chchtrain

I have finally finished planning my trip to Dordogne . First of all, would like to thank all Fodorites for their input, especially StuDudley whose trip report I will bring along. Please help with my questions:

1) Paris to Sarlat:
The train to Brive and to Souillac the same? Which allows me a direct train from Paris' Gare Auterlitz?

How do I reserve a car at Brive station? Or is it easier to pick up at Souillac? Kindly give me the websites of the car rental agencies there. I prefer as short a drive as possible to Sarlat so I assume Souillac would be better.

2)Will be in Sarlat 's Villa des Consuls. As soon as I gave the hotel my credit card to secure the booking, I have been charged one night stay. Is this a normal practice for this particular hotel? My stay is in October. The hotel has stated that the cancellation policy is 60 days prior to arrival. First time this happens to me .

3)After 5 nights in Sarlat, I took the advice of StuDudley and move East. I choose to stay in Les Esclagies in Racomadour. Is this a good location to explore the region? Please advise whether I should change location.I chose this hotel because it is very modern and nice. Stay 2 nights then back to Paris.

4) I managed to order Michelin Green Guide for Dordogne but are the Michelin Maps inside the guide book? Is Cadogan guide necessary?

Thank you again for your invaluable input.

jamikins

I can only help with the one night charge. This is normal practice for lots of small hotels in Europe It should state this policy on their website.

chchtrain

If it is normal to charge first, then I will accept the practice. Thanks

jamikins

In my experience it is, many will ask for first nights charge as a deposit.

Have a great time...we LOVED the Dordogne!

Carlux

Regarding your train questions, the Train from Gare d'Austerlitz goes to Brive la Gaillarde and then to SOuillac, so yes it is the same train.

However, there are no rental agencies in Souillac, and so you will have to pick up the car in Brive. Or, if you want to book through Europcar, they have an office in Sarlat. You could take the coach from Souillac to Sarlat (it meets the arriving trains) and then pick your car up in Sarlat.

There are fewer trains stopping in Souillac these days, a source of some concern in the area. So you may have to change in Brive. You can check them on www.voyages-sncf.com

Look for car rental on www.autoeurope.com, a broker used by many people here.

Regarding the Michelin Green Guide, it has some maps, but not good enough for driving. You should look for the yellow series, Dordogne-Correze no. 339 (I see it's available on Amazon, shown as 11339)

Villa des Consuls is not really a hotel - I think most of their rooms are self-catering. It is very common to have to prepay at least some if not all in advance.

I personally would stay in the same place for the whole time, as I don't like moving, but if you want to be further south/east, Rocamadour is fine. Really busy and touristy in the summer, but it should calm down by October. (It is reputed to be the 2nd most visited tourist site in France, after Mont St Michel)

chchtrain

Thank you Carlux for your reply. I think it would be easier to pick up the car in Brive and return to Brive.

chchtrain

If I pick up car only in Sarlat, do I have to take a taxi from Sarlat station to Villa des Consuls? Do you think perhaps I do not need a car for first 2 days? We love to explore on foot. Or do you think I would need a car from day I?

Carlux

As I mentioned, you can take a coach from Souillac train station into Sarlat. It usually stops at the top of Rue de la Republique, and if you have a reasonable amoutn of luggage you should be able to walk to the Villa des Consuls. You probably wont arrive until mid afternoon, and could easily spend the first day in Sarlat. But to go anywhere else you will need a car.

You might want to ask the people at Villa des Consuls some of these questions as well.

ira

Hi C,

Rocamadour is about 30 km due East of Sarlat.

Where are you going to visit those 2-3 days that you would want to make the move?

What's your Dordogne itinerary?

StCirq

I would take the TGV from Paris (either CDG or Gare Montparnasse) to Libourne and then Corail to Périgueux and pick up your car there. It's a shorter and easier drive to Sarlat.

I always use AutoEurope (www.autoeurope.com, 1-800-223-5555). I recommend calling them as opposed to just using the website, as they have excellent customer service, and if you have questions your transaction will take less time than if you do it online.

It's totally normal in Europe to be charged for one night's stay upon booking.

I don't see any reason to move over to Rocamadour for two nights, but it really depends on your itinerary. If you're planning to tour, say, the Gouffre de Padirac and Martel and Collonge-la-Rouge and then Figeac and St-Céré and maybe down to Cahors and Peche-Merle and St-Cirq-Lapopie, it makes some sense, but if your focus is on the Dordogne, it's not necessary.

Agree that the Michelin maps in the Green Guide aren't useful for driving. In addition to #339, you might want #279 as well. You can get them in any maison de la presse or supermarket. The Cadogan guides aren't "necessary," per se, but the Lazy Days Out in the Dordogne one has great recommended drives and restaurants.

chchtrain

Sorry, I did not see the other posts until now.
Villa des Consuls only has rooms for 5 nights so I figured I might as well move East to Rocamadour for my remaining 2 nights. That is the reason for my move.
How much time/how easy is it to take TGV vs regular train from Paris to Sarlat?

StCirq

There isn't a TVG of any sort to Sarlat. You'd have to take the TGV to Libourne or Bordeaux (or maybe Brive), then switch to a slow train to Sarlat. Making Sarlat your final train destination is the least good of your many options.