Yet another request for Dordogne help
 

My husband and I are flying to Bordeaux in mid September. We'll stay overnight at the Majestic and get our car next morning. We then have two free nights before meeting up with our friends. Where might my hubby and I stay for 2 nights between Bordeaux and Sarlat area that would be a bit different from what we'll see during the 7 days in Dordogne and Lot. I've been to Bordeaux twice so don't feel the need to stay long.
Our tastes as well as our friends are: leisurely pace, no more than two castles and two caves during our stay, picnics, poking around towns, country walks, wonderful food and wine, hotels with big rooms (by European standartds)-some in country, some in charming towns.
Once we meet up with our buddies, we have 7 full days touring and soaking up the region. We will actually meet up the evening before for dinner (where?) and then stay wherever we eat, so 8 nights all together.
Our plan is roughly as follow with possible hotels in ()
First evening and overnight -don't know, perhaps where we stay the next 3 nights
3 nights Domme (L'Esplanade) or Sarlat (Villa des Consuls or ???) or Le Petit
Versailles is between the above towns
2 nights in Racamadour area (Domaine de La Rhue)
2 nights in Mercues (Mas Azemar) to tour Lot
Does the above allocation of nights make sense?
After 2nd night in Mercues, we drive to Narbonne, drop the car and catch the afternoon train to Barcelona (thank you to the folks on this board who suggested this plan). We're considering Hotel Inglatarra for our 4 night stay in Barcelona.
Our friends are more adventurous and have suggested not making hotel reservations (inclusive dates are Sept 14-22). I am more cautious (about finding good rooms for 2 couples without wasting a lot of time) but want to hear others' experiences on reservations vs no reservations. Will Sarlat be terribly crowded in mid September?

Some thoughts:

There aren't any castles and caves in the area around Bordeaux, so you don't have to worry about that. I would head to Arcachon or Cap Ferret and enjoy the sea, the seafood, the Dune du Pylat, the old part of Arcachon for two days - totally different from the Dordogne and very picturesque and relaxing.

Three days is really not sufficient for the Dordogne. And 1 days is sufficient for the Rocamadour area. Take a day away from Rocamadour and add it to Domme/Sarlat.

The market in Sarlat (Wednesdays and Saturdays) will still be very crowded in September, so parking will be an issue on market days, and the town will be crowded then. Other days, not so bad.

Yes, you definitely need reservations, or risk wasting your entire trip finding suitable accommodations.

Market day in Domme is Thursday, and makes for a nice day. Sarlat's market is definitely worth attending, and getting there the day before is the best way to go.

We enjoy the markets,and spent a day in Domme at the Thursday market, Brantome for the Friday market, and Sarlat for the Saturday market. We arrived at each the night before the event.

And one more market: St.-Cyprien on Sunday.

With only 3, possibly 4, days in the Dordogne, you don't want to do only markets. One is sufficient for a stay that short. Domme's Thursday market is tiny by comparison to the main ones in Sarlat, Le Bugue, St-Cyprien, Lalinde, and Le Buisson.

I'm certainly no expert and in fact love lots of castles and caves, but I would think given your stated interests, such as country walks and picnics, you would prefer just two places to stay. We drove to Rocamadour and visited Chateau Bretonoux (sp?), Carennac (and someplace else?) in one day from Sarlat. So I don't think you really have to move hotels so often.

FYI, my fantasy "next time" Perigord trip is 5-6 days Dordogne staying in or near Sarlat and 4 days in the Lot.

This fantasy trip extends onward and outward for upwards of two months, but I won't bore you with that.

I would add the 2 first days to the Dordogne - 3 nights/2 1/2 days isn't even close to enough time in the Dordogne. IMO, there is 10 times more interesting stuff in the Dordogne than in the region between Bordeaux & the Dordogne.

Stu Dudley

Staying in Domme vs Sarlat. We stayed in Sarlat for 2 nights in Oct. at the Les Cordeliers. The location was great. It is more like a B & B, with a nice breakfast in the morning with fresh squeezed OJ. Our room looked out over a garden square (room 5, I think). The room was very large, and had a couple of chairs with 2 small sofas. It was a great place to relax with a glass of wine before dinner. The beds were very comfortable (soft, which I like), and the bathroom was large, updated and spotless. Sarlat is larger than Domme, and you might have more restaurant choices in Sarlat, if you just want to walk to dinner. We visited Domme and it seemed pretty sleepy. Sarlat also had several choices of boulangeries to pick up sandwiches. Just add a bottle of a regional wine and you have a great picnic! Add more days to this area if possible. There are also some wonderful gardens to walk around, according to our innkeeper. We didn't have the time to check the gardens out this trip. Les Cordeliers was a shocking 75e/night, incl. breakfast. Which seemed way to cheap for a great place, maybe because it was Oct. I hope Chris doesn't read this and raise his rates. Had a great dinner at Le Petit Manoir in Sarlat.

Look into the area south of the Dordogne, staying in Auch or Moissac or Montauban. Almost any <i>départementale</i> in that area will be scenic and take you through picturesque villages.

I salute your choice of Domaine de la Rhue...one of our old favorites...still on our top ten list. As you may know, it is not in Rocamadour proper..but on it's own piece of farm property which affords a picturesque 40- min. stroll through the forest to reach the top level of Roc. It's also near Gouffre du Padirac...a massive chasm worth seeing, IMO. If Christine and Eric still own the Domanine, say hello to them from two fans from L.A.
If you cut a day off of the Roc area as St. C recommends, please try to stay the one night at the Domaine...very enjoyable surroundings.
stu t.

I would stay in Domaine de la Rue area for 2 nights IF you skip the region between Bordeaux & the Dordogne & spend those 2 nights in the Dordogne. There is a lot of neat places east of the A20. Leave the Dordogne in the afternon and arrive at La Rue in the early evening, and visit Rocamadour after the day trippers leave. Next morning visit it again. I wouldn't give it more than 3 hours. Then visit Padirac, Loubressac, Autoire, Ch Castelnau-Bretenoux, Collonges la Rouge, Turenne, Martel, and then return to the Domaine. That's probaby more than you can fit into a day.

Stu Dudley

There was a very detailed article on the Dordogne in last Sunday's NYTimes. Though it's emphasis was on canoeing it covered a broad treatment of the Dordogne.

Thanks everyone, lots of food for thought. I'm now thinking we could drive directly to the Sarlat area on Saturday morning (though not in time for the market) and stay in the Dordogne 6 nights. We'll stay four nights in one place (probably Sarlat) and would like 2 nights elsewhere. Since I've stayed in Sarlat before, I'd like to mix in someplace else.
So next we have the choice of 2 nights at Domaine de La Rhue (yes, it appears that Christine and Eric still own it) and two nights outside of Cahors or 1 night Domaine and 3 nights Mercues (3 miles from Cahors). I'd really like to stay northeast of Cahors but am concerned about the length of the drive from say St-Cirq-Lapopie or ??? to Narbonne. Via Michelin says its about 4 hours from Cahors to Narbonne and staying north east would add another hour, yes? no? and we have a 4:00 or 4:30 train to catch.
StCirq I was expressing DH's limit on castles and caves in the Dordogne. I was hoping to pick out one or two of the most interesting and impressive (very subjective, I know) castles and caves to account for his limited interest in these features. His (and my) patience for poking around quaint towns, driving the stunning countryside and leisurely wining and dining on wonderful food is endless. I'd also like to return to a favorite restaurant in St.-Emilion but then we can't do it all.
I'll check out that article in the NYTImes Palenque. I'll report back and encourage more replies. Merci

Peche Merle Cave gives you both pre-historic paintings, handprints, footprints, and stalactites & mites.

Beynac Chateau has a guided tour with is probably only in French. Castelnaud castle is a self guided tour that has information about seige warfare. I found it quite intereting. I believe it has English translations. Ch Milandes is a self guided museum for Josaphine Baker and also an excellent birds of prey demonstration outside.

I would say that staying in St Cirq would add about 15 mins vs Mercues, and Rocamadour 30 to 40 mins additonal.

If your husband has a chateau limit, are you staying at the chateau in Mercues???

The Chateaux in the Dordogne are quite different from Chateaux in the Loire.

Stu Dudley

Robbie..."Pasadena Rose Queen":

It seems that your DH might welcome a chance to see something other than chateaux and castles...if you stay in Mercues near Cahors, take a pop into Cahors and visit the Resistance Museum..small place but chock full of good "stuff" on the restistance. When we were there a few years ago, two of the "docents" were vets of the Maquis units...and one spoke a very good English..our conversations were quite illuminating. Give it a try..DH will love it...it's right across from the main downtown city park.

Stu Tower
Local guy, L.A.

What's with all these LA people???

I grew up in San Gabriel.

Stu Dudley

Tower, being local you know Pasadena is really a sweet little town with wonderful architecture, right?. Stu I appreciate your most recent suggestions ( and btw, I'm a fan of your California wine country itineraries) So you can join (rejoin) our band of rogues in So Ca. DH would like the military aspects of the chateaux so we'll see. I actually did tour Chateau de Roquetaillade in Mazeres years ago, too bad I can't remember much of it. I just found the entrance ticket in my old folder. I do remember a drop dead view acros the river to Beynac Chateau from where I had a lovely lunch on that trip.
No we weren't planning to stay at the Chateau in Mercues but at Mas Azemar. My thinking was to avoid staying in Cahors because I don't like navigating a bigger town and I had the impression from some posts that Cahors lacked the charm of other towns. Please correct me. If there are hotels you all recommend (Max $225/nt) and the traffic is manageable, I'll reconsider gladly. The resistance museum is definitely on our list of things to do in Cahors.
My research continues. I'm checking the places Michael mentions to see about lodging possibilities.

I rode my bike up to he Rose Bowl parade many times. I learned to swim at the Huntington hotel - and that's where we had our wedding reception. Shopped on Lake street too.

Do you have my 20 Page Dordogne itinerary? I've sent it to hundreds of Fodors people. E-mail me at [email protected] & I'll send a copy. I'll also attach my 35 page Languedoc itinerary for the region south of Cahors.

Stu Dudley

I was suggesting areas to see for your time between Bordeaux and the Dordogne. Cahors would not qualify in my mind because it is east of the Dordogne.

<<I actually did tour Chateau de Roquetaillade in Mazeres years ago, too bad I can't remember much of it. I just found the entrance ticket in my old folder. I do remember a drop dead view acros the river to Beynac Chateau from where I had a lovely lunch on that trip.>>

I'm confused. Mazères is nowhere near Beynac.

Robbie:

I still think of you're anywhere nar Cahors, your husband would like the museum I described above. Cahors is not that big..more like Eagle Rock...and the museum is open from 2-6...we found no trouble navigating to the main sqyare..and there's the Resistance Museum.

Were in Pasadena at the Playhouse Wednesday night...saw "Maritius"..very interesting play.

stu

I agree that Cahors is really easy to drive around in. I know Stu Dudley doesn't find it inspiring, but I like it. It really does feel like "the gateway to the Midi," which is how it's often described. I like the old quarter, the Roman bridge with its devil, the slighty gritty feel of the place. That said, I wouldn't wander away from a short stay in the Périgord just to go to Cahors.

I'M MAKING GREAT PROGRESS thanks to all of you. What I have now is
Day 1 Bordeaux -Majestic Hotel (flight arrives 2 PM)
Day 2 drive to St Cyprien/ Le Chevrefeuille (alternative is Le Moulin Neuf-Paunat, near Tremolot) St. Cyprien Sunday market during our stay
Day 3 tour from same base as Day 2
Day 4 meet friends for lunch in Racamadour region, tour; overnight Domaine de la Rhue
Day 5 tour region, overnight Domaine de la Rhue
Day 6 -10 Sarlat at Le Cordiliers (alternative hotel Le Renoir) Saturday mkt during our stay
Day 10 & 11 stay at Hotel de la Pelissaria and tour area (We're already reserved at Mas Azemar in Mercues) but since learning that St C La P is only 15 minutes further to Cahors than Mercues, I think St Cirq would be nicer.
Can you critique this plan and hotel/village choices. I'm preferencing St Cyprien over Tremoto because we'd be right in town for the Sunday market, whereas Le Moulin is short drive with potential parking problems. If this isn't the case, please weigh in on which locale for Days 2 and 3.
Every place I've mentioned can accommodate us (2 couples) as of now. Since we're picky about hotel rooms, are there any things I ought to specify/request or know about the above choices? Stcirq your great knowledge of lodgings in the region really helped. Thanks to all