The Lot and Quercy in 4 days
The Lot river loops almost all the way round Cahors, and everything happens along its green water between pale limestone cliffs. Saint-Cirq-Lapopie perches 80 metres above the river, the Bouziès towpath is cut into the rock, and the quieter Célé valley runs alongside.
The plan, day by day
Day 1
- Morning
Pont Valentré, Cahorsfree · about 1 hA fortified bridge of six arches and three towers, begun in 1308, UNESCO-listed on the Santiago routes, with a small stone devil added in 1879.
- Afternoon
The Bouziès towpathfree · about 1 h 30Between Bouziès and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, the towpath runs for 300 metres through a gallery cut into the cliff, beside a carved frieze from 1985.
- Late afternoon
Saint-Cirq-Lapopiefree · about 2 hA village clinging to its cliff above the Lot, voted France's favourite village in 2012, where André Breton bought a house in the early 1950s.
Day 2
- Morning
Pech Merle cave2 to 3 hOne of the few caves where original prehistoric art can still be seen, including spotted horses from about 25,000 years ago and a teenager's footprint.
- Afternoon
The Célé valleyfree · half a dayA quiet tributary valley of grey cliffs and caves, with a ruined Benedictine abbey at Marcilhac and a leaning wooden bell tower at Espagnac-Sainte-Eulalie.
Day 3
- Morning
Figeac and the Champollion Museumabout 2 hChampollion's birthplace, now a museum of the world's writing systems, beside a square paved with Joseph Kosuth's giant copy of the Rosetta Stone.
- Afternoon
Castelnau-Bretenoux castleabout 1 h 30A red stone fortress above the Cère and the Dordogne, restored by the tenor Jean Mouliérat from 1896 and filled with his collection.
Day 4
- Morning
The Cahors vineyardsfree · half a dayTerraces along the tight meanders downstream of Cahors, where Malbec, known here as Côt, makes up at least 70% of the deep, dark Cahors reds.
Where to sleep in the Lot and Quercy
- Auberge du Sombral · €80 a night
- Hôtel Les Gabarres · €75 a night
- Hôtel Terminus des Pèlerins · €75 a night
- Le Saint-Cirq · 110-€160 a night
- Hôtel Le Quatorze · €115 a night
- Le Relais de Castelnau · €100 a night
- Le Pont de l'Ouysse · 180-€260 a night
- Domaine de Saint-Géry · €280 a night
- Mercure Figeac Viguier du Roy · €160 a night
Plan this trip
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