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Report 1947: The Dordogne

By Winnick from Texas, Spring 2011

Trip Description: June 11 - July 1, 2011 Our trip to La Dordogne and surrounding French Departments, canoeing, visiting prehistoric caves, small villages, and eating some delicious meals.

Destinations: Countries - France; Regions/Cities - Dordogne, Languedoc-Roussillon

Categories: Hotels/B&Bs; Vacation Rentals; Art Trip; Day Tours; Garden Visits; Shopping; Sightseeing; Independent Travel; 2 People

Capitol - Salle des Illustres

We left Dallas the evening of the 11th and we arrived finally, after all of our flights suffered delays, the worst being from DFW which was two hours delayed. Good to have extra connecting time built in. The weather was great, sunny and comfortable and the forecast was for the same for the next few days.

After a few driving mistakes we got to the hotel. Great location on rue Rivals, just a short walk to everything.

Started our sightseeing about 4:30pm at St. Sernin Cathedral (the largest in France), then walked the streets, then Capitol Square, impressive, and then hunger started calling. Since we eat little on flight days, and the delays kept us from having our planned breakfast at CDG, we had not eaten much since Saturday afternoon at the airport.

Found a cute little place on rue Taur just between St. Sernin and Capitol Square and were back at the hotel at 7:15 to begin unpacking and sorting into one bag what we'd need for the next few days of hotels so we could leave one bag in the car.

Up at 8:00, good breakfast at our hotel, Albert 1, a block from Capitol Square. A few showers while eating breakfast but then it stopped as we headed out and the day was perfect, mix of clouds and sun and temps in the 70's.

We did the Michelin walking tour, taking in all the sites, including another stop at St Sernin's Church to see inside this magnificent 11th century cathedral. We then walked to Capitol Square for ice cream and a visit to the Capitollum building. It was a French holiday plus normal Monday shops aren't usually open so it was fairly quiet in the square.

We walked the city for four hours and then took a 1.5 hour cruise on the River Garonne. It was great weather for cruising the river and Midi Canal with its tree lined shores.

We finished our walk of the city with a stop in Place Wilson for a light dinner at a Brasserie and spent three hours there talking to a fellow from Mexico City who was there on business for a Veterinary conference.