arfoley

We have rented a house in the Dordogne region of France for 2 weeks next summer for us ( the grandparents), our four children, their spouses and all of their 10 children. We range from age 7- 75. We are an hour from Bordeaux and 15 minutes to the town of Bergerac which we can reach by train. We will probably all have cars but I wanted to hire a bus to take us, one day of each week to do something special where nobody has to drive. Any suggestions? I would love to find a great outdoor market, spend time there shopping for picnic food and then go to some park for a picnic and share what we bought.

BritishCaicos

We have just bought a house 25 minutes from Bergerac towards Bordeaux.

The day markets at Sainte Foy la Grande and Bergerac are great but even more special are the night markets that many of the small villages operate once or twice a month. The basic set up is that all the locals haul in their garden furniture into the village square and party. The farmers bring in produce, vineyards bring in bottles at e5 and the bakers bake. All the generations of families just while away the hours...its magical as long as the weather co operates. Just look for those which are advertised or ask around.

On the river there are lots little beach areas to swim in the very clean water, our favourite is at Sors near Paunat.

Schedule in a Chateau for a vineyard visit, those to the North of Castillon-la-Bataille offer extremely good reds for around e10, not really much different to those down the road which retail at e100s.

Another magical experience is to drive up to Beynac and join the ridiculous flotilla of canoes , kayaks and anything that floats which daily make their way down the very peaceful Dordogne. It;s a crazy site and very good fun.

Bordeaux is rapidly becoming one of the best cities in Europe, great food scene, best wine in the world, piles of restaurants, fun loving people, new markets and a tram system. Just take the train from your local station in the Dordogne valley. Traffic in Bordeaux is terrible and parking difficult,

Plan a trip to Arcachon Bay where the creeks are full of small restaurants on the water front which offer the best seafood in the world.

Finally, on that day trip the kinds will love the Grand Dune Pilat which is a sand mountain with stunning views over the bay and to the Atlantic.

Where's the house by the way?

jpie

I think your best bet may be to work with a tour operator. Here is one that I know of (but haven't used) in France. If you look at their catalog for the Dordogne it will give you an idea for some great full day or half day tours. I assume with the number of people you will have, they may also be able to customize some of the tours. But this will at least give you an idea of some possible places to visit and the potential cost base on the number of people.

https://www.ophorus.com/UPLOADS/BROC...ours_large.pdf

And can I just say, what a lucky family-it sounds like a blast! It is a lovely area and one where we have taken many friends to visit in the past. We always jokingly say that the Dordogne is a region in France where you get the most "bang for your buck".

arfoley

Thanks, I will check out the tour company.

arfoley

the house is in Gardonne where there is a train station. We chose it because it is a huge house witha pool and great reviews and is in the village so we can walk to a boulangerie and to the train station. Most houses big enough for us are not located where one can walk anywhere. Thanks for all that info. I will check it all out.

StuDudley

Perhaps you can walk to shops in Gardonne, but the sites most folks want to visit in the Dordogne are around Sarlat - more than 1 1/2 hours away by car.

See attached Dordogne itinerary

Stu Dudley

BritishCaicos

Great location as you are close enough to the coast and The Dordogne castle. That's why we bought here (we are about 10 minutes away).

It's a heck of a slog from Sarlat to Archachon.

There's nothing better than walking to a bakery in the morning , wish I could.

jpie

Even though I agree with Stu that most of the sites that folks want to see are closer to Sarlat, with 20 people I think you are right to choose a house where you can walk to the station and the village if the house meets your needs so that you won't have to pile into multiple cars all the time. It looks like you take a train to Sarlat as well so that is good and with that many people I think organizing at least one private group tour would be worth it.

StuDudley

With 20 people and enough cars for all - if it was my family I would expect many smaller "groups" to seperate tohead off to visit Lascaux, others Sarlat, others a canoe trip down the Dordogne from Cenac, others one of the many gardens in the area, others Roque Gageac/Beynac, Castelnaud and the medieval warfare museum, Birds of Prey show at Chateau Milandes. The only thing in common would be the 3 1/2 hrs of driving each day to get there & back.

Unless everyone can get up, going, and at the train station in Gardonne by 8am to go to Sarlat - they would need to catch the train that departs at 10:18 that gets to Sarlat at 11:30am. Then it is a significant walk to the historic center of Sarlat. You will get there at noon - when everyone else is there, and just as some shops start to close for a 2 hr lunch. I always advise people to visit Sarlat after 4:30 pm or between 8:30 & 11:30 in the morning. Last time we were there at 2pm to pick up some stuff at the Tourist Office - it was a zoo (this was late Sept on Patrimoine weekend).

If the plan is to relax, get some pool time, do small local stuff, spend time together, and not do much touring around the area to visit the many interesting sites in the Dordogne - then Gardonne would be fine.

Stu Dudley

rhon

I do agree with Stu that the usual sites people visit in the Dordogne are a bit further away than is optimal. I am thinking of some of the Plus Beaux villages, Sarlat, the caves etc. But that does not mean that there is still not plenty to see and do from the base you have chosen. You are close to some of the lovely bastide villages in the Lot et Garonne. You could do a couple of longer day trips over to the more well known Dordogne sights, and then time close to home. I agree you will need cars, and we find it always seems to take longer than we think to drive on the lovely country roads.

We stayed in a gite about 20 kms south of Gardonne in 2016 and enjoyed the area. The area around Duras also produces good wine. If you like red wines, you should try some Pecharmant from Bergerac. This is only produced in this region in small lots. You will also be quite close to Monbazillac for a sweeter wine. There is also a cheese we like which is produced about 40kms to the north. It is called Trappe d' Echourgnac and is washed in walnut liqueur. We have not found it anywhere else in France and enjoy it with some fruit and white or rose. We also like caneles, a patisserie item, which are from the Bordeaux area.

This is my report on our trip. Scroll through to the Lot et Garonne which was weeks two and three of our trip. Some of the places we visited would be easily reached from your base. I will add that as a mid sixties couple, family oriented activities were not on our agenda, but BC has given some ideas.

https://www.sloweurope.com/community...y-france.1683/

Bon voyage.

YankyGal

Oh that walnut liqueur! That cheese sounds divine.
I have nothing to add other than it sounds like a wonderful trip and kudos to OP for organizing it.

Kiddo

I have nothing to add as I haven't been to the Dordogne, though it is on my rather long bucket list! I hope you have wonderful trip. What a lucky family to be able to have such an experience together.