely Bordeaux is the exception - on a weekday perhaps.

And St-Emilion is exactly the type of place most folks would lovely immensely better - an old small town with famous wineries and nothing real modern - completely surrounded by vineyards - love better than Bordeaux and I will stand by that recommendation. and especially since the OP wants a town near Libourne and St-Emilion is just a short taxi or train ride away - Bordeaux is way out of the way if wanting to go to Sarlat, right, rather than St-Emilion?

Just does not make any sense in this case for going to Bordeaux, especially on a Sunday.

St Cirq says: <Trains on Sundays between Libourne and St-Emilion run about 4 hours apart, so no, it's not just a short little jaunt despite the actual distance between the two.>

Which is simply inaccurate info given for whatever reason - though there is one 4-hour gap around noon - not unusual in France even on some main lines - trains roll on Sunday every two hours throughout the day - why give misinformation? (This from www.bahn.de/en - the German Railways web site that has schedules for all European trains and is easier to use for many than the French schedule sites - it says every two hours except that one sole 4 hour gap.