Sarlat: Capital of Castle Country
Written: Oct 12 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy access to numerous historic sites
Cons: Limited opportunites for eating at certain times
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| kaps's Full Review: Périgord - Dordogne |
If you are at all interested in seeing the castles of Medieval France, Sarlat is a great central location to anchor your journeys. Not only is it an interesting town itself (there is a wonderful section of preserved medieval-age structures), it has the necessary amenities that many of the other towns in rural France lack (like, say, a restaurant or two open in the evening).
Though it shows signs of heavy use during the summer (July-Aug) tourist season, Sarlat doesn't get too crowded in the early Fall, when we recently visited. There are hotels in the city proper, as well as a wealth of small cottages and hotels in the surrounding countryside. What makes Sarlat a good choice to stay close to are its size (big enough to warrant more stores and restaurants than other towns) and its location, which seems to be off the main truck thoroughfares. That makes things a little more peaceful as you get your morning croissants or stroll around choosing a restaurant for dinner.
Using Sarlat as a base, you can easily drive to a number of outstanding castles and chateaus, visiting several a day if you manage your time correctly. In the space of three days, we visited the castles of Beynac and Castlenaud (right across the Dordogne river from each other), the incredible hillside church and chateau known as Rocamadour, and the hilltop Bastinade (walled fortress town) of Domme. A good idea is to get your favorite historical guidebook, and plot outward from Sarlat to see how many sites you can visit. If you go during off seasons, like we did, there isn't much traffic to speak of and relatively few tour buses. From the looks of the parking lots, souvenir stands and other trappings, this area gets pretty swamped in the summer, so if you go then be prepared for Disneyland-type crowds.
A rental car is a must to be flexible -- we saw other groups on tours who seemed restricted to one site a day. Driving in France is pretty easy, as long as you accept the fact that the natives drive excessively fast and will want to pass you at every given opportunity. Look for the "P" signs which signify tourist parking, and check to see if the lot is "payant" -- which means you must find a small machine that distributes parking passes for a few francs. While there are countless small places to stay in the area, make sure BEFOREHAND that you have all the exact details straight -- whether or not dinner is included, etc. All-night restaurants and convenience stores do not exist in this part of France, so make dinner plans early (especially on Sundays, when most everything is closed). Also note that almost all stores in this area will be closed between 12 and 2 pm (so will castles and chateaus); we found that it was good to use this time for a leisurely lunch somewhere.
In Sarlat, you will also find amenities like "normal" clothing stores which you can visit to buy that sweater you forgot to bring, as well as artisan shops where you can purchase "real" souvenirs like handcrafted pottery and not the touristy stuff sold outside the castles themselves. Just watch out for the evening rush hour -- the diesel fumes fill the town, making it a good time to grab a glass of wine and plot the next day's adventures.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kaps
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Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 7 members
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