cparris

I am debating whether to stay in Rocamadour at the Beau Site or in the Hotel Fenelon in Carennac. I know both will be nice. Which would you select and why?

Laidback

I would probably stay in Carennac and visit Rocamadour. My reasons are that both are unique but Carennac is much more laidback, and not so steep and stair necessary as Rocamdour.

StCirq

I agree. Carennac is much more navigable, and lots more peaceful and beautiful than Rocamadour. Maybe not as breathtaking, but a better place to settle in for the night.

PalQ

Rocamadour is said to the the second most visited toursit place in France outside of Mont St Michel - don't know if this is true but times i've been there it's been a mob scene. Of course once was in August but i don't know Carennac but must be more quiet.

tedgale

Oh try the Fenelon!

We have looked into it a couple of times and had we not had another place to stay, might well have stayed there. I still have their card. A passing englishwoman resident in the neighbourhood lauded its restaurant too.

I realize this is all vague and hearsay -- but I can vouch for the beauty of the town.

I visited Rocamadour only once and loathed it. I was going through a particularly anti-clerical stage at the time and went with my very keen partner, under protest.

Touristy and commercial; exhausting hills; and I found the "shrine" aspect distasteful.

We got off to a bad start by taking a small road to reach it -- "road" is too kind a word for the cart track we ended up on.

So maybe I did not approach it (physically or psychic-ly) in the most positive way...

cigalechanta

tedgale, I love the fenalon. We brought a bottle to share to PB's bed and Breakfast. She had never tasted it before and liked it.

StCirq

We stayed at the Fénélon a few years ago. I wasn't as wowed as I'd expected to be, but maybe it was because the church bells rang very loudly every half-hour all night right outside our window - or so it seemed. Maybe you can hear them all over town. Anyway, it was very comfortable, and Carennac is just a gem of a town. That church tympanum is something!

cigalechanta

fenelon, a walnut wine..misspelled.

cigalechanta

that's actually an apertif, cassis with
walnut liquer and red wine. We bought several bottles that never made it home because we shared it wherever we stayed.

StuDudley

Another vote for Carennac (one of my favorite towns). Rocamadour is like visiting/staying at Disneyland.

Stu Dudley

Sue4

After reading this I'm ready to change my itinerary - and skip Rocamadour!
I'm staying at the Domaine de la Rhue (nearby)for 2 nights, but I'm more interested in seeing the other towns - Martel, Carennac, Collenges-la-Rouge, etc. Guess I'd better give Rocamadour a look, though - although I hate touristy places like that. I'll try to go early or late after the crowds have left. Or is it just as well to skip it totally??

cigalechanta

I was there one summer it wasn't too crowded that day. It is a beautiful site but we did enjoy Collenge-La- Rouge much more and had a wonderful lunch on a terrace. There's a wonderful leather shop there where I bought my dog a beautiful leather collar with silver hearts. The crowd was about the same but it was raining on both days

tedgale

In addition to Collonges and Martel and Carennac, do not miss Turenne and Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne.

In the latter town, we have often eaten at the Hotel Central Fournie: Abundant old-fashioned cooking with local ingredients -- the salade de gesiers served as a starter is a meal in itself and their nougat glace is wonderful....

StCirq

Tedgale knows what he's talking about. Go to Beaulieu and eat at the Central Fournie - yum!

Don't skip Rocamadour - after all, it's the "deuxième site de France" after le Mont St-Michel. There's a reason. Just plan to encounter a lot of people.

And the Gouffre de Padirac is loads of fun - just wear warm, waterproof clothing and prepare for some slippery walking. Collonges (not Collenges)-la-Rouge is a nice artsy town that banks on its unusual rose-colored stone that is so different from the limestone buildings elsewhere in the region, but it's good for an hour's wander around admiring the architecture and the shops. A lot of them are kitschy, like the ones in St-Cirq-Lapopie, but I found a beautiful 18th-century miniature tapestry there which I adore in one of the antique stores.

Martel is quite historic - the town of seven towers (see if you can find them). Read up on it and you will want to visit.

cigalechanta

St Cirq, I saw mostly art galleries and hand made clothing, very few other shops in St Cirq-Lapopie.

Sue4

Great advice here! No, I won't skip Rocamadour, especially since I'm staying quite nearby. Another question (St. Cirq?)- I'll be coming from Domme to that area in the AM., for a 2 day stay. Would it make more sense to first visit the northern cities (Martel, Turenne, Collonges, etc.) then Rocamadour & Padirac the next day? It looks like that might avoid some backtracking.

StCirq

Sue$:

Yes, I think that's what I would do - from Domme over to Souillac, then over to Martel, then Turenne and Collonges and Beaulieu, etc. Then head south the next day for Rocamadour and the Gouffre. A nice circuit.