recommendations for Dordogne France
 

Spending some time in the Dordogne region of France in late July of 2014. Any recommendations for hotels, restaurants, and things to do. On hotels and restaurants looking for the top quality places. Thank you for your help.

we will be located in the 24270 Lanouaille area in the Dordogne.

Need to know how many people, budget in euros, all the particulars.

The towns of Beynac and Sarlat should not be missed. Lascaux caves is also worth a visit, You could alos head down to the Langeaudoc(spell check) region and visit the gorgeous towns of Carcassonne and Albi!

Get the Michelin Green Guide that covers the Dordogne. Being in Lanouaille, you'll need to emphasize what is within driving distance in the Périgord vert. It will be quite a distance to get to Sarlat and the <i>plus beaux villages</i> on the Dordogne river. it can be done, but can be a drag on a daily basis.

While you are a bit away from where most people who go to the Dordogne tend to visit, it is still lovely. We spent a week in a gite near Hautefort, which is a bit further south. You can visit Brantome and Bourdeilles. There are chateaux at Hautefort and Excideuil. You will be very close to Segur-le-Chateau which is a Plus Beau Village de France, Arnac Pompadour and Uzerche. Some wonderful views. Vigeois has a lovely old bridge. We visited the market at St Yrieix-la-Perche [Plus Beau Detour de France] on Friday and bought some wonderful, pungent cheese. Look at the Michelin maps and find the green scenic roads.

I cannot help with 'top quality' places to stay and eat though as we self cater and do not eat out a lot.

Have a great trip.

Restaurants: In Sarlat, consider Le Grand Bleu and Rossignol. In Domme, consider L'Esplanade and Cabanoix & Chataigne.

I second Michael's recommendation for the Michelin Green Guide.

Thank you everyone the green guide arrived today. With your recommednations and the green guide we are well on our way. Thank you for your time and suggestions.

Périgrod vert pictures, to whet your appetite: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623282383670/

correction: Périgord

For celebratory meal north of Lanouaille: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...n.html#REVIEWS

For a good meal at especially good prices on Wednesday evenings: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Aquitaine.html

If you make it to Hautefort, which is worth a visit, then you should go a few km further and visit the Plus Beau Village Saint-Robert.

Thank you Michael and french Mystique

It's a long dark ride home (one hour +) if you have dinner in Sarlat. Stick to restaurants such as the ones Michael suggested, closer to Lanouaille. As others have mentioned, you won't be staying close to many of the more popular sites in the department, but that might be nice if you're looking for a mellow, relaxing vacation. At least you'll be avoiding some of the big crowds which usually clog the area near Sarlat during late July.

We did a lovely canoe trip down the river in the Dordogne this last July. The water was covered with white flowers, and blue dragonflies were everywhere. I even saw a watersnake. It was a hot, hot day (about 100 degrees) so sunscreen was a must, and it helped that I had my 22 year old son to help with the rowing! Once you are in the area you will find lots of flyers for companies that rent canoes and kayaks. It think I found my flyer at the Lascaux ticket office.

The OP is going to be an hour's drive away from canoeing spots on the Dordogne. But should he want one, the one that starts from St-Vincent-de-Cosse has always been my favorite (though they aren't all that different - I just like the owners of this one a lot).

Canoeing sounds fantastic. Thank you.

He

I agree with brendonb28. My wife and I stayed Ina wonderful
L bed and breakfast in Beynac called Le Petit Versailles and explored the Dordogne extensively. A further east is Rocamadour which is also a must see. Do not forget to visit Josephine Baker's castle and others in the area. Find out when and where e open markets are. We visited one each in Sarlat and S. Cyprien. We bought a great variety of interesting and tasty sausages which lasted us well into Spain. The baguettes are great with the sausages and wine. Enjoy.

St. Cyprien

Have a picnic along the river at Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère as we did last year:

"We hopped back in the car for a beautiful drive to a quaint, picturesque village (there seems to be a theme here), a place where Kim’s description of these types of towns certainly fit. “This place is felony cute,” he said. The town is Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère.

Walking through the town located on the Vézère River, we went searching for a restaurant, three of which were closed. No wonder the French stay skinny, there’s never a restaurant open to eat.

Then a thought occurred to me (hey, it happens). I remembered someone writing about a Dordogne town that would be a great place to picnic, and I thought I remembered that this was the place. I guess the Liqueur de Noix doesn’t kill as many brain cells as I thought.

When Kim and Mary went inside a little church, I walked down to the river and saw a spot where picnic benches were lined up. There was also a little store to purchase picnic provisions. Although I am a tough trip taskmaster, even I realized it was time to Stop and Smell the Fromage.

First, I walked along the riverbank where there was a picnic table complete with beautiful tablecloth (Sarlat Market Day flashback), plates, silverware, wine glasses and a British gentleman who was setting it all up. I asked the chap (I think when you talk about Brits, chap must be used), what was up, he said that this is a place he takes his small tours for a wonderful Dordogne experience. It was quite a spread.

<B>Le déjeuner sur l’herbe</B> was the one-stop shop for our makeshift picnic. Since we had stopped to smell the fromage, we decided to eat some, as well. We ordered a plate of various cheeses, charcuterie, bread and a large bowl of Vichyssoise, along with a bottle of vin Rouge to top it off.

We basked in the glorious sunshine (ok, that sounds way too romance novel-like) and had a great picnic. If you are looking for a bucolic spot in the Dordogne, Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère is where you want to spend some quality, relaxing Dordogne moments. Of course, our group can only relax for so long, so we paid the bill and off we went for our next stop of the day."

((H))

All these suggestions from people who've visited the highlights of the Périgord Noir in the Dordogne are great, but the OP is staying elsewhere, about an hour away. So that's two hours of driving every day just to get to and from these places. Factor in the traffic in the Périgord Noir in July and it could well be 3-4 hours of driving. I think the OP would be better off exploring the Périgord Vert and making his own discoveries (he could come back and tell us about them, too!). A daytrip or two to the Périgord Noir would be a great idea, but I can't see him heading out for it on a regular basis.