Thank you for the welcome Karen.

Regarding the Dordogne/Perigord area it is hard to pinpoint any one location as to being a favorite: everything is lovely and picturesque, but if I try real hard I could single out Dome for its gorgeous view of the river valley and the Beynac castle, Sarlat for its beautifully preserved buildings (and the foiegras!), Rocamadour for the spectacular construction in the rock face of the mountain, and - everywhere - the beautiful countryside with its patches of forest alternating with the hay fields and the plane tree lined rural roads and the bastides in the most unexpected places along the way.

What can I say: we each have our likes and dislikes but there is nothing to "dislike" about the Perigord. My one regret is that leaving Bordeaux I stayed on the autoroute instead of following my original intention to drive to Arcachon and then go south on D218 along the Atlantic at least 30 clicks before rejoining the autoroute. The heat does funny things to one's judgement!

Best wishes to all. Alex

Cheers Alex - We're delighted to see you and hope you'll tell us more about your trip. That area of France is wonderful and a bit of a secret unless you have a house there.

Which were your favorite places?

restaurants? We want to know all !!!

Fascinated by this thread. We spent 6 weeks in France last July-August including a car trip to the Dordogne: Sarlat, Gourdon, Dome, Beynac, St Cirq Lapopie, Rocamadour, Perigueux, Grote de Villars in addition to Albi, Milau (and the fantastic viaduct) Bordeaux and all the way to Biarritz. The only unfortunate thing for us was that this happened before the end of the canicule and not all hotels were air conditioned. At least the car was!

I see that I still recognize many of the names of the members and to all Bonjour.
Particularly to Karen. Cheers, Alex

The Moulin du Roc is wonderful! It's set in a small village amid beautiful gardens; the rooms are all different and traditionally decorated. The restaurant is excellent, and the overall atmosphere of the hotel is very relaxing.

Not far from this Moulin is an underground cave accessed from a small café. Tours are guided, and the cave is amazing--even some prehistoric drawings that make your mouth drop.

We only lunched at the Moulin de l'Abbaye in Brantôme--we had no plans for dinner, a good thing as the lunch was a whole lot of food. The hotel/restaurant is set in very pretty grounds, overlooking a stream and gardens. Brantôme is good for shopping, especially for food products such as pâtes and truffles.

We stayed outside Brantome at Champagnac de Beliar at the MOULIN DE ROC,
In Brantome. LE MOULIN DE L'ABBAYE,
In St Cirq Lapopie at HOTEL DE LA PELISSARA
and a B&B in CAZALS.
Everytime in the Dordogne, it rained.
Provence still makes my heart sing.

[FONT=Arial]New tp this board, but having been to the Dordogne I would have to vote for Domme. Second favorite....Brantome.

The original Lescaux caves are closed. A TGV is scheduled but so far the slow train to Breve is the alternative to driving.

St. Germain: I agree with your assessment of the Dordogne and see it being (more) discovered with the opening of the new autoroute. Isn't a TGV scheduled to go to the area?
I used to take the slow train to Breve.

I know that some of the caves have been closed to the public. Do you know which ones?

We have been to the Dordogne a number of times and love the area around Sarlat, Les Eyzies de Tayac and Rocamadour. The Relais et Chateaux le Vieux Logis in Tremolat is a beautiful hotel as is the Hotel (and restaurant) Du Centenaire in Les Eyzies de Tayac and the Chateau de Puy Rober in Montignac where we stayed recently. The foie gras, truffles, cheeses and wine are superb and traveling through the hills and valleys and through the medieval towns makes it feel like you stepped back 400 or 500 years in time. We used the Dordogne as a base to travel west to Bordeaux. The Dordogne is also the location of the cave galleries of Lascaux, considered the Sistine Chapel of prehistoric art, and a great area for hikes.

What are your favorite areas of the Dordogne and why?
How many of you travel there? Would you please share some of your hotel and restaurant secrets.