I'll be in France for about 8 days at the end of May. We'll spend most of that time in Paris, but would like to do 3 days elsewhere - hopefully, Sarlat and the Dordogne area.

From what I can gather, taking trains would be 5-6 hours from Paris, but that seems grueling after the international flights. Can anyone who has made the trek to this area comment on how difficult it is to get there? Or tips on how to get there more easily?

Yes, I agree that an additional journey by train after a long flight can be gruelling!

We flew to CDG airport and caught a connecting flight to Bordeaux. We picked up a rental car at the airport & drove a short distance to our hotel where we immediately crashed for a few hours, exhausted after the long journey. We had dinner & walked around a bit in the evening. The next morning, we drove to Sarlat. Here, we stayed for 5 glorious nights!

On a different trip, we took the TGV from Bordeaux to Roissy, about a 4 hour ride.

You will need a car to freely explore the lovely Dordogne (and the Lot, if you have time)! You will love Sarlat!

Good luck with your plans!

Do Paris first.

Then take the train from Montparnasse to Bordeaux. You can fly, but you don't see anything that way, and it is a fascinating trip.

You can rent a car at the Bordeaux station. I remember it being farther to Sarlat than 2010 does, so I would definitely not want to go there directly on arrival in France.

On the other hand, you can drive back to CDG and turn in your car there, though it is a long day.

Hi F,

I would take the train from Paris to Libourne (3 hr) or Brive la Gaillard (4 hr) and pick up a car.

I would not do it immediately upon arrival in France.

Is this your first visit to Paris?

Why not find a nice area somewhat closer to Paris? Normandië?
Or the area around Reims (Champagne!)?

Thanks for the replies. To answer a few questions:

- My second trip to Paris, so the sightseeing in Paris will not be too intense.
- I have thought about other areas closer to Paris and am still open to the idea. I would not mind going to the Champagne area - is it worth a 3 day trip? How would it compare to visiting vineyards in the Napa Valley area?

I wouldn't recommend a three-day trip to the Sarlat area. Too much time invested in getting there and back and you'll be so upset at how little of that magical area you'll get to see. Save it for when you've got some serious time to spend there.

Ditto - it would be a shame not to see more of what's here in the Dordogne, and you'll spend too much time travelling. I assume you will have to get back to Paris too.