Bed and breakfast in the Perigord

April 2, 2006 11:26 PM

We're spending a weekend in the Perigord Noir, and could use some guidance.

What's a nice little bed and breakfast in the Perigord Noir? We don't plan to spend a lot of time in the hotel, so we don't want to stay at a Relais and Chateaux resort.

Bonus question: How would we go about hiring a hot air balloon for a ride?

Double Bonus: Any particularly fantastic locations for a frou-frou picnic?

posted by I Love Tacos to Travel & Transportation (3 answers total)

I don't have any specific advice for you, but seeing as how nobody's written anything yet, you might find it useful to know that when I was young my mom took my brother and me on a trip throught the Perigord and we made very few solid plans ahead of time. We made no reservations anywhere and just stayed at whatever place was available in whatever little village we happened to be in. It was wonderful. Granted, this is through the eyes of a 13 year old, so I didn't have to deal with any of the specifics of finding lodging and such, but my mom does speak fondly of the trip to this day. Also, this was over 15 years ago, so, things may have changed (but I doubt they've changed that much).
posted by soplerfo at 7:33 AM on April 3, 2006

I visited the Dordogne last year (the Dordogne comprises the four Perigords). I travelled within a few hours drive of Perigueux (which is in Perigord Blanc), which IIRC took us into other Perigords. So hopefully this helps.

The only place I know of for a fantastic picnic is Domme, a fortified city on a hill, which has a small meadow with park benches and an incredible view. I also think you could have a nice picnic in Brantomme, a village on a small island.

Sorry I can't answer your b-and-b and balloon related questions. Some other suggestions in the region though:

Rocomadour -- impressive (though touristy) village on the side of a cliff, and more importantly, a fantastic monkey reserve (well, fantastic if you like monkeys leaping right up to you and stealing your popcorn)

Castlenaud -- a fortified castle with (non-working) trebuchet exhibit

Villares -- some underground grottos with stalagmites, stalactites, and ancient cave painting

Eyzies -- cro-magnon man was discovered here, and there are also houses in the sides of the cliffs (to avoid the viking pillagers)

More details at my blog. Photos at my flickr page (look for the Perigeux, Rocomador, and France sets).

If you like, I can put you in touch with my sister who used to live in Perigueux (my email is in my profile).
posted by blue grama at 10:47 AM on April 3, 2006

Thanks for the advice. It looks like we'll be living off of good luck and some guidebook reading :-)

We managed to find a hot air balloon company that spoke English (Nous parlons francais comme une vache espagnole.) and made a reservation.

We may or may not have successfully booked a room at a B&B. Time will tell, since the woman was very kind, and seemed to say we had a room... but didn't even take a credit card or phone number.

Thank you for the kind help!
posted by I Love Tacos at 11:17 PM on April 3, 2006