touring france

[Im a BusyBee]

we go to france quite often but only in the north for short breaks. This summer we plan to take two weeks touring much further down south can anyone recommend places to visit or stay that they have enjoyed as we have no preference over where we go - just want to explore. Many thanx

[mushroom25]

Rocamadour is an interesting place to visit - if approached from the east, your initial view of it will be stunning.

[drchasuble]

I was going to say the Dordogne in general.
Great places to visit. P�rigueux is a beautiful town with a market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, Sarlat, Cognac.
Close to Rocamadour there is la Gouffre de Padirac http://www.gouffre-de-padirac.com/ which is a stunning underground cave system and you can take a boat on the underground stream. Also Collonges La Rouge http://www.conceze.com/collonges/collonges-la- rouge.htm which is a beautiful town built almost entirely from red sandstone.
Pompadour is in the Corr�ze and is a sweet town that homes the national stud and has horse racing events in the summer and usually a great fireworks display for Bastille day.

And of course Lascaux which is a must see in a lifetime but is a crush in the summer and needs to be well planned and booked in advance. Near Lascaux and probably less crowded is La Roc St Christophe http://www.france4families.com/Dordogne/Region sDordogneCavesStChristophe.htm a really interesting trogolodyte site.

http://www.northofthedordogne.com/
http://www.slowtrav.com/france/notes/mellen_do rdogne.htm

I lived in the Dordogne for 9 years and in my mind it's the nicest place on earth. It's very green and quiet and the food is the best you'll find. Some places are heaving with tourists over the summer months but it's easy to slip off the beaten track and have a fabulous time.

[Pomp]

I worlked in Lyon for 6 months over the summer, and it was a fantastic city.

A very worthwhile day trip is to Perouges see http://www.perouges.org for some pictures

It is a gateway to a lot of the wine growing regions.