Sarlat was bigger than I thought it would be, and I loved it straight away. Not near a river though, but the medieval buildings, narrow cobbled streets and the atmosphere makes you forget about the river. The hotel I'd aimed for was fully booked, even in September, so I had to join the queue at the Tourist Office to find lodgings. According to my guide book, there was supposed to be a youth hostel here a short walk from the centre, but apparently it closed down a while ago.
I found Sarlat impossible to photograph properly, like I couldn't get enough of it in my lens to do it justice.
It is a fairly long walk from the station, but perfectly walkable.
I got lost on the way to the town centre though, so popped into a museum/shop I passed that specialises in walnuts and truffles (the mushroom kind) for which this region is famous.
I bought some caramelised walnuts, which were heaven, and wish I'd stocked up so as to bring loads back home with me.
The truffles looked rather ugly, but contributed to the earthy smell of the shop.
I asked if I could take a photo of the inside of the shop, which I found fascinating.
I should have taken a photo of the large vats (to right of photo, not included) where they make the different kinds of coatings for the nuts, some are in sugar, some in chocolate, there were all kinds of samples on display that you could taste before buying. I wasn't that keen on the nut cake though, which is another speciality of the region. But if you ever need walnut oil, this area of France (Perigord) is the place to buy it.
Sarlat is a lovely maze of narrow streets and archways, you would turn a corner or go under an archway and be pleasantly surprised by a hidden restaurant or shop.
I don't know what this building is but I liked the red parasols against the blue sky of the hot day.
My hotel wasn't far from these gardens in the more modern part of town, where I would sometime sit and read, when I'd had enough walking.
It was also within walking distance of the main high street shops, and the old medieval part of town.
The hotel (the Lion d'Or) was only 40 euros a night for ensuite too, but had no TV and it was quiet enough as long as you didn't open the window.
As the mornings and evenings were freezing anyway, with the days scorching hot, you wouldn't really need to open the window at either end of the day when you were in the room.
And this is the restaurant where I tried foie gras for the first time.
Music in the town square (above)
You need at least a week to properly explore the Dordogne and preferably with a car. I had no car and just a week to explore both the Dordogne valley AND the Lot valley, so my visit was fleeting and incomplete. Looking back I'm surprised at how much I did manage to cram into just a week, but I shall have to come back again some time to take a proper holiday at a more relaxing and leisurely pace, as I missed out loads of places I wanted to see. Staying just one or two nights here and there with frequent train and bus journeys in between, with hardly any time in one place and usually no accommodation booked in advance, can feel taxing at times, especially when you have bronchitis and diarrhoea, which I seemed to be afflicted with on that particular trip.
Having said that, a lot of these places you can walk round in a day so there isn't always a need to stay overnight. But for now I'm finished with the Dordogne and the rest of my week takes me further south to the Lot Valley, starting with the capital of the region, Cahors.
There is no train that takes you directly to the Lot from here, so I had to take a bus from Sarlat to Souillac, which took about an hour or less, where I could catch a train on the right train line going south. At least the Tourist Office had already booked my first two nights accommodation at the youth hostel there, so that was one less thing to think about.
I found Sarlat impossible to photograph properly, like I couldn't get enough of it in my lens to do it justice.
It is a fairly long walk from the station, but perfectly walkable.
I got lost on the way to the town centre though, so popped into a museum/shop I passed that specialises in walnuts and truffles (the mushroom kind) for which this region is famous.
I bought some caramelised walnuts, which were heaven, and wish I'd stocked up so as to bring loads back home with me.
The truffles looked rather ugly, but contributed to the earthy smell of the shop.
I asked if I could take a photo of the inside of the shop, which I found fascinating.
I should have taken a photo of the large vats (to right of photo, not included) where they make the different kinds of coatings for the nuts, some are in sugar, some in chocolate, there were all kinds of samples on display that you could taste before buying. I wasn't that keen on the nut cake though, which is another speciality of the region. But if you ever need walnut oil, this area of France (Perigord) is the place to buy it.
Sarlat is a lovely maze of narrow streets and archways, you would turn a corner or go under an archway and be pleasantly surprised by a hidden restaurant or shop.
I don't know what this building is but I liked the red parasols against the blue sky of the hot day.
My hotel wasn't far from these gardens in the more modern part of town, where I would sometime sit and read, when I'd had enough walking.It was also within walking distance of the main high street shops, and the old medieval part of town.
The hotel (the Lion d'Or) was only 40 euros a night for ensuite too, but had no TV and it was quiet enough as long as you didn't open the window.
As the mornings and evenings were freezing anyway, with the days scorching hot, you wouldn't really need to open the window at either end of the day when you were in the room.
And this is the restaurant where I tried foie gras for the first time.
Music in the town square (above)
You need at least a week to properly explore the Dordogne and preferably with a car. I had no car and just a week to explore both the Dordogne valley AND the Lot valley, so my visit was fleeting and incomplete. Looking back I'm surprised at how much I did manage to cram into just a week, but I shall have to come back again some time to take a proper holiday at a more relaxing and leisurely pace, as I missed out loads of places I wanted to see. Staying just one or two nights here and there with frequent train and bus journeys in between, with hardly any time in one place and usually no accommodation booked in advance, can feel taxing at times, especially when you have bronchitis and diarrhoea, which I seemed to be afflicted with on that particular trip.
Having said that, a lot of these places you can walk round in a day so there isn't always a need to stay overnight. But for now I'm finished with the Dordogne and the rest of my week takes me further south to the Lot Valley, starting with the capital of the region, Cahors.
There is no train that takes you directly to the Lot from here, so I had to take a bus from Sarlat to Souillac, which took about an hour or less, where I could catch a train on the right train line going south. At least the Tourist Office had already booked my first two nights accommodation at the youth hostel there, so that was one less thing to think about.
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