Trip report Dordogne
May 31st, 2007, 02:34 AM
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Trip report Dordogne
First of all I want to thank everyone on the board that contributes information. Our trip would have been much tougher to plan without the generous feedback here. Stu Dudley, St Cirq, Carlux, Ger, Moolyn and Mr/Mrs Go get honourable mentions.
We used Frequent Flyer points to fly from Halifax/Toronto/Frankfurt/Toulouse. We found TLS very easy to drive to and from...very good signage.
Avis compact diesel car rental for 11 days....cost CAD 325.00. We used our Collision coverage from our credit card and luckily on this trip no mishaps. Kms driven 1373....93 Euros of gas used.
1st night La Truite Doree (Logis) in Vers which is half way between Cahors and St. Cirq lapopie. Half board was a very good value at 85 Euros.
2nd and 3rd nights at the Le Relais in Loubressac. Bed and breakfast at 93 Euros per night.
3 bedroom/2.5 bath villa rental outside of Cenac 460 Euros for the week.
Last night at Hotel Wilson Square in Toulouse...a bit of a dive but what do you expect for 53 Euros per night I guess.
Total trip cost worked out to be approx 4900 Canadian for the 11 nights.
Average spending I figure was approx 140 Euros per day for food, gas, incidentals such as admissions etc.
I'll post a day by day account but try to keep it to the point..except for a few small events that made our trip interesting.
We used Frequent Flyer points to fly from Halifax/Toronto/Frankfurt/Toulouse. We found TLS very easy to drive to and from...very good signage.
Avis compact diesel car rental for 11 days....cost CAD 325.00. We used our Collision coverage from our credit card and luckily on this trip no mishaps. Kms driven 1373....93 Euros of gas used.
1st night La Truite Doree (Logis) in Vers which is half way between Cahors and St. Cirq lapopie. Half board was a very good value at 85 Euros.
2nd and 3rd nights at the Le Relais in Loubressac. Bed and breakfast at 93 Euros per night.
3 bedroom/2.5 bath villa rental outside of Cenac 460 Euros for the week.
Last night at Hotel Wilson Square in Toulouse...a bit of a dive but what do you expect for 53 Euros per night I guess.
Total trip cost worked out to be approx 4900 Canadian for the 11 nights.
Average spending I figure was approx 140 Euros per day for food, gas, incidentals such as admissions etc.
I'll post a day by day account but try to keep it to the point..except for a few small events that made our trip interesting.
May 31st, 2007, 02:58 AM
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Dordogne and Lot...May 16-27/2007
Day one
We arrived with our baggage on this trip...so good start.
Avis had no line in comparison to Europcar so our paperwork took 5 minutes. We found Avis in France much more efficient that our rental in Italy. We made a wrong turn and drove through Blagnac but the signage is very good and got back on track.
The Toll road from Toulouse to Cahors is great and we arrived to Vers in about 90 minutes even in the rain.
We weren't expecting much from Vers but found it to be a cute town on the river within easy distance to St. Cirq and to Grotte du Pech Merle. We had asked for a room in the new section but even they seem rather worn. It was comfortable enough and certainly clean.
We spent the afternoon in St. Cirq Lapopie. We found lots of parking in the lot at the top of town. There were few tourists and the rain had stopped. The views were glorious and the town is as cute as a button. Much nicer than I expected based on some mixed reviews I had read.
The meal at the hotel was very good local cuisiine...paysanne salad with walnuts, casoulet (which was the best I've had since Carcassone), our first taste of Cabecou which neither of us could stomach, and a pistachio/chocolat icecream desert for me and creme brule for my husband.
It was a relaxing and enjoyable first day...we even made friends along the way. The town dog, a german sheppard mix, followed us around while we took a stroll.
Photos will follow but I have to edit them...575 shots hopefully down to a managable amount. Everything was so lovely that I'm not sure we can bear to part with any.
Day one
We arrived with our baggage on this trip...so good start.
Avis had no line in comparison to Europcar so our paperwork took 5 minutes. We found Avis in France much more efficient that our rental in Italy. We made a wrong turn and drove through Blagnac but the signage is very good and got back on track.
The Toll road from Toulouse to Cahors is great and we arrived to Vers in about 90 minutes even in the rain.
We weren't expecting much from Vers but found it to be a cute town on the river within easy distance to St. Cirq and to Grotte du Pech Merle. We had asked for a room in the new section but even they seem rather worn. It was comfortable enough and certainly clean.
We spent the afternoon in St. Cirq Lapopie. We found lots of parking in the lot at the top of town. There were few tourists and the rain had stopped. The views were glorious and the town is as cute as a button. Much nicer than I expected based on some mixed reviews I had read.
The meal at the hotel was very good local cuisiine...paysanne salad with walnuts, casoulet (which was the best I've had since Carcassone), our first taste of Cabecou which neither of us could stomach, and a pistachio/chocolat icecream desert for me and creme brule for my husband.
It was a relaxing and enjoyable first day...we even made friends along the way. The town dog, a german sheppard mix, followed us around while we took a stroll.
Photos will follow but I have to edit them...575 shots hopefully down to a managable amount. Everything was so lovely that I'm not sure we can bear to part with any.
May 31st, 2007, 03:39 AM
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Hi Crazy - just fulfilling my committment to adding at least one comment to any trip report I read so that the author knows it's being read! La Truite Doree is one of the hotels on our "potentials" list for our planned 1 night stay as we drive south (our trip isn't until next year) so I am interested in those details!)
looking forward to the remaining days updates!
looking forward to the remaining days updates!
May 31st, 2007, 03:58 AM
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Thank you for the encouragement CanadaV. I thought the hotel was good value for money. The room was a little spartan, the bed very firm but I don't mind that, the location was very convenient for us and the dinner was very good. The restaurant was packed so I think it's popular with locals as well.
Good luck with your planning.
Good luck with your planning.
May 31st, 2007, 05:44 AM
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Crazy, I'm impressed but pleased that you've started your Dordogne report already. Good work! I'll be following along. It was almost exactly a year ago that we were heading there ourselves. We enjoyed St. Cirq Lapopie too but were glad to be leaving just as busloads of tourists were arriving.
May 31st, 2007, 09:09 AM
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Thank you for tuning in Images2.
Moolyn...I wish I could be as organized as you and have my photos posted with each section. I find a picture is worth a thousand words. I'm having computer troubles (actually more my trouble using the computer than actual computer problems I'm afraid). I guess we were lucky because there were no bus groups while we were there. We got there around 2pm and stayed a couple of hours, so we must of missed the crowds. Other than a few other people, we had the place to ourselves.
Moolyn...I wish I could be as organized as you and have my photos posted with each section. I find a picture is worth a thousand words. I'm having computer troubles (actually more my trouble using the computer than actual computer problems I'm afraid). I guess we were lucky because there were no bus groups while we were there. We got there around 2pm and stayed a couple of hours, so we must of missed the crowds. Other than a few other people, we had the place to ourselves.
May 31st, 2007, 02:35 PM
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Thanks for writing this up. Dordogne is on our "must see" list, so I'm starting to read more posts about the area.
I think your costs--$4900 Cdn--sound very reasonable. Does that figure include the Aeroplan taxes and fees?
Anselm (another Nova Scotian)
I think your costs--$4900 Cdn--sound very reasonable. Does that figure include the Aeroplan taxes and fees?
Anselm (another Nova Scotian)
May 31st, 2007, 02:42 PM
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Anselme - do you have my Dordogne itinerary??? E-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy. However, unless you do it in the next hour, I won't be able to respond till mid July, and if you e-mail me earlier than mid-June, it will age-off my incoming e-mail queue.
If you liked the Puy du Dome, you'll love the Dordogne (the food is much better too).
Stu Dudley
If you liked the Puy du Dome, you'll love the Dordogne (the food is much better too).
Stu Dudley
May 31st, 2007, 02:50 PM
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Thank you all for tuning in.
Stu...I'm pea green with envy. I love Provence and will no doubt go back again some day as I only scratched the surface there on a previous trip. Enjoy you holiday!! The Euro has lost a little bit of ground which should hopefully stick around for a few more weeks.
Anselm...the 4900.00 included the air taxes and service fees in the amount of 443.00...travel insurance 110.00 and local car taxes which were an additional 48 Euros paid locally. I haven't gotten my last credit card statement so that is an estimate give or take a little bit. Pity the Euros was just starting to fall. Whatever you do, don't use American Express...their rates are about 3 percent higher than Mastercard. I only used them for a few things and was shocked at the difference.
Stu...I'm pea green with envy. I love Provence and will no doubt go back again some day as I only scratched the surface there on a previous trip. Enjoy you holiday!! The Euro has lost a little bit of ground which should hopefully stick around for a few more weeks.
Anselm...the 4900.00 included the air taxes and service fees in the amount of 443.00...travel insurance 110.00 and local car taxes which were an additional 48 Euros paid locally. I haven't gotten my last credit card statement so that is an estimate give or take a little bit. Pity the Euros was just starting to fall. Whatever you do, don't use American Express...their rates are about 3 percent higher than Mastercard. I only used them for a few things and was shocked at the difference.
May 31st, 2007, 03:39 PM
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Day Two...rainy and quite cool
Arrived in plenty of time for our 10am appointment at Grotte du Pech Merle. The tour is in French but I had enough English information from the internet and their brochure.
This was the closest thing I've had to a religious experience since my first visit to the Sistine chapel. The cave has some interesting formations but I was truly in awe of the drawings. This was certainly one of the highlights of our trip and our favourite of the 4 caves we saw.
After the visit to the cave we watched the short film they showed inside the adjacent museum. Jetlag was starting to hit me hard so I think I nodded off a few times. The museum itself has some interesting artifacts and is worth the extra time.
We continued our drive through the Cele Valley to our next stop Figeac. It would have been a much nicer visit had it not been so rainy.
To get out of the rain we ate lunch at Creperie La Chaneleur on a small side street rue Boutaric. The meal was decent but not memorable.
After lunch, we wandered the lovely back streets until we were soaked. We managed a few photos but it was difficult not to get the lense wet.
We made our way to Loubressac which was the base for our next two nights. We had booked there as a fairly last minute option when our hotel in Carennac was closed by the health department....we could see that it looked a little run down when we happened upon it later.
The hotel Le Relais has the most lovely views of the countryside, Chateau Castelnau and the town of Loubressac. The rooms are a little worn but clean, firm bed, lovely pool and a five minute walk from town. We had our second best meal of our trip here. A very good choice of hotel overall.
The chef has a daily creation which can be ordered as a 3 course meal or 5 course meal. The first night I paid 18E for 3 courses which included a few pasteries, a green salad with walnuts, main course of Magret stuffed with olives and a balsamic reduction. Vegetable were flowers of white aspargus (delicious), eggplant and red onion. My husband paid 26E for an additional course of Soup du Poisson which came with some interesting garnishes and a cheese course selection. For desert, I had a tasty apple tart and he had chocolate mousse cake. We had a half bottle of rose...total meal cost an absolute steal at 51E.
Arrived in plenty of time for our 10am appointment at Grotte du Pech Merle. The tour is in French but I had enough English information from the internet and their brochure.
This was the closest thing I've had to a religious experience since my first visit to the Sistine chapel. The cave has some interesting formations but I was truly in awe of the drawings. This was certainly one of the highlights of our trip and our favourite of the 4 caves we saw.
After the visit to the cave we watched the short film they showed inside the adjacent museum. Jetlag was starting to hit me hard so I think I nodded off a few times. The museum itself has some interesting artifacts and is worth the extra time.
We continued our drive through the Cele Valley to our next stop Figeac. It would have been a much nicer visit had it not been so rainy.
To get out of the rain we ate lunch at Creperie La Chaneleur on a small side street rue Boutaric. The meal was decent but not memorable.
After lunch, we wandered the lovely back streets until we were soaked. We managed a few photos but it was difficult not to get the lense wet.
We made our way to Loubressac which was the base for our next two nights. We had booked there as a fairly last minute option when our hotel in Carennac was closed by the health department....we could see that it looked a little run down when we happened upon it later.
The hotel Le Relais has the most lovely views of the countryside, Chateau Castelnau and the town of Loubressac. The rooms are a little worn but clean, firm bed, lovely pool and a five minute walk from town. We had our second best meal of our trip here. A very good choice of hotel overall.
The chef has a daily creation which can be ordered as a 3 course meal or 5 course meal. The first night I paid 18E for 3 courses which included a few pasteries, a green salad with walnuts, main course of Magret stuffed with olives and a balsamic reduction. Vegetable were flowers of white aspargus (delicious), eggplant and red onion. My husband paid 26E for an additional course of Soup du Poisson which came with some interesting garnishes and a cheese course selection. For desert, I had a tasty apple tart and he had chocolate mousse cake. We had a half bottle of rose...total meal cost an absolute steal at 51E.
May 31st, 2007, 04:08 PM
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How was the drive along the Cele river to Figeac? Was it slow going? How long did you spend in Figeac?
We'll be spending a week in a gite in Belcastel, west of Rodez and I have a day trip planned, starting out in Figeac, driving the Cele River road, visit the Grotte du Pech Merle, then St. Cirq-Lapopie, and back up the Lot river road.
Do you think this is feasible in one day?
We'll be spending a week in a gite in Belcastel, west of Rodez and I have a day trip planned, starting out in Figeac, driving the Cele River road, visit the Grotte du Pech Merle, then St. Cirq-Lapopie, and back up the Lot river road.
Do you think this is feasible in one day?
May 31st, 2007, 04:27 PM
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Yippee! A trip report for the Dordogne to read. 
We will be flying into Toulouse on 7 July and spending a week in the region before going on to Paris so this will be helpful. Thanks!
Glad to hear getting out of Toulouse is easy.
Images2 - We have a similar day planned with Figeac, St. Cirq-Lapopie, and Pech Merle on the same day (in and out of the Conques area). So far no one has told me that it is crazy, but I will be eager to get feedback here.
Looking foward to more CRAZY4TRAVEL!
We will be flying into Toulouse on 7 July and spending a week in the region before going on to Paris so this will be helpful. Thanks!Glad to hear getting out of Toulouse is easy.
Images2 - We have a similar day planned with Figeac, St. Cirq-Lapopie, and Pech Merle on the same day (in and out of the Conques area). So far no one has told me that it is crazy, but I will be eager to get feedback here.
Looking foward to more CRAZY4TRAVEL!
May 31st, 2007, 05:03 PM
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Actually...I completely forgot that we went to Chateau Castelnau as our last stop before Loubressac. The views must be very awesome on a clear day. I have to say that the Interior of the Castle did not wow me but the view of the castle from our hotel was pretty special.
May 31st, 2007, 05:11 PM
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We packed quite a bit in our second day Images2. I would say that had it been a sunny nice day that we may have lingered along the Cele and stopped in a town or two. The rain was quite steady. The drive from Pech Merle to Figeac was a little more than an hour. We stayed in Figeac for 3 hours. Visited Castelnau and still had time for a walk in Loubressac before our 8pm dinner.
I guess it depends on how much you want to do in a day. We usually have more energy at the start of our trip and tend to run out of steam half way through.
We try not to plan things to death. Our main plan for the day was Pech Merle and Figeac and everything else was flexible.
fun4all4....we quite liked Toulouse. It reminded me of a small Paris. Very fashionable and chic.
I guess it depends on how much you want to do in a day. We usually have more energy at the start of our trip and tend to run out of steam half way through.
We try not to plan things to death. Our main plan for the day was Pech Merle and Figeac and everything else was flexible.
fun4all4....we quite liked Toulouse. It reminded me of a small Paris. Very fashionable and chic.
