Paris to Dordogne
 

Hello! I have a bunch of questions. I won't bore all of you with the details of our grand journey but basically we are a large family group traveling to a villa in the Dordogne, SW of Periguez. Some will be traveling from Paris, and some from CDG. Here are the questions! 1. On a Saturday in September, how quickly can we get on a train at the station at CDG (how much time do we need to get through passport control etc). 2. We will be picking up 3 cars at whatever station we train to and it looks like the rental offices close early on Saturdays. We were thinking that a train to Angouleme would be best. And we also need to check in at our villa by 6pm although a later arrival is possible. Finally, we will need to stop for groceries and/or dinner on the way. Thoughts?

Hi

You asked at the perfect place. There is a poster called StCirq who will answer you in detail, she lives in Dordogne and travels a lot - inc of course going to/via/through Paris.

Just a thought : avoid if possible driving after a long flight.

Driving a strange car on strange roads while jet-lagged is not much different than driving drunk. Avoid it if at all possible.

Last year I took a 4-hour train from Paris-Gare de Lyon to Brive.
I picked up a car in Brive and drove the remaining 1.5 hours to a place near Beynac in the Dordogne. However, I left around 8 am and was not jet-lagged, so it's different from your situation.

I don't know why a train to Angoulème would be best. I've gone from Paris to the Dordogne a couple of hundred times and would never have considered ending up in Angoulème. There are lots of reasons not to go to Angoulème, two of them being it's a fair haul from there to south of Périgueux (note spelling), which you shouldn't undertake after an all-night flight and a 2.5 hour train ride, and the other being that Angoulème has some of the worst dystopian urban sprawl in all of France and it could take you hours just to figure out how to get out of there and on your way.

Take the TGV from CDG to Bordeaux, then the local train to Périgueux. Pick up your car there. Your friends will need to take the TGV from the Gare Montparnasse to Bordeaux, then on to Périgueux. You don't say what time your flights arrive in Paris, so it's enetirely speculative as to whether you'll make it to this villa in time, but you should allow 3 hours after landing time to catch your train; your friends, who presumably are already in Paris, should allow 1.5 hours or so. Monparnasse is a huge, busy station.

I've never encountered a car rental outfit in France that was closed early Saturday afternoons, but I have my own car now and don't do rentals, so you'll have to check that.

I would put off fretting about groceries until you have the basic travel arrangements sorted out and know when you will arrive in Périgueux. It's France. There will be food.

You need to take the TGV train Paris Monparnasse to Bordeaux St-Jean. Trains leave about every 2 hours with a duration of 2 hours. The car rental offices at train station are open until 6pm. Taxi to airport if required. Bordeaux airport car rentals are open to 11:30pm.

Those at CDG should consider flying to Bordeaux or Toulouse. Car selection is best at Toulouse airport(car rental open till 11:30pm).

Look up on internet the supermarket hours near your rental. Or ask the villa rental office in advance. It's Perigueux.

I posted without seeing the post of StCirq. If there are any contradictions believe her.

About trains - booking way early can yield deep discounts but those tickets are non-changeable non-refundable I believe- so as planes can be late and lines at immigration sometimes absurdly long (my son recently had to wait about an hour as only 2 desks out of many were open)-so leave plenty of fudge factor time at CDG if buying discounted tickets.

For lots on trains check www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

And yes take everything StCirq says about Dordogne as gospel - she has lived there years and has proven to be an unbeatable resource about Dordogne and France in general.

Thank you so much for all the help. We definitely will not be driving with jet lag. Those who will drive will have been in Paris for 3 days. One reason I was thinking about Angouleme is that I believe the Bordeaux marathon is the weekend we will be traveling (Sept 9) but now as I'm writing this I realize that that's ridiculous if we simply go on to Perigueux and get our cars there. I suppose the Paris group and the CDG group could meet on the train from Bordeaux to Perigueux and travel on from there together.

StCirq, I've followed your advice in other parts of France and it's been spot on, so thank you! Do you have a blog or another access to your info for other questions? E.g., which wineries should we visit near our villa?

And of course, one more issue is whether we can get to Perigueux by 5:30 to pick up cars before the rental office close.....

You'd have to leave CDG TGV station about 9:30 am to get to Perigueux in time - trains later than that arrive at 5:25 -if on time so not an option. This from www.bahn.de/en site -usually infallible.

Thanks, Pal, for the vote of confidence.

lovetotravel12: The Bordeaux marathon will not affect your travel plans if you will be in transit on trains. I suppose getting train reservations might be a pain, but you should do that starting 92 days in advance, anyway, for the TGV.

Not sure why Pal thinks you'd need to leave CDG by 9:30 am. The train ride is just under 3 hours (not 2, as dubi said). If you left CDG by noon you'd be in fine shape to arrive in Périgueux , with the change in Bordeaux, by about 4:30 pm, giving you plenty of time to get toyour villa with a stop at LeClerc or Grand Frais or any number of other places along the way to pick up foodstuffs.

The other thing to consider, which I didn't mention because it throws a bit of complication into most people's plans who don't do this often, is that you can get off the TGV from CDG or Montparnasse at Libourne, 20 minutes before you reach Bordeaux, and there you can just as easily and more cheaply get on the train to Périgueux (same train that would be coming from Bordeaux). And it would cost slightly less to take the train to Libourne than to Bordeaux.

lovetotravel12, the Périgord is not known for wineries. The nearest vineyards of any note are in Bergerac. Don't come here thinking its going to be a wine vacation, though of course you can drink all the wine you want from anywhere in France. We don't have cute little wine villages and vineyards here.

If you are using an American credit/debit card to purchase train tickets, use www.trainline.eu, not Bahn.de or www.voyages-sncf.com.

My blog is nascient and will be until I finish renovating this old house, but feel free to email me at StCirq at aol dot com if you want to communicate off Fodors. Eventually there will be so much stuff on my blog you won't want to follow it LOL!

The Libourne plan sounds like the best option for us. Thank you for the info.

We are not big wine people but I thought for some of the new travelers it would be fun.

We are a group of 13, two brothers, wives and five 20something kids with their boy/girl friends. Some have never been to Europe and some have traveled a lot (like me and my husband who is one of the brothers) which is why we're going to the Dordogne. Since I'm planning the trip I got to choose and I have always wanted to go!

We are planning on canoeing on the Dordogne, going to Lascaux, visiting Sarlat, some chateaux, and generally eating and drinking! Any other ideas would be very welcome. We are staying at a villa near La Douze.

I had some great wine close to Bergerac and there is a white moelleux that can rival with Sauternes.
Both names escape me of course I hope I still have some bottles in the cellar.
But Dordogne was a kind of back up wine for Bordeaux. Now some very good if their own.

Wo, the wine that rivals Sauternes is probably a Montbazillac. It's what we drink with foie gras here. There are numerous vineyards in the Bergerac region:

http://www.vino-passion.co.uk/visits...rgerac-region/

But you don't need to go and visit them (in many cases you simply can't - they are too small and busy; this isn't Napa Valley). Just buy them in any supermarket, at any fresh market, or at one of the Julien de Savignac stores (in Sarlat, Le Bugue, Bergerac, and I forget where else). If you want to try a decent, classic Bergerac wine, white or rosé or read, stop by the stall of our friend Jean-Marc at the Tuesday market in Le Bugue or the Friday market in Le Buisson. He's the vintner at the the Château de Lambertie and you'll recognize him because he has a gorgeous antique Citroën parked next to his stall.

La Douze is a nice place, a bit removed from the main sites, but still peaceful and pretty. We always, always stop there on our way to Périgueux for a coffee and on our way back for a panaché. The Belgian guy who sells waffles and frîtes there on market day from his truck is great. The little restaurant/café at the back of the parking lot (the name escapes me) where all the workers go for lunch is a terrific bargain (would be good for a big group).

To the OP, in addition to what you've mentioned, I would consider visiting: La Maison Forte de Reignac, le Château de Commarque (absolutely fabulous old ruin, but not advisable for anyone who can't hike a bit and climb a lot of old stairs), the artists' communities in Meyrals and Trémolat, the markets of Le Bugue and Le Buisson and St-Cyprien, L'Abri de Cap Blanc, and La Roque St-Christophe (not to be missed). If you want more ideas, I have plenty.

For eating and drinking I can recommend a slew of places (all kinds, all prices): L'Espérance in Le Buisson (1 Michelin star but very casual and inexpensive), L'Auberge Layotte (maybe the most unusual place you'll ever eat - all bio and a set family-style menu); L'Auberge de l'Etang Jolie (go for lunch; the owners are usually tanked by dinnertime); La Métarie near Trémolat; Le Passeur in Les Eyzies; Le Viuex Moulin in Les Eyzies (drop-dead gorgeous setting; food not totally reliable); l'Auberge Médiévale in Audrix; L'Esplanade in Domme (somewhat expensive, but phenomenal view).

For the best local products (foie gras, etc.), buy from Albié, a store in Les Eyzies (on the corner over the bridge from the RR station, where the turn-off to St-Cirq commences) and one in Sarlat. For the best local wines and spirits, visit Julien de Savignac.

Omg! Thank you sooo much! What fantastic info! What website do you think is best to find out what the market days are for a little town like La Douze?
I am so excited! I love traveling in France, I'm on Rosetta Stone to try to develop my French!

Also StCirq, I assume you think reservations are de rigeur for a group of 13?!

La Douze doesn't have an official market, but sometimes on a weekend when we pass through there are a few stalls and the Belgian guy. Here's a site for markets in the Dordogne, though:

http://www.francethisway.com/tourism...ne-markets.php

You absolutely will need to reserve for 13, even at a pizza place! Even chez moi! Even at the Café de la Mairie in Les Eyzies or the PMU in Le Bugue. By September most locals will be tired from the tourist trade and want as much time as possible to prepare in advance for a group. You'll get better food and service by calling/stopping by in advance, too.

StCirq: Are "summer hours" literally through Aug 31? I'm wondering about the Night Markets which look like a lot of fun but are only on-going in the summer.

There won't be any marchés nocturnes outside of July and August. But that's not a big deal; they aren't that special, at least IMO. People are normally just selling all the junk they couldn't sell at the regular brocantes and vides-grenier, and the food is leftovers. Nobody who lives around here ever bothers to go to them.