We once stayed a week at a house in Beynac, up towards the castle and next to the path to the top. We got to park at a parking lot for residents up at the top, so only had a slight descent down to our lodgings, but listening to the folks struggling to make the climb coming from the bottom was somewhat entertaining in its own right. Beautiful place to stay, and really enjoyed the week that we spent in the Dordogne.

Day 12, Rainy Day Adventures, Sarlat

Everybody was well rested after our day off, and it was time to explore more caves. *** Grotte des Combarelles has 600 engravings from 12,000 years ago; while *** Font de Gaume is the only cave with original paintings the public can visit in Aquitania. I was worried that visiting this many caves in one trip would be overkill, but I am so glad that I bought tickets, and that my friends were game! These were amazing, and much more intimate than the other caves . Access is extremely limited - there were only seven of us and an archaeologist at Combarelles, and eleven at Font-de-Gaume. The caves were narrow and we were only inches away from the art.


Waiting for the ticket office to open. I bought tickets online the day they went on sale.


The trail to Font-de-Gaume


The entry to Font-de-Gaume


The entry to Combarelles


All we could see were random scratching; the guide would trace out the patterns, adjust the lights, and suddenly horses, deer, mammoths, wooly rhinoceroses, bears, and cave lions would jump out of the shadows.

Day 12 continued: Food Porn

Someone on Fodors had recommended having lunch at *** Le Bistro des Glycines after the caves (I forget who), and it was one of the many wonderful meals we had this trip. It's also the only one where I acted like a foodie and took pictures of all of our dishes.


Gazpacho with stracciatella and basil


Grilled escargot with pork belly and burnt toast soup (soupe de pain brulé).


Trout sashimi with cream of garden vegetables


Tomato stuffed with confit de canard, rice pilaf


Gnocchi and artichokes in “tomme de Sarlat” cheese sauce


The same, with summer truffles


Pain perdu with salted butter caramel and ice cream


Cheese plate: Tête de Moine de Bellelay, with apricot-rosemary jam


Baba rhum and Chantilly cream


Strawberry tart with rhubarb and double cream


Followed by a walk along the river to digest

Day 12, Sarlat

This day wasn't over - in the evening some of us headed to the Gardens of Marquessac for their candle-lit evenings, *** Marqueyssac aux chandelles. The clifftop gardens stayed open until midnight, the paths were lit with candles, and there were musicians in scattered groves and copses. I could've stayed until midnight! But I think I had tired the gang out, and so we walked through the gardens, had some champagne while we watched the sunset, and then drove back to town.









This was our last night in the Dordogne - we were heading to Saint-Émilion the next day. This is such an amazing and beautiful corner of France, and yet few of our friends had heard of it, or been, and I don't think we heard an American accent the entire time. It was definitely heavily touristed, but so far hasn't been ravaged my mass tourism the way other parts of Europe have been. It's definitely a magical place to put on your agendas!

Yo MC,
I am glad that you and yours had such a great trip after all the effort put into arranging an itinerary that went beyond the usual suspects.
Your food fotos are fantastic!
Where to next?
I am done. the MCTR

Day 13: Saint-Émilion

It was only a 2 1/2 hour drive from Sarlat to Saint-Émilion, so we broke it up with a stop at * Château des Milandes, a 15th century castle that was the home of Josephine Baker when she left the US. The inside of the castle is a museum dedicated to the singer's life, while in the grounds they have different medieval-themed reenactments. Those seemed more geared to kids. Overall, it was a pleasant way to spend another rainy day. The restaurant on site was decent.


at Château des Milandes


On towards the vineyards of Saint-Émilion

That night we had reservations at *** La Table de Pavie, Yannick Alléno's two-star Michelin restaurant. This group of friends like good food, but aren't necessarily as into gourmet food and wine as I am - so I'm glad they agreed to go! I don't really like high-end US restaurants; I often feel like they are showing off, or that I am paying for attitude and reputation rather than great food.

This was great food, and great wine. It was also the first two-star restaurant any of us had been to. If I can afford it, it won't be my last.


Twenty vegetables prepared twenty ways - the chef’s signature dish.


Presenting the pigeon. We will have it prepared many ways, and I’m pretty sure we ate every part.








After dinner / pre cognac tissane: they wheeled out a garden & we chose our herbs for the tea. I went with lemon balm and lemon verbena.


Day 14: Saint-Émilion

Our last full day together! In the morning we walked through the vineyards from our lodging to Saint-Émilion.


It reminded my a bit of walking to Santiago, though I don't think any of the main routes passes through here.


Approaching Saint-Émilion on foot


We took a tour of the Monolithic Church / L’église monolith, did some shopping, then headed back to our lodging. I've learned that it's better to have the big dinner on the penultimate night, and to save the final night for relaxing. We bought a bunch of wine and cheeses and meats, and made our own picnic for dinner.



Day 15 - It's a wrap

The next morning it was time to get back to reality. Two of the guys took a train to Paris for their flight, and the rest of us drove back to Toulouse, dropped off our cars, and spent the night at the airport hotel. I had considered trying to cram in one last adventure - but we had just had an excellent two weeks. It was time to decompress before the long flight home.

Final thoughts

I don't know if there's much I would change - this itinerary worked out really well! And yet there are so many things we missed! If we had extra days we could have

- Spent an afternoon at Cordes sur Ciel or another perched village
- Spent the day at Rocamadour
- Canoed on the Lot or Dordogne Rivers
- Done more hiking (although, it would have probably been me alone hiking)
- Ended the trip in Bordeaux (if we had 2-3 extra days)
- Had more special dinners
- Ventured into Armagnac country ...

I could go on. I had a long list of places to see and things to do that I couldn't work in, and there's nothing I would have dropped. Perhaps one day, when I retire in the south of France, I'll be back.

I left out our lodging. Here's my quick recommendations:

• Toulouse: Hotel de Capitouls. Good price, good location, nothing special, nothing bad. A solid choice.
• Figeac: Viguier du Roy. A beautiful historic building. A splurge, but worth it for the atmosphere. Workers were nice but a bit impersonal.
• Le Bastit (rural Lot Department): Domaine de Bel Air. A classic French chambres d’hôtes. Wonderful proprietor, wonderful communal meals.
• Sarlat: The Parc Place. A large house right on the edge of the medieval quarter. Has parking! Nice English host. Good breakfasts.
• Saint-Émilion. La Gomerie. Set in the vineyards a couple km from town. A wonderful retreat! Has a pool. No meals.
• NH Toulouse Airport Hotel. Convenient if you have an early flight. Otherwise, nothing to recommend.

Very entertaining and complete report!

Great TR! Thanks!

You certainly made the region come alive with your excellent report and photos.
Ahhhhh! The food photos are gorgeous. The French make even the simplest dish look like an invitation to culinary pleasure.

Thanks for the kind words everyone! I learn more from Fodor's trip reports than from most guidebooks and from any other forum, so it's worth while to pay it all back with my own impressions.

Thank you for the report, I enjoyed every bit of it and got me intrigued by this part of France. What a wonderful vacation with your friends! They are lucky to have you plan everything.

Merci beaucoup, Michael. J'ai aimé voyager avec vous.

Thanks for this wonderful report, your friends were fortunate you are such a great planner.

Smashing report!!!! I'm always pretty close to SW France but have not been in maybe 20 years..,your report has kindled a real desire to return!! I absolutely loved your pics and all the attention to food details!!!!

Here is my pathetic attempt to show you a duck salad I ate the week in Vejer, Spain....it gets larger, but still remains crooked, if you click on the pic...

Thanks for a fabulous TR and drool worthy pictures. DH and I visited this region 40+ years ago when we were newly married and lived in Paris. I have been talking of going back for the last 10 odd years, but it somehow never happened. Fingers crossed I get there in the next year or two. In the meantime I travel along with Fodorites like you, thanks a ton!

I too have enjoyed every one of your posts. Such a fantastic trip for all of you.

It is amazing how different the various parts of France can be one to the other. We lived in the Vaucluse for 14 years and moved to the Dordogne 4 years ago (jeez, where does the time go..). The difference between the SE and the SW is incredible. Very hard to put into words.