Sue4

Just when I thought I had everything all worked out for my May trip, a small glitch arises! I had planned to take the TGV from Paris upon my arrival at CDG in the AM., to Angouleme. I would arrive in Angouleme at 2:30 P.M., with time to look around there, spend the night, pick up my rental car the next A.M., and head to Bourdeilles, where I was starting my adventures in the Dordogne for 2 weeks. Now, I find out that May 5, my rental car pick-up day,is Ascension Day,(
Thursday) and the rental place is closed! I don't want to stay in Angouleme an extra day, and I also don't want to pick up the car right away after I arrive there Wednesday afternoon, and drive my jet-lagged self to Bourdeilles. I'll be alone, and nervous enough about driving and navigating in a strange place. Besides, extra car-rental days get expensive!

So, Plan Two, take the train from Paris to
Perigueux, arriving there close to 6:00 P.M. Wednesday.
I would spend that night there, plus the next day and night, as I can't pick up the car in Perigueux until Friday either. Of course, this cuts down on my 2-day stay in Bourdeilles at the Hotel Les Griffons(which looks so nice!) - to 1 night and day.

My question is (after all that rambling!), does anyone know a nice hotel in Perigueux?
They seem to be few and far between. The only thing I've come up with is the Bristol.
Does anyone know this hotel?

The other question, is 2 nights in Perigueux preferable to 2 nights in Angouleme? Perigueux looks like a prettier town for a day there. The hotel in Angouleme (a Great Western) looks much nicer than the Bristol, though.. not that that's very important.

St. Cirq, if you see this, I'd love your opinion, as you know this area so well. I wonder also if I should stay the 3 nights in Perigueux, and skip Bourdeilles altogether to avoid the "hotel hopping". Is Perigueux difficult to drive in and out of? I will have the car for 1 day, and could just drive around the Brantome/Bourdeilles area while staying in Perigueux. I'll be heading for Sarlat after this, and hate to switch any of those plans around.

StuDudley

Hi Sue4.

I'm sure you know that rentals are not based on the date you pick the car up, but by the date AND time. If you pick up a car at 9:00am on Tuesday, and return it at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, that is a two day rental, since you did not return it within a 24 hr period (with an hour or two for a grace period). Therefore, the total rental cost would have been the same if you picked it up after 12:00 noon on Monday - 2 days rental. You did not say when you will return the car, so do the math, considering the times you will pick-up & return.

Perigueux is not a 2 day visit - especially on a holiday when everthing is likely to be closed. I've never been to Angouleme, so I don't know about that town, but I suspect there will be fewer things to do there than in Perigueux.

I would hate to be stuck in a town with nothing open for an entire day. Verify this - I've never been there on Ascention day, but I've been in Paris on May Day & everything was closed - including the Louvre and many restaurants.

Another thought. I'm waiting till the air fares drop before I bood my 4 week trip to the Dordogne in Sept. Now, air fares are not that much more to Bordeaux or Toulouse, than they are to Paris. Even an open jaw )arrive Bordeaux, leave Toulouse) is the same as RT to one of these cities.

Stu Dudley

ira

Hi Sue,

>I would arrive in Angouleme at 2:30 P.M., with time to look around there, spend the night, pick up my rental car the next A.M., and head to Bourdeilles..<

As Stu notes, if you pick up a car in the AM you have to drop it off before the same hour, or else you pay for another day.

If you pick up your car at 4:00 in Angouleme, you will pay the same if you get it at 9:00 AM the next day and drop it off at 10:00AM.

The car rental agency is probably right at the train station.

www.mappy.com or www.viamichelin.com will give you directions from the train station to your hotel.

Michael

I would pick up the car in Angoulême and drive out to a nearby town and stay there in a hotel overnight. Or if the rental agency leaves its cars in a public parking lot, "pick up" the car, leave it in the lot, find a hotel and drive off the next day.

swandav2000

Hi Sue4,

I agree with Michael. Why not just pick up your car in Angouleme the day you arrive? The drive to your hotel can't be that difficult -- a few blocks??? Then just collapse and take off as planned the next day?

s

laverendrye

Perhaps you might want to reconsider your decision not to drive to Bourdeilles on your arrival in Angoulême. It's only about 60 km and the road is good. You will have had a chance to rest a bit on the train, and you will be able to settle in at Les Griffons comfortably.

You might also consider picking up the car in Périgueux (right by the station). Getting in at 6pm, you could easily pick up your car and be in Bourdeilles before 7, as it's only about 25 km away.

StCirq

Sue4:

I'd would (in this order):

1. Pick up the car in Périgueux and proceed to Bourdeilles right away. As mentioned, the road is good and it's only 27 km. You can do this - really - I do it all the time, driving 40 kms after all-night flight and 5-hour train ride, and I'm no spring chicken!

2. Proceed as planned and pick the car up in Angoulème and drive right to Bourdeilles. It's about an hour's drive - manageable even after all that traveling.

3. See if you can get a train to Sarlat. Don't pick up a car there - just enjoy a couple or few days there and reorganize the rest of your trip accordingly. The train station in Sarlat is on the edge of town,and it could be a bit of a hike to a hotel, but there are taxis.

I wouldn't spend two nights in Périgueux OR Angoulème with one of them being a holiday. You can see all you need to see of them in three-quarters of a day, and things will be closed.

If you do end up spending the night in Périgueux, the Hotel-Restaurant du Midi opposite the train station is actually one of the most recommended ones. I've never even peeked inside, but it's certainly convenient to the station.

Michael

I would not spend two nights either in Sarlat if the day is a holiday. I find Sarlat too renovated for tourism to be interesting for more than a day's visit. The best is to pick up the car, knowing that the next day driving around might be the best option if museums and shops are going to be closed. Brantôme is a walk around place, so is St. Jean de Côle, both close to Bourdeilles, and the drive in that area is very pleasant. But the château in Bourdeilles is worth a visit.

StuDudley

For the day you arrive and the holiday the next day, I would do a combination of St Cirq's & Michael's recommendation. I find the train relaxing, so I would pick up a car when you arrive & push on to Brantome or Bourdeilles - I would choose Brantome, because you can walk around town & shop a little while stores are open on that day.

I'm usually "rarin to go" after waking up the first morning, so I would leave by 8:30 & head through Perigueux to Hautefort Chateau - planning to get there just as it opens at 10:00. Traffic should be light on a holiday. After the guided 1 hr tour and a restful visit to the gardens, I would head north on the D704 and west on the D707 to St Jean de Cole. Then get to the Grottes at Villars when it opens (after the lunch closing) at 2:00 for a 1 hr tour. Then head to Chateau Puyguilhem for the 45 min tour - last tour probably starts at 5:15, so you should make it there by then. After Puyguilhem, head towards Bourdeilles and if your timing is lucky, you might get there for the last tour of the day which most likely starts at 5:00. If you miss it, you can always catch it the next day.

If you are a late riser or are usually dragging the day after you arrive, skip Hautefort, sleep in, & only visit the places close to Brantome.

My Michelin Guide says that these places should be open - but verify this before you head out.

Stu Dudley

Sue4

Thanks everybody, for all the suggestions. I just got back from a weekend away, so was happy to see these just now. I think you are all correct that I should pick up the car on arrival, whether Perigueux or Angouleme.
Now I just have to decide which, and whether to spend night or drive on to Bourdeilles, or Brantome. The train ride to Angouleme is much shorter, but then the drive to Bourdeilles longer - so I guess that it all evens out! And maybe finding my way out of Perigueux would be easier, as it's a smaller city.

Anyway, think I'll just reserve the car that way but still mull over the city/hotel a little bit more. Yes, I'm aware of the car rental/time situation, and always figure all that in. Guess I shouldn't sweat over one extra rental day, when I'm spending so much anyway!
Car rental certainly isn't cost effective for solo traveling, is it? But the Dordogne must be seen by car!