Vanessa

A friend and I are starting to think about taking a trip in Paris at the end of June for about 8 days. Although this is tight, we would like to spend about 4 days in Paris, and the rest in the Perigord canoeing and hiking. Both of us have been to Paris before, but we would like to be there for at least a little while. My friend has been to the Perigord before, but only with a tour. How difficult will it be getting from Paris to the Perigord without a car (by TGV?), and where should we stay once we get there? <BR> Some of the towns she recalls visiting, and would like to revisit, are Sarlat, Beygnac, and the caves of Lascaux (please excuse misspellings!). Is there a way to fly into Paris and out of a town in the Perigord? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. <BR>Thanks!

Spanky

I think you will want TGV Paris-Bordeaux and then a local or a bus from there. If you arrive at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport and want to go straight to the countryside, I think you can catch a TGV from CDG 2. Load SNCF (French national railroad) into a search engine and you can bring up all the schedules, and fares, and I think even buy your ticket online. Good luck.

Diane

Getting there by train is no problem. The problem will be getting around the area. It is very spread out and you would need a car once you get there to sight see.

Marija

I recommend taking the train from Paris to Brive and picking up a rental car in the Brive train station. I believe that it takes less than an hour to drive to Lascaux from Brive. If you get a chance, I would recommend visiting Rocamadour as well.

Vanessa

Are there age requiremtents on renting a car in France? Both my friend and I are 22, would we even be able to rent a car? Secondly, neither of us is too excited about renting a car, we are somewhat navigationally challenged. Does anyone know of any bus service or driver service once we arrive in either Bordeaux or Brive that would leave us near a hotel in Sarlat for example. We were hoping to do a lot of walking anyway, so a bit of a walk isn't a big deal. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

elvira

The TGV goes to Bordeaux; you can get a train to Perigeux or Les Eyzies or Sarlat (to name a couple of towns) in a couple of hours. <BR>I've done the area by train and by car; if you were staying more than 4 days, I'd recommend a car to see the bastides and castles and fortified churches that aren't on train lines. As you're going to be there just a few days, making one of the above towns your base and then hiking the area will work ok. Lascaux and the Cap d'Abri and the Madeleine are good day hikes from Les Eyzies; there are a couple of prehistoric parks near Perigeux. All along the Vezere and Dordogne Rivers are canoe rentals. Horseback riding is another big pastime in the area. <BR>Have fun; other than Paris, it is my favorite part of France.