Paul

We are picking up a car in Narbonne after taking the train from Barcelona and taking 5 days to get to Paris. The package we used includes 5 nites in any 1 of 100 Campanile hotels in France. We plan to do the Dordogne & the Loire valley regions on the way. Any advice or observations about the hotels and must do's along the way. Thanks

Martha

Paul-- What a neat idea for a trip. The Campanile chain is geared to domestic travelers. Although there will always be someone around who speaks English, not everyone one the staff will speak it. Your fellow guests will be mostly French-- a great opportunity to meet French people on an equal basis. The hotels themselves are all pretty new. The worst that can be said is that they are not in very exciting neighborhoods. (They are NOT in dangerous neighborhoods; just bland, commercial strips on the edge of town.) <BR>Check the forum for postings on the Loire. <BR>You won't be very far from Narbonne when you pass Carcassonne, a medieval city restored in the 19th century. Touristy, but interesting. In the Dordogne area, the tourist attractions are the beautiful river valleys with their limestone cliffs; the medieval villages; and the Cro-Magnon cave paintings. Lascaux II, the reproduction of Lascaux (which is closed) is the big tourist draw. But there are also caves with authentic Cro-Magnon art, which are open to the public. To see the villages and river valleys, you'll need to get off the N20 and drive the back roads. <BR>I live near this area. If you want more details, e-mail me direct. Martha

anne

The "stand-out" towns that we enjoyed this summer in the Dordogne/Lot area are Domme(with an unforgettable panoramic view), Sarlat (the Saturday morning market is a gourmet's delight!), Carennac(no straight streets! and flowers galore), and the view of Rocamadour from L'Hospitalet, across the valley. The area is so gorgeous - one spectacularly located charming village after another!

paul

Martha and Anne, thanks for your input. After much surfing and thought we have settled on a tentative plan, keeping in mind the Campinile only lodging: <BR> <BR>1st night oct.4,sun Carcassonne <BR> <BR>2nd & 3rd in Brive which should be a good base for exploring the villages & river valleys you both mentioned in the Dordogne region. <BR> <BR>4th night Tours or Amboise in the Loire valley. <BR> <BR>5th night in Chartres.Turn in our car & see Versailles before taking the train into Paris. <BR> <BR>

paul

Martha and Anne, thanks for your input. After much surfing and thought we have settled on a tentative plan, keeping in mind the Campanile only lodging: <BR> <BR>1st night oct.4,sun Carcassonne <BR> <BR>2nd & 3rd in Brive which should be a good base for exploring the villages & river valleys you both mentioned in the Dordogne region. <BR> <BR>4th night Tours or Amboise in the Loire valley. <BR> <BR>5th night in Chartres.Turn in our car & see Versailles before taking the train into Paris. <BR> <BR>I think my wife and I are more valley vista and small village people than Chateau people and this gives us more time doing those things.Also eliminates any Paris driving & let's us see Versailles, leaving 4 full day's in Paris to enjoy. (if we have any money left)I speak French a little so am looking forward to the Campanile experience to try it out. My wife is tireless so I don't imagine we will spend much time in our room anyway. <BR>