Looking for small, off the beaten track hotel or B and B with charm and good service---good food a plus----have a car and travelling from Carcassone to San Sebastian but want a few days in Dordogne in early July---please advise. Thanks

Hello kissjaffe,

I recommend you to go to Sarlat la Caneda. It's a tipical and very beautiful village

Sarlat is indeed very beautiful, but it is definitely NOT a village - it's a town with a population of 70,000. And in July it will be mobbed - it's the market hub of the Périgord Noir and insanely popular in high season. I would suggest you aim for someplace within about a 30-km radius of Sarlat, concentrating on the south, west, and north, meaning places like Domme, St-Cyprien, Le Bugue, Castelnaud, Beynac, Montignac....if you state your budget it would be easier to recommend specific places. Off the cuff, though, check out La Table du Terroir in La Chapelle-Aubareil. It's a fabulous little, totally off-the-beaten-track place featuring fabulous local food, and I think they have rooms as well.

Another possibility, charming but with less emphasis on food service:
www.les-granges-hautes.fr

"Sarlat is indeed very beautiful, but it is definitely NOT a village - it's a town with a population of 70,000. "

While I agree Sarlat is definitely not a village (I live in a village of 600 people) there aren't 70 000 in Sarlat. It just seems like that in the summer.

The population as given on the official Sarlat site is 10 500, in a region of 70 000 people.

In early July you won't likely find anything 'off the beaten track' as this is a very popular region.

Recommend les Granges Hautes also www.les-granges-hautes.fr
or La Colline d'Orrance, small, with only 4 rooms, just up the hill from the centre of Sarlat.
http://la-colline-dorance.com/welcome.html

OK, les granges looks like just our kind of place---but here's the story----arriving Barcelona and going to La Malcontenta in Palamos, Spain for 3 nights, then on to Carcassone to stay at Chateau Canet (with lunch along the way in Coullier (sp)). We want to end up near San Sebastian for a couple of nights (looking at Iriarte Jauregia). Wanted to go to Dordogne between Carcassone and San Sebastian, but it just may be too much driving because we ultimately leave from Madrid and total trip is 14 nights. I love the idea of canoeing and caving in the Dordogne region, but perhaps we should stay further south, somewhere closer to Pau???? Any suggestions---it's for family of four with kids 10 and 14---charm and good food essential.

This July 2010, or next July 2011 - and if next year, what week? (I have a place in mind between the Cele/Lot Valleys that I've been looking into myself, but I don't want to give it away if you're going at the same time we are.)

Hi! I am in France, just finished 4 days in the Dordogne. We stayed OUTside of Sarlat in Vitrac. We stayed at the very nice Chateau de Rochebois. However, for a family, you might enjoy Le Clos Rousillon. Great central location, close to canoes, caves, etc. The area is just amazing!!!

ps....there's a great pizza place in Carsac

I meant to say we were in Dordogne for 8 days!!!

My trip report will be on here Sunday or Monday!

We are going July this year---probably in Dordogne July 8,9,10 (I know it's last minute---somehow it all works out!!)

Okay, kissjaffe, that's great. If you're interested in staying a little further south of the Dordogne, you might consider the Célé Valley and Lot Valley (just parallel to each other). Stu Dudley spent some time there recently and has written very positive things about the area if you have a copy of his notes.

Anyway, I am considering spending four nights in that area before moving up to a week in the Dordogne. There is a B&B in Cabrerets (right next to St. Cirq Lapopie and Pech Merle) which has been highly-rated in Trip Advisor: Un Jardin dans la Falaise. http://www.unjardindanslafalaise.com/gb/accueil_gb.htm

The family suite has a separate bedroom and a sofa bed (looks like a futon-type) in the living room. It's somewhat sparsely furnished, but it also has a kitchenette w/sink, fridge & coffeemaker.

Best of all: Not only are the views to die for as it's set into the cliffs (check out the pics), but the wife, Magali, supposedly makes these wonderful dinners. Breakfast is included; while dinner is 20€ pp.

I'm not sure it's still available for your dates, but Mali got back to me right away when I queried about availability for next year. It's worth a shot, especially once you read the reviews on Trip Advisor and see the photos of the beautiful locale on the B&B's website!

I think you can go canoeing and caving in that area, too, but I'm still doing my own research about it, so I don't have anydetails. If you go, please let me know what you think!

<<While I agree Sarlat is definitely not a village (I live in a village of 600 people) there aren't 70 000 in Sarlat. It just seems like that in the summer.>>

Yikes. And I even googled it before posting! Must've seen an exta digit in there or something.

Anyway, 3-4 days in the Dordogne isn't much, and it will be quite mobbed with visitors - you might want to head someplace that doesn't involve so much extra driving and that's less likely to have so much tourist traffic.

sap, we stayed at Un Jardin dans la Falaise in Cabrerets in October 2008. It was a great place - we loved it! We also enjoyed the wonderful dinner. It was such an unusual place on the side of a cliff. It was a quick ride over to Pech Merle and also to St Cirq Lapopie.

A 2nd vote for La Table du Terroir in La Chapelle-Aubareil. I had lunch there before going to see the Lascaux caves. One of the best meals I ever had!.. I was there in mid October, the weather and surroundings were perfect. They do indeed have rooms available as well..You should definitely look into this place for food/lodging.

We will be in this area at the end of September. Do you think we ned to make a diner reservation at La Table du Terroir?

Yes, I would recommend making a reservation. Someone else on this board said she made a big effort to travel there and it was closed or she couldn't get in or something. Kind of amazing that this place has a following on the internet now - when I first bought my home in the Dordogne 18 years ago no one but the locals had ever even heard of it.