Let The Planning Begin!

[artnbarb]

OK, We're going to France! I have lots of research to do, and know next to nothing about France other than we want to spend time in the Dordogne and Lot regions. Please help point me in the right direction! We arrive in Barcelona on Sat, May 30 and will depart from Barcelona on Friday, May 13, so just 13 nights. I'm not sure how this will work out for apt rentals, or if we should stop in Carcassonne on the way to the Dordogne region, because I'm not sure I want to drive for 6+ hours from Barcelona to Dordogne.

• We arrive in Barcelona on Sat, April 30. Jet lag won't be an issue since we're arriving via a transatlantic cruise. I expect we'll be off the ship and thru immigration well before noon. So - rental car or train to somewhere else to pick up the car? We'll need to return to Barcelona for our departure on May 13.
• if we want to see Carcassonne we could stop there for the night - looks like a 3-4 hour drive, up the coast, then 3+ hours to Dordogne, depending on where we base. This assumes we'd rent the car in Barcelona.
• One night in Carcassonne, plus the next morning to walk around and take pics should be enough, right? then we'd drive to wherever we're basing. This would be Sunday, May 1, which i know is a holiday. will the roads be jammed? if we don't stop in Carcassonne, or if we take a train, where would we go?
• Now the big questions: where to base??? I'm thinking some time in the Dordogne and some in the Lot, so some suggestions for both locations and timing are needed. That's enough to get me started, and thanks in advance - visiting a new region is always a challenge for me.

 

[Roz]

Actually, Barb, it looks as though there are THREE holidays that first week of May in France. Sunday May 1 is Labor Day / May Day, May 5 is Ascension Day (it moves around like Easter), and Sun May 8 is V-E Day. Here's a website listing them: http://publicholidays.fr/

What I don't know is whether those Sunday holidays will be celebrated on Monday as well. Anyway, it could be a very popular week for the French to be traveling, so you would probably need reservations well ahead. I'm sure the roads will be jammed as well.

Here are a couple of photo albums from our previous trips to the Dordogne (May 2009) and the Lot (October 2010) that you might find of interest -- just to give you an idea of what we did in the area.

 

[artnbarb]

thanks Roz! LOVE the photos! Would you recommend La Maison at La Borie des Combes, Bezenac as a good base for our time in the Dordogne?

 

[Roz]

Well, it really depends on what you want. We enjoyed our stay at La Maison, and the owners were wonderful, but in retrospect, I would have preferred to stay somewhere actually in a village. We like being able to walk to a bakery in the morning for some of those wonderful French croissants, and have other shops and restaurants within walking distance. Also, I believe the owners of La Maison have done some remodeling since our visit and have raised their prices.

This is my review of the place where we stayed in the Lot: Home in Frayssinet-le-Gelat. You actually could stay there and make day trips to both the Dordogne and the Lot, and it is cheaper than the place in the Dordogne. We loved it. Also, I believe La Maison rents only Sat to Sat, whereas the house in Frayssinet is more flexible. My review says it was 350€ a week. According to the website, it is now 400 € a week, or 50€ a night, which I think is really a great deal for what it offers. Actually now that I think about it, that doesn't really make sense, does it? 7 nights at 50 euro each would be less than a full week, which costs 400. So that would be something to negotiate with the owner if you wanted to stay there! There is, as the website says, a €50 cleaning fee in addition.

By the way, in 2013 we went back to the Lot again and stayed just outside Monpazier. As you can see, we love that region of France, and in fact are going back again next month. Here is the report I wrote about that 2013 trip. I can't recommend the place we stayed in Monpazier for a couple, since it was a very large house and would be way too expensive for two people. But if you found a place you liked in Monpazier, that would also be a great location.

 

[artnbarb]

Right now I'm trying to decide where to pick up the car, and then where to return it. Picking up in Perpignan or Narbonne seems logical - Narbonne seems 'better' because it's further north, but I'm not sure what other considerations there are. From what I'm seeing on the Auto europe site the office at the narbonne train station closes at 2 on Saturdays, so I wouldn't want to risk a delay! As long as the one way charges aren't excessive, returning to Bordeaux and flying to Barcelona seems ideal (except for luggage concerns on budget airlines!)

My second area of research will involve where to base. I'm leaning towards 2 separate rentals, the first in the Lot, then the Dordogne. I have some concerns about our rental dates - we won't be doing the standard 7 night, Sat-Sat rental for either location, but I have time to work that out. Should post a new thread for the rental questions, or is everyone just busy?

 

[Pauline]

Why have you changed your mind on driving to and from Barcelona? Too much driving? You could work in a stop each way that would be fun.

The rentals we have had in France are Saturday or Friday start.

I think everyone is busy

 

[artnbarb]

Why have you changed your mind on driving to and from Barcelona? Too much driving? You could work in a stop each way that would be fun.

The rentals we have had in France are Saturday or Friday start.

I think everyone is busy

Yes, I'm thinking it might be too much driving, plus the thought of getting in a and out of Barcelona terrifies me. (You know I'm a big chicken when it comes to driving, esp in a foreign country) BUT - we haven't really decided anything yet. I'd like to have a better sense of the area, and where to base for our time in the Lot and Dordogne regions.

If we drive to Carcassonne on the day we arrive, a Saturday, spend the night in Carcassonne, then drive to Lot on Sunday, we could stay in that area for X number of nights. We'll have 11 nights total for the 2 regions, beginning Sunday, May first and ending Thursday, May 12, when we would drive back to Barcelona - or one night less if we stopped somewhere along the way back to Barcelona. (We fly out of Barcelona on Fri, May 13)

As usual, I'm all over the place. I'm always like this when I first start planning a vacation, I throw out lots and lots of possibilities and eventually narrow my choices down. This vacation is much more difficult for me since I've never been to this area and have no frame of reference, no idea even how to narrow my choices.

 

[Pauline]

The main tourist towns along the Dordogne River are Domme, Castelnaud, Beynac. We stayed in Saint-Cyprien, just north of the River. Sarlat is one of the main towns in that area. I did a short trip report for our week in the Dordogne.

For the caves, Font-du-Gaume is near Les Eyzies. Lascaux is near Montignac. @Kathy uses Montignac as a base for her Dordogne groups. It would be a good place to stay I think. See my Day Trips for Aquitaine for cave information.

The airport at Barcelona is well out of the city and it is only a 3 hour drive to Carcassonne, but when you add on driving up to Sarlat area, it is over 5 1/2 hours. A lot of driving.

It would be nice to have a week in a vacation rental somewhere. Are you finding any that are not Friday or Saturday weekly rentals?

 

[artnbarb]

the 3 hour drive to Carcassonne would be fine, since we'd stop there for the night, then we just have to figure out where to stop/base after that.

I haven't even looked for rentals yet because I have no idea where to base in either region, nor any idea whether we should stay in the Lot first (shorter drive from Carcassonne), or drive further to the Dordogne. It sounds to me like you are saying that Domme, Castelnaud, Beynac, Saint-Cyprien, Sarlat and Montignac are all possibilities as a base in the Dordogne. Google maps indicates the drive from Carcassonne to Montignac is just over 3 hours. I'll look at the map, then read up on each of these towns to see if one seems especially appealing. Thanks!

 

[nola44]

We leave for France in 3 weeks. We're going from CDG to Lyon then driving to Sarlat-le-Caneda for 5 nights (then onto Amboise in the Loire Valley and Paris). Since October (and May, too) is low season in the Dordogne, we're going to stay right in Sarlat in a little apartment in the attic of a historic building. We have ambitious touring plans (we're not slow travelers, yet) that include castles, caves, beaux villages, market day, and lots of food. It's supposed to be an absolutely beautiful area. From all my research, I don't think you can make a bad choice in this part of France!

 

[artnbarb]

Bon voyage! Can't wait to hear all about, and to know more about your in Sarlat!