cholly

Hello, my husband and I are traveling to France in Sept. I’m looking for advice for 3 full days in the Dordogne area. We have a car and will be traveling from St. Emilion area (Puisseguin) early Sat. Sept. 24th and staying in Castelnaud-la-Chapelle area. Tues. Sept 27th driving to Toulouse Airport.

I’ve read the forum but still having trouble narrowing down “must see” places and “must do” in just 3 days. I realize most people spend 2-6 weeks, but we just don’t have that luxury this time.

Here’s what I have:

Day 1 – drive early am from St. Emilion to Sarlat (get there early before the crowds), then explore the area of La Roque & Beynac. We are interested in Chateau de Beynac, Chateau de Castelnaud, Chateau des Milandes, and Marqueyssac Gardens. We don’t need to do all 3 castles – which should we see & which should we tour?

Day 2 – drive early am to Rocamadour, then to Gouffre de Padirac. This is where I have lots of options of places to stop but obviously need to narrow down! Autoire, Saint-Céré, Loubressac, Carennac, Curemonte, Collonges-la-Rouge, Turenne, Brive-la-Gaillarde, Martel, Château et jardins de Losse, Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère, Roque Saint-Christophe, Maison forte de Reignac

Day 3 – Need help on this day. Visit Domme, Carsac, Vitrac (kayak along the river to either Beynac or Castlenaud la Chapelle), Or Belves, Monpazier, Monflanquin, Issigeac. If the weather is great on Sat. 24th, we could kayak that day instead? Or combination of places by eliminating..

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

StuDudley

You probably won't have time to visit all the towns & castles you have mentioned on Day 1. And you won't get to Sarlat soon enough to avoid the crowds - it's their market day. Sarlat can take 3-4 hrs if you poke around at the market, shop a bit, and visit a museum/house or two. I would visit Castelnaud over Beynac because Castelnaud is where you are staying and it has an interesting medieval warfare museum that you can wander through on your own. Last time we visited the castle at Beynac - it was on a guided tour, and guided tours usually consume more time that self-guided tours (you have to wait until the next tour starts). Actually, the Beynac castle looks better from the outside than if does from the inside, IMO. You will probably drive by Beynac and Roque Gageac many times. Just stop & visit them when you do. I would try to visit Cl Milandes because it is completely different from Beynac & Castelnaud. It also has the Josaphine Baker themed interior tour (self guided), and they have an interesting Birds of Prey show.

Day 2
I think Rocamadour, Gouffre de Padirac, Carennac, and Martel would make a nice day. Adding in Collonges la Rouge would consume to much time getting there & back. Get to Rocamadour early ( I know your read my itinerary about our last visit there).

Day 3
Domme and a Kayak trip would be nice. By now you've visited some villages, caves, chateaux, & driven through pretty countryside. And you probably missed some things like Marqueyssac, La Roque St Christophe, Losse, Ch Milandes, etc. Figure out what you've seen enough of (cute little villages, castles) and what type of "things" you have not visited enough (pre-historic cave paintings).

Stu Dudley

cholly

Thank you Stu!

cholly

Stu, would you recommend on Day 1 to go to Sarlat towards the end of the day? Explore after the crowds and market are winding down?

Michael

I've been told by a reliable source that Lascaux IV is a must. I believe that the visit is self-guided, which would eliminate the wait for the guided tour as in Lascaux II. Add les Eyzies with its pre-historic museum

https://flic.kr/p/7yxvQV
la Roque Saint-Christophe, remains of a medieval cliff village,

https://flic.kr/p/7U1BUT
and the maison forte de Reynac

https://flic.kr/p/cMMLxL
and you will have a full day.

StuDudley

YES

and go there for dinner once and arrive about 6;30 PM to wander around.

Stu Dudley

tomboy

Correct me, here, guys, but my recall is that Beynac looked more like a castle from the outside (atop a 400' cliff, steep/thick walls, etc) but was pretty empty on the inside, to the point that I had to use my imagination to "see it" 500 years ago. Whereas Castlenaud look somewhat less like a castle, but had the medieval war machines outside to be of interest. Both interesting, but in different ways. But my memory is of 10 yrs ago, so getting fuzzy.....

StuDudley

That's exactly what I said about Baynac on my earlier post. Castelnaud looks fantastic when viewed from the southeast in the morning when the sun is shining on it.

Stu Dudley

KarenWoo

We really liked Beynac because it is empty inside and looks like a castle on the outside. It is a medieval fortress with very few furnishings, thus it looks and feels primitive and mysterious. We have seen many castles and palaces that have been refurbished with beautiful furniture, paintings, etc. so seeing Beynac was a nice surprise, something different and refreshing. My husband loved seeing the room that Richard the Lionhearted slept in.

tomboy

Stu-I was merely reinforcing your words, in a slightly different way.

I would think a neat compromise would be for OP, on his way to Castlenaud, to drive up to Beynac's parking lot, maybe walk around for 10 minutes, and continue on. Best of 2 worlds.

cholly

Thanks to everyone for the advice!

dugi_otok

<< I’ve read the forum but still having trouble narrowing down “must see” places and “must do” in just 3 days.>>

Here is what I would do:

Day 1. Drive early am (Puisseguin) -(Collonges-la-Rouge)-and/or (Carennac)- Gouffre de Paderac-Rocamador- Castelnaud
https://goo.gl/maps/681FwXCD2QeVqCR49

Select from 3 routes Rocamador to Castelnaud
https://goo.gl/maps/nbnuUTPBU6sUs6xS7
For dinner you could drive 6km to Domme and have dinner at Restaurant le Belvedere $ or at the restaurant at the l'Esplanade Hotel $$$.
Both restaurants are at the top of the village with the same fantastic view of the river and countryside below.

Day 2. Morning: canoe Vitrac to Beynac (2-3hrs).
https://www.canoes-dordogne.fr/image...194f757b3a.pdf
Afternoon:Roque Saint-Christophe, Saint-Leon-sur-Vezere , Lascaux IV.Late afternoon Sarlat-la-Caneda.
https://goo.gl/maps/GWyYZy6LP21sZB5j8
On this route the following has been eliminated-Font de Gaume, LesEyzies,Coly-St-Amand, and St Genies.
https://goo.gl/maps/2kPyfQMFnyUVwwec9

Day 3. Chateau de Castelnaud,Chateau des Milandes( Schedule a time when there is a Bird show).
Explore La Roque-Gageac & Beynac-et-Cazenac and surroundings. More Sarlat? Marqueyssac Gardens?