Rent from AutoEurope. Check their European sites as well as their US ones for best prices. Pick up the car in Brive-la-Gaillarde or Libourne or Périgueux, drop it off before you head into Switzerland or else you'll pay a ginormous extra fee. Sarlat is one of the best bases for a visit to the Dordogne unless you want to stay in a small village, which is also nice.

we've picked up and dropped off in Brive...very convenient, across the parking lot from the train station. Easy drive to Sarlat from there.

You may discover that it is more convenient to drive to Geneva, leaving the car in the French part of the airport, rather than taking the train from the Dordogne to Geneva.

Yes, Sarlat is a great and central location to explore this area. You can get a train from Paris (Gare d'Austerlitz) to Brive la Gaillarde, pick up a car there and within 30/40 minutes be where you want to be.

You can usually drop off in another location with no extra charge, which may make it easier to drive up to Geneva - as long as you dont cross into Switzerland.

Thank you, especially the tip about not driving into Switzerland......maybe we should drop car off in Lyon and take train from there into Switzerland?

I have used Europe By Car as a rental resource: EBCTRAVEL.COM
They are located in NYC, in the Wall Street area (I too am in NYC). I have rented a Citreon C3 Diesel with a/c, a manual shift, 3rd party insurance, and unlimited mileage for about $250/wk. They use Citer, which is the European affiliate of National Rent A Car here in the US. There is a pick up point in Brive, which is a TGV stop. You could rent in Brive and within 45 minutes, could be in Sarlat. Furthermore, you can drop off within France at a different locale without additional charges i.e I picked up a car in Avignon and dropped off in Dijon with no worries..

Sarlat is one of the best bases for a visit to the Dordogne>

You do mean of course Perigord and not the Dordogne?

You can fly from Brive to Geneva on several different carriers. Go to www.whichbudget.com. Might be less hassle than driving.

Sarlat is one of the best bases for a visit to the Dordogne>

You do mean of course Perigord and not the Dordogne?

I would amend that to one of the best bases to visit the Périgord noir, not as good for the Périgord vert or the western edges of the Périgord blanc and Périgord pourpre. But all the Périgords are in the Dordogne.

When I am asked where I have my house, I answer "in the Dordogne". If someone knows the Dordogne, I say in the Périgord vert from which I can truly see a small part of the Périgord noir and Périgord blanc.

Thank you, Michael. Pal is, as ever, off base - and I don't think has ever even been to the Dordogne.

I assume your neighbors there, like mine (most at least octogenarians) refer to the area as Le Périgord?

I never asked them, except for one who is very anti-noblesse and would not use the name it had under the Ancien Régime.

My goodness! It took a hijacked thread to deal with the issue of why English speakers refer to "the Dordogne" (often pronounced 'dordoyne' like 'bouloyne' on the Channel)and it seems to be "Le Perigord" in various couleurs for the French.

Does this have to do with the time when the whole place was English territory? I suppose I could find this on wikipedia, but it is more entertaining here.

I am also planning a trip to that region (June) and when I went to AutoEurope I put in Sarlat and got a quote picking up from "Sarlat La Caneda Office Le Pontet". Is there a car rental office in Sarlat? Isn't is possible to take the train all the way from Paris to Sarlat? I notice this is not usually suggested so there is probably a reason but I'm wondering why? I see in some trip reports people pick up their cars in Limoges. Is that because train connections to Limoges are better than all the way to Sarlat?

Brive is easy to get to from Paris and often recommended as a good place to pick up a car. I wish we had, but we went to Bordeaux and got our car at the station there. It was a long way to Sarlat. it is a long way from Limoges to Sarlat as well. If I were doing it again, I would do it from Brive, though someone above recommends Perigueaux, which is a very attractive town in itself, one which you may enjoy visiting on its own.

Do be aware that car rental offices outside the major cities often are closed for lunh and on weekends.

Sarlat does not have a good train connection. Brive-la-Gaillarde is the best to pick up a car rental. Limoges is worthwhile only if one intends to visit Oradour-sur-Glane and/or Hautefort on the way to Sarlat. Périgueux is another possibility, but requires a change of train in Limoges, whereas Brive does not.

isabel, you definitely do not want to pick up a rental car in Sarlat or Limoges for a trip to the Dordogne. You MIGHT want to take a train (NOT a TGV) from Paris-Austerlitz to Limoges, then switch to a Corail line to Périgueux (which I have done many times) - that puts you about 40 kms away from Sarlat, so it's an easy drive, and the car rental outfits are mostly there at the Périgueux station. But getting off at Limoges makes no sense unless, as mentioned, you are planning to visit some of the sites, notably Oradour-sur-Glane between Limoges and the Dordogne.
Sarlat is pretty much useless as far as trains go. Most trains that go there are not passenger trains, and the ones that are require first going to Bordeaux, then getting on a local train that stops in every backyard along the route - slow and takes forever.
What I prefer to do is to take the TGV (usually direct from CDG) to Bordeaux, then connect to the Corail train to Périgueux...but I'm not heading to Sarlat, but rather to my house, which is only about 25 kms from Périgueux. For me to take the train to Brive would mean a lot more driving. Brive would probably be the better option for you, though.

<<Does this have to do with the time when the whole place was English territory? I suppose I could find this on wikipedia, but it is more entertaining here.>>

No, it has nothing to do with when "the whole place was English territory." For one thing, it wasn't. South of the Dordogne river was loyal to the English; north was loyal to the Francs (that's why there are opposing castles all along the river), up until 1453, when the whole matter was sorted out once and for all at the Battle of Castillon.

But anyway, the Gallic people who originally inhabited the region were called Petrocores. In 778, emperor Charlemagne organized the country into provinces (each called a pagus), and selected a compté to govern it (in the case of the pagus called Périgord, he named Wildbade). Successive comptés of the Périgord included Charles d'Orléans (who was captured at the Battle of Agincourt and held prisoner in England for 25 years), two women (Jeanne d'Albret and Cathérine de Bourbon) and, in between the two women, Henri III de Navarre.

In 1790, the provinces were abandoned in favor of départments, which is when the Périgord became the Département of the Dordogne, which it has been ever since. The geographical boundaries of the Dordogne are almost identical to those of the former Périgord. The Département of the Dordogne is divided into four areas, each of which retains the word "Périgord" in it: black, white, green, and purple, each of course with its own local significance. Residents of the city of Périgueux are known as Périgordins.

Do you really need to get rid of the car??? We've been to the Interlaken/Junfrau region 3 times and always had a car. Although for several days we didn't use the car at all (we took trains).

Taking the train from Toulouse to Interlaken will involve an overnight in Toulouse and a 9 hr 40 min train trip with 3 train changes. Driving straight to Interlaken from Sarlat will take about 10 to 11 hrs with stops for lunch, dinner, pottie, "deviations", etc. That's too long of a driving trip for me.

If this was my trip I would:

- Drive from Sarlat to Ussel. This is a 2 hr trip. Visit Ussel. (this is what we're doing in July '13)
- Drive from Ussel to Perouges & visit Perouges. This is a 3 3/4 hr trip. You could stay overnight in the charming village of Perouges (backdrop for many movies). Then it is a 3 3/4 hr drive to Interlaken the next day

OR

- Sarlat to Ussel & visit
- Ussel to Perouges & visit
- drive from Perouges to Annecy & stay overnight in Annecy. This is a 1 3/4 hr drive from perouges to Annecy.
- drive from Annecy to Interlaken. 3 hr drive.

- If you fly home from Geneva, return the French car at the French rental desk at the Geneva airport before your flight
- If you don't fly home from Geneva, you'll go by the Geneva airport on either of these two itineraries - so you could return the French car & pick up a Swiss car at the Swiss rental office
- or you could just pay the drop-off fee & return the car elsewhere in Switzerland.

If you drive a French rented car on the Swiss Autoroutes, you'll need a "pass". I don't recall how much one costs. If you pick up a Swiss car in Geneva, it will likely already have a Swiss pass.

You could take a train from the Geneva airport to Interlaken. It is a 2 hr 50 min trip with 1 train change in Bern. You could spend a couple of hours in Bern (we love Bern).

If you drive to the Lyon Pt Dieu train station, it's a 5 3/4 trip to get there from Sarlat. Let's say you leave Sarlat at 9am & get to Lyon at 3PM. You have to return the car. There is a train that leaves at 3:38 and arrives in Interlaken at 10PM with 2 train changes. You might miss this train if you have any "delays" like lunch, pottie, or filling the car up with gas. Next train leaves at 5:16 and arrives at 11:45 PM. I wouldn't do this - mainly because this travel day would be completely "lost" - no sightseeing, no dinner, etc.

Stu Dudley

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Ussel, Stu. We were there in 2000 for the big turn-of-the-century Piquenique festivities, and I though I'd walked straight into a Fellini movie.

Ok, since I seems to have provoked an eruption by calling the Perigord 'the Dordogne'. Living in 'notre Perigord' as we say in Carlux, I would never call my area 'the Dordogne.' But the poster, and many visitors do. So, PalenQ, I am not about to take lessons from you on how to refer to the place I live.

Secondly, regarding car rental in Sarlat. There is one office, Europcar, in the centre of town. Very small, and they will have to bring in cars from other places.

To get to Sarlat by train you have to come south from Gare d'Austerlitz to Souillac (one stop after Brive) and take a coach into Sarlat, and walk to the car rental office.
Usually the coach meets the train coming from Paris, but best to check, as SNCF is cutting back regional services.

Or, take the train from Paris to Bordeaux, then local train to Sarlat (you can probably go Paris-Perigueux and then local train again. I never do it because I live very close to Souillac, so dont know about the number of changes this involves.) Again, there are not always frequent trains to Sarlat.

That's why we always recommend Paris-Brive, 4 hours, pick up the car and drive.

I'm finding car rental prices (on AutoEurope) at the various locations interesting. Before reading this I had put in Sarlat as a pick up location and got a quote of $216. Then I put in Brive and got a quote of $410. Now I put in Periguex and get a quote of $218. I wonder why Brive is so much more expensive. But it sounds like Periguex will work just as well ( and looks like a pretty town as well).

"and selected a compté to govern it (in the case of the pagus called Périgord, he named Wildbade). Successive comptés of the Périgord included Charles d'Orléans "

They were Counts (Comtes) at the head of each Comté and they were not counted ("comptés")

isabel: CALL AutoEurope. They will likely give you the same price for Brive as they will for Périgueux (and the greater price for Brive makes no sense, as there are MANY more cars to be had in Brive than in the tiny Périgueux lots).

And yes, there are some pretty parts in the old quarter of Périgueuex, but it is definitely not, overall, a picturesque place...at all.

And yes, there are some pretty parts in the old quarter of Périgueuex, but it is definitely not, overall, a picturesque place...at all.

The old town is quite extensive, and if interested in modern architecture applied to historical ruins, the Jean Nouvel building for La Vésunna is worth a look.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/sets/72157623221148969/show/

In addition, I consider its Saturday and Wednesday markets superior to Sarlat's market and recommend a meal at l'Essentiel.

http://restaurant-perigueux.com/photos-restaurant-l-essentiel

"Isabel, you definitely do not want to pick up a rental car in Sarlat or Limoges for a trip to the Dordogne."

We picked our car up in Limoges because (1) we wanted to see Oradour-sur-Glane and (2) it got in earlier there than the other train stations. It was an easy two hour drive from there to Sarlat. Should you pick up at the Limoges train station, they should have cleaned up the blood from my arm by now.

it got in earlier there than the other train stations. It was an easy two hour drive from there to Sarlat.

Since it takes the train 1 hour to get to Brive and Brive is a little less than an hour from Sarlat, reason 2 is not a reason to pick up a car in Limoges.

" reason 2 is not a reason to pick up a car in Limoges."

It was an easy 2 hour drive from "Oradour-sur-Glane."

Also, the train arrived in Limoges at 9:50 while the train to Brive arrived a little more than an hour later. So it would be the same time to get to Sarlat, but if you want to see Oradour sur Glane or Chateau de Hautefort on the way to Sarlat, I would recommend Limoges. If not, head to Brive.

And if you want to visit Collonges la Rouge, Turenne, la Fage, or Meyssac - pick up the car in Brive.

Stu Dudley

So it would be the same time to get to Sarlat, but if you want to see Oradour sur Glane or Chateau de Hautefort on the way to Sarlat, I would recommend Limoges.

I do not disagree, see an earlier reply of mine. It's the time factor given as an independent reason, i.e. even if one did not visit Oradour-sur-Glane, that I felt was spurious.

You can take a train from Gare Austerlitz (Paris) to Souillac; then board an SNCF connecting bus (very comfortable) for a beautiful half-hour drive to the Sarlat train station. Walk down the hall and pick-up your pre-reserved car at the Europcar at the bottom of the hill. Voila.
They are closed on Sundays and holidays. Cars can be reserved directly through Europcar, or preferable, through AutoEurope.

>>Walk down the hall<<

I think she means hill - not hall.

Stu Dudley

I just reserved a car through Kemwell. The price I was getting on AutoEurope's site for pick up in Brive was over $100 more than Perigeux and even when I called, the agent was unable to get the lower price for Brive - even though they were exact same cars, both through Europcar. She said something about regional contracts. So I went on the Kemwell site and there was the same car, available for pick up in Brive for the lower price. I called the autoeurope agent back just cause I was curious, since Kemwell and autoeurope are sister companies (in fact the agent told me they are located in the same building). She said autoeurope has different contract with the car companies, something about working with travel agencies. She told me to just book with Kemwell, so I did.

Interestingly, when I was researching the various prices I also got different prices (by over $100) when I changed the drop off from Nice railstation to Nice TGV station - even though they are the exact same address. Had I gone with the first price I saw for pick up in Brive drop off in Nice it would have been more than double the price I eventually got. So it pays to check out all your options.

Oh and be aware that on an approximately two week rental there will be about 100€ of 'local' fees that you will have to pay when you pick up the car.

100€? Price has gone up; it used to be about $100. It is charged to the credit card, often using DCC.

Oops, Stu Dudley -- silly me. It would be lovely if you only had to walk down the hall to find the rental car. But no such luck. Good catch, thank you!