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Post by Jody on Jul 21, 2010 4:20:08 GMT -5
Since I already have received our 2011 calendars, I thought I'd start planning our spring trip. We'll fly into London spend 2 nights then train to Paris , spend 2 nights in a hotel, then train to Brive, pick up a car and head to Sarlat. Found a nice hotel on the outskirts and will use that as a base for a week traveling thru the area. Back to Paris in an apt. for 2 weeks, then back to London for 5-7 days.
My question is when to go! I know lots of things,restaurants, hotels and attractions in the Dordogne close for winter. Does anyone know when they start to reopen?
I hope I can hold out that long as we usually go in March
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Post by holger on Jul 21, 2010 7:28:56 GMT -5
Loved the Dordogne when we were there in 2007. We also based in Sarlat and the town itself is worth exploring although the most interesting parts are up steep hills often with many stairs but the little ancient winding streets and buildings are well worth it. I posted on this back then.
There are some good restaurants and I enjoyed eating duck confit and foie gras.
We also adored visiting the various prehistoric caves to see the paintings and carvings. If you have a list of the sites and sights you want to see, you can look on line for information about when they are open and closed. We were there in September and everything was open. When you say Spring which month? I would imagine that May would be OK, maybe April but don't know about March.
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Post by Darcy on Jul 21, 2010 22:06:12 GMT -5
What hotel have you chosen, Jody?
Sorry, I have no info on spring in the Dordogne. We were there for 2+ weeks in Oct and that was pushing it for the season. We LOVED the area!!
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Post by Jody on Jul 22, 2010 3:49:29 GMT -5
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Post by sunshine817 on Jul 22, 2010 4:12:35 GMT -5
March is probably a bit early -- the website for Le Jardin says Easter - if you have some things that you'd like to see, check those websites -- but I'd guess that by April, most things will have begun to open with a regular schedule.
As late as June, it's uncrowded.
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Post by holger on Jul 22, 2010 5:54:26 GMT -5
Jody,
The website for your B & B indicates that Easter is the start of the Spring Season in the Dordogne and that they close for January and February. I would imagine that they could tell you what is open and when or at least give you information links.
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Post by Shoesy on Jul 22, 2010 6:49:25 GMT -5
Jody - I really like the looks of that B&B.  |
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Post by Jody on Jul 22, 2010 8:56:10 GMT -5
Just checked a few sites and it looks like they start reopening around March. But then I checked Joel Garcia's Bastille Brocante and see it's May 6-16 , so think we'll plan for the end of April for the Dordogne and get back to Paris for the Brocante!
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Post by sunshine817 on Jul 22, 2010 10:52:09 GMT -5
Do be mindful, Jody, that the spring school vacations are in April --
April 9-25 for greater Paris and the Aquitaine (including Dordogne)
April 23 - May 8 for Brittany, Lower Normandy, Pas de la Loire, Lorraine, Rhone-Alpes, Auvergne, Languedoc, and Midi-Pyrenees
April 16 - May 1 for all the rest
Denise, what are the dates for the UK? Any idea?
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Post by Happygoin on Jul 22, 2010 11:57:26 GMT -5
Jody, what a terrific travel itinerary. I'm envious of you seeing the Dordogne in springtime! The B&B looks lovely too. Good for you!
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Post by rssilverandlight on Aug 15, 2010 23:16:56 GMT -5
I loved the Dordogne. We took the train from Paris to Bordeaux and rented a car to drive east. There were a number of quaint B&B's in the villages, excellent restaurants and several castles open for touring. The highlight was the the caves. Spend at least one day in Sarlat. I devoted a number of pages in my book THE FRENCH LANDSCAPE Images of a Special Light to the Dordogne for good reason. Enjoy  |
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Post by mez on Aug 23, 2010 7:13:50 GMT -5
Jody, I just wrote a post in the 'what are you reading?' thread and mentioned a detective novel set in the Dordogne region. See www.brunochiefofpolice.com for more info. Yes, there's a murder but the characters in the town are a lot of fun to read about. |
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hahahha