I stayed in Sarlat once, though in April not June, and we liked walking to dinner--and from dinner after a bottle of wine. Traffic/parking wasn't bad at that time. I do live in a city and don't have a garage and so am generally unfazed by parking hunts.

FWIW, while there I purposely "imagined" what/how I would deal with more traffic and came to the imaginary conclusion that unless I was with children or others who required a pool and running-around space, I'd still prefer to stay in Sarlat because it's so pretty in the evenings and there are numerous restaurant choices as well as cafes, bars, etc.

We stayed in a little studio in Villa des Consuls and enjoyed it very much.

Have a great trip wherever you decide to stay. It's a beautiful area with plenty to see and do.

Stu, thank you for your detailed information about towns, restaurants and grocery stores in the Dordogne. It was very helpful!

Leely2, I found the website for Villa des Consuls and it looks very nice. Which apartment did you stay in? I was happy to hear that you found the town of Sarlat so pretty in the the evenings.

We are thinking about requesting the Richelieu apartment for our stay.
Thanks again! Laurie

Coincidentally, my wife and I are going to the Sarlat area at the same time, mid-June 2010. We are looking for a hotel which would have a nice view of the valley and river. Despite hours of research, I seem to have found only one- Hotel L'Esplanande in Domme. My concern is that this is my first time driving in Europe and it looks like Domme is a tiny town with very narrow streets. I'm not sure if the road from Sarlat is a narrow road or a highway. Any thoughts on whether this would be a poor choice? We are visiting the Sarlat area for 5 days to see the usual tourist sights, so I don't want to be in an isolated area. There just doesn't seem to be anything with nice views anywhere else, and cost is not a concern.

Laurie, sorry I didn't see this until now. We stayed in the Fenelon studio but I believe a number of Fodorites (as well as folks on tripadvisor) have stayed in some of the other apartments, including those with terraces. If you do a search here you should be able to find more. My photos are at this address:

http://www.pbase.com/leelygoes/hotels_france_2007

My tripadvisor review:

http://tinyurl.com/ku2o6b

http://preview.tinyurl.com/ku2o6b

jimchi

There are wonderful views of the valley from Domme and from L'Esplanade in particular and Domme itself is a charming village. That said, it is at the top of a hill and the road in and out is somewhat narrow and winding. I might think twice about using it as a base for sightseeing for 5 days. The streets in town are indeed narrow. However, if this does not bother you, by all means stay there.

Despite the warnings about traffic on the main street of La Roque-Gageac and Beynac, I didn't find it particularly heavy when we stayed in La Roque several years ago. We were there for two weeks in mid-June and found that it was a good base for touring the area. Interestingly, in that two weeks, except for a trip to pick up friends at the railway station in Périgueux, we never went beyond a 30km radius and still did not see everything we had wanted to see.

You won't find views to match Domme's but you might consider La Belle Etoile in LaRoque. It does have a nice view of the river, and the food is certainly quite good. I haven't stayed there, but have eaten there several times.

We went to Sarlat a number of times during our stay and never found traffic to be a great problem, even on market days. I'm sure that once July begins it's a different story.

jimchi, I drove in Domme (yes, tiny streets and hills) without fear. Domme is not isolated and I think unless you are a very nervous driver it will be fine. However, I am NOT a nervous driver when it comes to narrow streets, tight parking spots, etc. I just don't like going super fast on dark lanes.

re: the road to Sarlat, I defer to the experts but if I recall correctly, it's not really a highway in the big, multi-lane sense. But I wouldn't consider it a difficult drive. My trip to the Dordogne was my first driving-in-Europe experience and I thought it was remarkably easy.

Have fun!

I looked at review of La Belle Etoile on TripAdvisor and there are comments about shabby furniture, so not our kind of place. Any other suggestions, or comments about staying in Domme, would be appreciated.

I also don't know whether we need a guide or take several organized day tours while we are visiting the Sarlat area. We speak no French. There is a lady who does give a scheduled tour of Beynac, La Roque Gageac and Domme every Monday and then she does Rocamadour on Wednesdays, and Lascaux II and Eyzies on Fridays. But these tours lock me in to a tight itinerary. As we are illiterates (in French), should we plan on taking these tours or will be be able to fully appreciate these places by visiting on our own? There is always the possibility of a private guide, but it looks like they want about $500 a day- just a bit much!

I hope I haven't intruded on Laurie's post here, but it didn't seem to make much sense to start a whole new thread on the same topic.

The road from the base of Domme through Cenac & to Sarlat is quite wide, and VERY easy to navigate. We've taken it over 30 times in the 10 weeks we've vacationed near Domme. Also, as soon as you take your first trip into Domme - the subsequent trips will be a cinch. We take the road from Cenac, but there is also one from Vitrac that is probably "easier" for getting you to l'Esplanade. Really - it's no big deal.

Others have reported to me that Belle Etoile's hotel is kinda shabby. Their restaurant isn't, however

As I recall, there is just 1 room at l'Esplanade with the knock-out view of the river & valley. Great views from the restaurant & outside terrace and from the walking path & viewing terrace around the hotel.

Stu Dudley

You can easily visit all of those places on your own. Just get a guidebook. At the châteaux you'll be able to pick up printed guide materials in English. Also, all the tourist offices in the area have information in English about all the various sites.

That said, it would behoove you to learn a few useful phrases in French.