Sightseeing highlights: Mende’s Black Madonna, Laguiole’s world-famous cutlery and the Three Bishops’ Cross, on the Santiago de Compostela trail.
1 Le Bleymard - This is the source of the Lot, set 1,272 metres in the schist landscape of the Goulet mountains…click for more
2 Mende - This pilgrims’ town, on the left bank of the Lot at the foot of the 1000ft-high Mimat cliff, grew up around Saint Privat’s tomb (martyred by barbarians) and afterwards became the seat of the Bishop of The Gévaudan. Gargoyles stare out from the façade of Mende’s outsized…click for more
3 St Geniez d’Olt - Thanks to tanning and cloth manufacture, this town grew into one of the Rouergue’s major towns right up to the 19th-century. You can still see the swanky…click for more
4 Sainte Eulalie d’Olt - Pebbles from the river were used to build the houses of Sainte Eulalie d’Olt, in the shadow of the Romanesque Church. The little stream that cuts…click for more
5 Saint Côme d’Olt - Herds heading for summer pastures, cross the river at Saint Côme. Here the hillsides are dotted with vineyards and huts, called tabernals. Many of them are abandoned, thanks to the mass...click for more
6 Espalion - Set in a fertile opening in the Lot Valley, 10km from Estaing and 32km northeast of Rodez Airport, Espalion is topped by the ruins of the Carolingian Calmont Castle, and peppered with pink sandstone…click for more
7 Laguiole, Aubrac – Prounced ‘La-yol’, this crafty mountain town is perched 1,000 above sea level, on the Aveyron side of the Aubrac. It is famous for three things – cheese, cattle and cutlery. Local artisan…click for more
Sightseeing highlights: Medieval Saint Flour perched on volcanic rock, romantic Chateau d’Alleuze and the hot spa of Chaudes-Aigues.
1 Garabit Viaduct - Gustave Eiffel and Leon Boyer built the Garabit Viaduct between 1882-1884, which carries the railway over the Truyère Gorge…click for more
2 Saint Flour – Named after the 4th-century missionary, Florus, this medieval town is built from volcanic rock atop column-like naturally formed basalt cliffs. Thanks to its excellent defensive position, Saint Flour withstood the English…click for more
3 Chateau d’Alleuze – This solitary, romantic castle stands on a rocky peninsular, set against wooded landscape. The Lord-Bishops of Clermont built the fortress …click for more
4 Chaudes-Aigues – Hottest Spring in Europe! Nestling in the Remontalou Valley, this spa town hosts over thirty hot springs…click for more
5 Bès-Bedène - The Bès-Bedène Priory is perched on the ridge of a meander in the Selves, surrounded by a circle of fractured granite. The wild beauty of this…click for more
6 Entraygues-sur-Truyère – Granite soils and a climate blending Mediterranean warmth with mountain freshness from the nearby Massif Central, make for high quality Entraygues-le-Fel VDQS wine …click for more
Sightseeing highlights: Conques’ Sainte-Foy Abbey (on the Santiago de Compostela trail), artists’ town St-Cirq-Lapopie, Symbolist Art in Decazeville and the vineyard slopes of Marcillac.
1 Conques – Conques is named after the Latin word for shell (‘Concha’) because the site is curled up like a conch shell. In the late 8th-century, Dado the hermit…click for more
2 Decazeville – A cluster of five towns comprise the Decazeville basin, traditionally known for their mining industry. See model mines at Cransac with its working spa…click for more
3 St-Cirq-Lapopie – Author André Malraux called this one of the most beautiful spots in the world, artist Henri Martin adored to paint views over the winding River Lot while surrealist poet André Breton lived in the Maison des Mariniers. Lording it 100 metres…click for more
4 Marcillac – The red sandstone town of Marcillac is surrounded by vineyard slopes, and set in a lush valley between red hills. Wine made Marcillac’s fortune…click for more
Sightseeing highlights: Medieval Cahors in a loop of the Lot, the impractical medieval fortress of Bonaguil Castle and the double bastide of Villeneuve-sur-Lot.
1 Cahors – This city of bishops lies in a loop of the Lot on a steep ring of dry limestone cliffs. Before you approach, see the lie of the land from the viewpoint of Mont Saint-Cyr, 264 metres above Cahors. The Celtic tribe…click for more
2 Bonaguil Castle – This impractical medieval fortress was built in the late 13th-century on a rocky spur during the heat of the Hundred Years War. Unlike other castles in the region, which opened up gradually to the …click for more
3 Villeneuve-sur-Lot – Time your visit to this little town straddling the Lot with market day (Tuesday and Saturday mornings), when street vendors sell…click for more
4 Penne d’Agenais – The hilltop location, beautifully restored houses, Neo-Byzantine Notre-Dame-de-Beyragude Basilica (built between 1897 & 1948, it may remind you of the Sacré-Coeur in Paris) and artists’ workshops…click for more
Sightseeing highlights: Medieval Figeac and its copy of the Rosetta Stone, the chestnut country of Châtaigneraie and prehistoric cave paintings of long extinct wild animals at Pech-Merle.
1 Mourjou and the Châtaigneraie – Standing on its round, wooded hill, Mourjou is the little capital of the Châtaigneraie (chestnut groves) in the Cantal department. Châtaignier is...click for more
2 Figeac – Begin with the Abbey (now the Church of Saint-Sauveur). Legend has it that Charlemagne’s son, Pépin the Short…click for more
3
Pech-Merle Grottoes – In 1924,
two teenagers discovered the 24,000 year-old cave
paintings in the Pech-Merle caves, on a hilltop
near Cabrerets Village. Some of the finest prehistoric
art in France…click
for more
