Hello,
My husband and I will be visiting the Dordogne region of France for a week in mid June 2010. We are staying in a gite,www.francestonehouse.com in the small town of Bezenac. It is about a 6 minute drive to St. Cyprien and 20 minutes to Sarlat.
We will rent a car in Brive after a train ride from Paris.

We arrive on a Saturday. Please let me know what your thoughts are on my itinerary. Is it too much? Am I missing some wonderful sights or towns nearby that should be included? Should the sights be organized differently?

Here goes:

Saturday

arrival around 3:30pm
Go to Sarlat to explore and have dinner.

Sunday

St Cyprien market
Go for lunch at: Au Vieux Moulin: in Les Eyzies
Visit the Prehistoric Museum in Les Eyzies
Dinner at the house from items purchased at the market.
Explore trails around our house.

Monday

Beynac
Castelnaud
Chateau de Milandes
Go to Sarlat for dinner

Tuesday

Grotte de Pech Merle (call ahead for a reservation)
St Cirq Lapopie
Cahors (if we are not too tired)

Wednesday

Font de Gaume (I have a reservation for 11:00)
Explore St. Leon sur Vezere and have lunch.
Le Roque St. Christophe caves on the way back.

Thursday

Visit Gourdon, Domme and La Roque Gageac
Go for a float down the Dordogne river.

Friday

Montignac
Lascaux 2 (call ahead for reservations)
Day trip to Monpazier in the afternoon.

Okay, that's about it! Thank you for your comments!

Laurie

Oh, you will love the gite where you are staying, and Paul and Jeri, the owners. They are wonderful, and so is their house. We stayed there last spring, and had a fabulous time. Please tell them hello from Roz and Mike.

Here is our photo album of the trip. And here is the first day of my husband's blog from that trip. (The blog for the Dordogne goes from May 13 - May 19.)

Your itinerary is very full, and you may find you want to pull back and go slower some days. But I think it's fine to have so many ideas of what you want to do, and then cut back if you get tired or just don't feel like pushing on.

One place not on your list that we really enjoyed was the hanging gardens of Marqueyssac (you can see a description and photos in the blog and album). But we didn't go to all the caves you are planning -- just Font du Gaume. So it's really a personal decision as to what you especially want to see in that area.

I would highly recommend Le Pot du Fer, where we ate in Domme. Just tonight at dinner we were reminiscing about all the great meals we have had in Europe, and that was near the top of Mike's go-back-to places.

- Roz

Thanks for the advice, Roz. I booked La Maison based on the review that you provided. So, thank you. I hope that it will be a beautiful and well located place to stay.

Thank you for the recommendation of Le Pot du Fer.

I agree that some days I probably have planned too much. We will simply cut back and save some sights for a return trip, if needed.

Thanks again for your advice. Laurie

If you like gardens and Marqueyssac appeals to you, consider Les Jardins Eyrignac www.eyrignac.com . We spent about 3 weeks in the general area and loved it. Also there is a night time market in Saint Genies on Wednesdays. We LOVED this area of France!

Laura

Very nice program.
I agree with Roz about the fullness of your days. You may want to separate all the places you listed as must-see's and secondary priorities, and see the latter only if you still have time left in the day.
What I would consider as secondary priority: Gourdon, Cahors, Lascaux II (esp when you want to visit after visiting the other two...).

The cuisine in that region tends toward th hearty: nettle soup, cassoulet, lamb, foie gras, etc. You may consider picnicking for lunch in one of the villages you visit, then a real dinner in a restaurant or at home.

Also, several times on your program you seem to be going to a restaurant right after going to a market. That may not be good planning if you have bought meat.

Cahors is a pleasant town, sans plus. Instead, after visiting Pech Merle and St Cirq, one nice visit is some of the exquisite riverside villages that no one ever visits, like Marcilhac sur Célé and Espagnac Ste Eulalie, both on the Célé and on the road north from Pech Merle, which means sort of on the ride back north. On the way down south (from Dordogne to the Lot), a lovely village to stop and break the longish drive is St Martin de Vers.
Next to St Cirq in the village of Bouziès, a chemin de halage (Boat Hauler's Path), seen here , gives a lovely view of the river.
Near St Cirq, the hilltop village of Calvignac is itself very pretty and has a view on all sides.

Besides Cahors, the other place that I would consider as secondary priority if I were as pressed for time as you would be Lascaux II. It is a reenactment-museum and is no more a cave than my Paris apartment. Especially after you have visited Font de Gaumes and Pech Merle, you will find Lascauxland unmoving. Since on that day you are planning to see Monpazier which is the opposite direction, I would just spend the whole day in that beautiful area west of Beynac, visiting Limeuil, Le Bugue, etc.

Likewise, Gourdon is a pleasant market town. But on a day when you plan to see Domme and La Roque Gageac AND have a boat ride, how about putting Gourdon in the end of the day in terms of planning. If you run out of time, this way you will have no regret, believe me.

Lastly, personally I prefer the Jardins Eyrignac to Marqueyssac for one reason: the Marqueyssac does not have flowers! It is an exclusively green garden. The concept is interesting and the view is stunning though.

i have never been to France so by no means an expert, but we will be in Dordogne in june also! and we are very excited! i have no idea of how far away from you it is, but there is an evening market in Audrix that we plan to go to.
this is the web site of the"gourmet' magazine article that convinced us. isn't ST great!

http://www.gourmet.com/magazin...ght-kitchen-dordogne

Thank you very much for all your wonderful suggestions! I am going to do some thinking about my itinerary based on your advice.

I am thinking about dropping the daytrip to Pech Merle and St Cirq Lapopie and adding Marqueyssac or Les Jardins Eyrignac instead.

Then we could spend the rest of the day visiting Monpazier and Beynac, visiting Limeuil and Le Bugue.

Geewiz, that magazine article was very interesting. I wish we could do that but they only serve the dinner from the last Saturday in June until September. We have to leave before then.

On the day that we are doing the boat ride,we will plan to see Domme, La Roque Gageac and Gourdon if there is enough time.

Thanks again for all your suggestions! I think this is going to be a fun and memorable trip!

Laurie

I too would recomend eating at Pot de Fer in Domme as we had a wonderful lunch there. I wouldn't miss St Cirq Lapopie as it's a delightful village. After staying in La Roque Gageac for a week we went to St Cirq for a night and it was well worth it.

quote:

I wouldn't miss St Cirq Lapopie as it's a delightful village. After staying in La Roque Gageac for a week we went to St Cirq for a night and it was well worth it.

I have to agree, but Laurie's idea not to try to do everything is a very good one too.

That area is so beautiful that having to zip around it is like having to swallow excellent food without savoring.

It comes down to Laurie's personal preferences. Personally if pressed for time, I would visit one of the two gardens, intead of both. But I would visit both Font de Gaumes AND Pech Merle caves. They are very different and very moving. Both are in beautiful (picnic-worthy) areas.

Given the same timetable, I would visit FdG and La Roque St Christophe that Sunday, and picnic in St Léon sur Vezère.
Then Wednesday is free for the gardens. Or one garden plus the Les Eyzies museum.
And Tuesday is free for the original plans to visit the Lot area.

I'd recommend a dinner at Hotel du Chateau in Campagne, northwest of St. Cyprien. Serge and Sylvie serve wonderful food, and the dining room is quite charming.

quote:

Lascaux 2 (call ahead for reservations)

Can you call ahead? The website I went to didn't indicate as much. It would be good if we could.

Ann

We have stayed in St. Cyprien 3 times for a total of six weeks. All the places you plan to visit are beautiful or very interesting. We found that with each visit our circle gets more narrow - we do not go as far from home base. If you look at the book, Most Beautiful Villages of the Dordogne you will find a lot of interesting places to explore. I would have a shorter list of top priorities and allow more time for close villages and markets and new ideas that will come once you are there. One thing not to cut would be the canoe trip down the Dordogne past Beynac. That is slow travel.

Hi,
Appalannie, I looked at the website for Lascaux II and it appears that you cannot call ahead but if in the area you could book tickets at the Montignac office for the next day.

Thank you all for your restaurant recommendations! We will make sure to try Pot de Fer in Domme!

Fred and Alice, thank you for your vote of confidence! We are looking forward to our trip to the Dordogne. I wish June would come a little faster!

What town should we rent a canoe at and where should we return it? We would like about a 3 hour ride on the river.

Thanks for all your help! Laurie

Has anyone ever taken this boat trip or something similar?

Ann

Hi All,
The booking office for Lascaux 11 is in the centre of Montignac, at the moment and yes you can get your tickets the day before, but in June it is not that busy and if you are early enough you can get them on the day. For those who do not speak or understand French there are English speaking tours. I know some of you feel slightly "cheated" that Lascaux is a copy, but the reason is ongoing. The caves were shut to preserve the Original paintings, but only this last week the Culture Minister , Frédéric Mitterand and others visited as a black mould is appearing on the paintings. No one knows why. There is also talk of other caves (Font du Gaumes being one) could close for this very reason. They are resticting some visitors, so that is definately one to book on line if you can.
Canoes are everywhere!! The choice is yours, from Montignac for example you can go down to St Leon in about three hours and the owners will collect you at a time you arrange,to take you back to the start, ask advice where you book.
Ann, The Gabarres are a lovely relaxing trip, a camera is a must!! We have taken visitors from both La Roque and Beynac, both quite different. There is an English speaking recording for you to listen to and follow where you are. The wildlife is amazing. I love the month of June. Remember also if any of you are here on the 21st June many villages will have their own music festivals,a real treat for all, singing, dancing and everyone enjoying themselves. Can't wait.
Judy

Ann,

On our first trip to the Dordogne, we went down the river on one of the Gabarres (Norbert) and it was very interesting. On our second trip, we rented a canoe and it was truly a fun experience.

The Dordogne is a beautiful area, with wonderful landscapes and spectacular views, esp. from the high points like the castle at Beynac. That said, I second the idea of paring down your itinerary a bit. Do visit beautiful towns like Limeuil and Beynac; the cave at Font de Gaume will take your breath away; and try canoeing on the Dordogne (don't kid yourself that it's easy, though; we kept getting stuck on rocks and having to push off). One place that's not on your list but that you might research is Rocamadour. IT's maybe an hour's drive from the area around St. Cyprien, but when you approach from L'Hospitalier you will gasp. Close by is the Gouffre de Padirac, an underground series of caves that you go through partly on foot, partly in a boat; very impressive (and cool on a hot day). I know I said to pare your list and then suggested other places, but, hey, you need to have the full menu to choose, right?

quote:

canoeing on the Dordogne (don't kid yourself that it's easy, though; we kept getting stuck on rocks and having to push off)

We didn't have that problem at all in May ... perhaps it depends on the time of year, and the river may be lower at other times. I recall the Dordogne from Rocque Gageac as being quite easy -- mainly you just go with the current, no fast water, and I think we could have actually floated most of the way if we didn't feel like paddling.

- Roz

Thanks for your help, Jeri and Roz!

I am bad in all sports but I also found canoeing on the Dordogne very easy and most enjoyable. Yes, probably had to do with the time of the year. I have done it several times in June.

Thinking about it, I canoed down the Dorgogne, ending up at Limeuil, during a drought, so the water level was probably unusually low. Fair point.

I took the boat trip and found it very interesting. You receive a lot of information on the Dordogne that you might not find anywhere else. If you take it, don't forget your camera---I did.