Tarn, Aveyron, Lot : stay, leisures, vacancy, southern, France, western, europ, valley, tourism, sun

The Lot valley

St Geniez d’Olt
Espalion
Estaing
Entraygues
Conques
Capdenac
Cajarc
St Cirq Lapopie
Cahors
Puy l’Evêque

Download route and contact information in pdf format.

From its source on the Mont Lozère,
the river has carved out a narrow bed beneath high rocky walls bordering the southern edge of the Aubrac plateau in the Aveyron, before widening out after Entraygues, then flowing at the foot of the steep cliffs of the Lot Département from Capdenac to St. Cirq Lapopie and Cahors, and then through the famous vineyards.

Towns not to be missed

St Geniez d’Olt
Like St. Geniez d’Olt, famous until the 18th century for its tanneries and cloth manufacturing, now a holiday centre proud of its heritage ; and like Ste. Eulalie d’Olt, one of the « most beautiful villages in France ».

Espalion
The Lot leads on to Espalion. Apparently floating above the valley, the jagged contours of Calmont Castle appeared against the sky. Children can have fun up there with fascinating mediaeval war machines.

Conques
From the bridge in Coursavy, it is only 8 km to Conques. The pleasure of revisiting Conques, one of France’s major attractions and listed as World Heritage by UNESCO, is irresistible. The charm works every time: the abbey church with its stained glass by Pierre Soulages, the Treasure of Saint Foy, the beautiful village in which Romanesque art attains perfection…
Back to Coursavy. We picked up the valley trail once more towards St. Parthem and Decazeville.

Cajarc
Cajarc, a waterside town that does everything in the round. A rounded line of cliffs shelters it, a prosperous-looking circular boulevard surrounds it, and the mediaeval quarter with its characteristic houses is… round. We made a detour via Le Saut de la Mounine, a superb viewpoint over the valley, majestic in its simplicity.

St Cirq Lapopie
The village roofs are piled on one another right up to the top of the 80 m high rocky spur. Fine houses hang suspended on the very edge of the precipice. A cascade of warm red-brown tiles, a fortified gate, half-timbered houses, lanes where tanners, cauldron-makers and woodturners once plied their trade…
Around each corner, there is something else to catch the eye.

Cahors
Everything is attractive in Cahors: the 600 year old Valentré Bridge over the Lot with its 3 square towers, the quayside, little back streets, flower-decked terraces, carved door panels, mediaeval windows, fountains, renovated squares…
From the cathedral of St. Etienne to the vestiges of the Gallo-Roman baths, from the Badernes (lower town) to the Soubirous (upper town), Cahors is there to be enjoyed.

Puy l’Evêque
The city is built up in successive curved steps which display its mediaeval quarters to the best advantage. The square keep is a reminder of the power of the bishops of Cahors, the fortified Gothic church still bears the traces of a Huguenot attack and the streets are lined with houses from the 13th and 15th centuries.

Where to go ?

Le Cayrol
Abbaye de Bonneval

00 33 (5) 65 44 01 22

Espalion
• Musée d'arts et traditions populaires Joseph Vaylet et musée du scaphandre

00 33 (5) 65 44 09 18
• Château de Calmont d'Olt

00 33 (5) 65 44 15 89 ou 05 65 48 08 51

Saint Parthem
Maison de la Rivière Olt

00 33 (5) 65 64 13 22

Conques
Trésor de Conques

0 820 820 803

Capdenac Gare
• Train à vapeur citev

00 33 (5) 65 64 74 87 ou 05 65 23 94 72
• Train touristique Quercyrail

00 33 (5) 65 64 74 87
• Port miniature - Base nautique

00 33 (5) 65 80 22 22

00 33 (6) 11 28 41 74

Capdenac Le Haut
Musée (préhistoire, époque gallo-romaine et moyen-âge)

00 33 (5) 65 50 01 45

Cajarc
• Centre d'Art Contemporain Georges Pompidou

00 33 (5) 65 40 78 19

00 33 (5) 65 40 63 97

Larroque-Toirac
• Le Château

00 33 (6) 12 37 48 39
• Musée rural quercynois à St Pierre-Toirac.

00 33 (5) 65 34 26 07

Larnagol
Le Château

00 33 (5) 65 31 27 87

St Cirq Lapopie
• Musée Rignault

00 33 (5) 65 31 23 22
• Musée de la Mémoire du village

00 33 (5) 65 31 21 51

Cenevières
Le Château

00 33 (5) 65 31 27 33

Cabrerets
• Grottes de Pech Merle

00 33 (5) 65 31 27 05 ou 05 65 31 23 33
• Musée de la Préhistoire

00 33 (5) 65 31 23 33

Cahors
• Musée Henri Martin

00 33 (5) 65 20 88 66

00 33 (5) 65 20 88 69
• Jardins Secrets

00 33 (5) 65 53 20 65

Grezels
• Le Château de la Coste

00 33 (5) 65 21 34 18

00 33 (5) 65 21 38 28
• Musée du vin de Cahors

00 33 (5) 65 21 34 18

00 33 (5) 65 21 38 28

Luzech
• Musée Ichnospace (empreintes et traces)

00 33 (5) 65 30 58 47
Tel. : 00 33 (5) 65 30 76 80
• Musée Armand Viré

00 33 (5) 65 20 17 27
• La Planète des Moulins (Collection de maquettes animées)

00 33 (5) 65 20 17 27

Puy L'Evêque
• Musée de la Manufacture de Porcelaine Virebent

00 33 (5) 65 36 46 31

Where to stay ?

Saint Geniez d’Olt
• Hôtel de France***

00 33 (5) 65 70 42 20

00 33 (5) 65 47 41 38

• Hostellerie de la Poste**

00 33 (5) 65 47 43 30

00 33 (5) 65 47 42 75

Espalion
• Hôtel-restaurant Le Moderne** Logis de France.

00 33 (5) 65 44 05 11

00 33 (5) 65 48 06 94

Estaing
• Chambres d’hôtes (3 épis) Cervel - route de Vinnac

00 33 (5) 65 44 09 89

00 33 (5) 65 44 09 89

Entraygues
• Chambres d’hôtes et ferme auberge La Méjanassère. (3 épis)

00 33 (5) 65 44 54 76

00 33 (5) 65 44 54 76

• Chambre d'hôtes Le Clos St-Georges 3 épis
19, coteaux de St-Georges

00 33 (5) 65 48 68 22

Conques
• Grand Hotel Ste Foy****

00 33 (5) 65 69 84 03

00 33 (5) 65 72 81 04

• Hôtel-restaurant Le Moulin de Cambelong***

00 33 (5) 65 72 84 77

00 33 (5) 65 72 83 91

• Auberge Saint Jacques** Logis de France.

00 33 (5) 65 72 86 36

00 33 (5) 65 72 82 47

Loupiac
• Hôtel Le Mûrier de Viels***

00 33 (5) 65 80 89 82

00 33 (5) 65 80 12 20

Balaguier d’Olt
• Chambres d’hôtes (3 épis)
place de la Mairie

00 33 (5) 65 64 62 31

00 33 (6) 19 41 33 11

Cajarc
• Hôtel restaurant La Ségalière***
Route de Cadrieu.

00 33 (5) 65 40 65 35

00 33 (5) 65 40 74 92

St Cirq Lapopie
• La Pelissaria***

00 33 (5) 65 31 25 14

00 33 (5) 65 30 25 52

• Auberge du Sombral**
Place du Sombral

00 33 (5) 65 31 26 08

00 33 (5) 65 30 26 37

• Chambres d'Hôtes - 3 épis
Chez Mme Agnès Dadoun
Route du Carol

00 33 (5) 65 31 49 10

00 33 (6) 12 29 76 55

Cahors
• Hôtel Le Terminus ***
Restaurant Le Balandre

00 33 (5) 65 53 32 00

00 33 (5) 65 53 32 26

• Inter Hôtel de France***
252, avenue Jean-Jaurès

00 33 (5) 65 35 16 76

00 33 (5) 65 22 01 08

• Chambres Clévacances Le Lamparo (3 clés)
76, rue Clémenceau

00 33 (5) 65 35 25 93

00 33 (5) 65 23 83 45

• Hôtel l'Escargot**
5, bd Gambetta

00 33 (5) 65 35 07 66

00 33 (5) 65 53 92 38

• Hôtel Restaurant La Chartreuse***
St-Georges

00 33 (5) 65 35 17 37

00 33 (5) 65 22 30 03

Mercuès (près de Cahors)
• Hôtel-Restaurant Le Château de Mercuès****

00 33 (5) 65 20 00 01

00 33 (5) 65 20 05 72

Puy l'Evêque
• Hôtel Bellevue***
Restaurant Côté Lot
Place de la Truffière
Tél : 00 33 (5) 65 36 06 60

00 33 (5) 65 36 06 61

Touzac
• Hôtel La source bleue***
Restaurant La Source Enchantée
Tél : 00 33 (5) 65 36 52 01
ou : 00 33 (5) 65 30 63 18

00 33 (5) 65 24 65 69

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Discovery offer

Boating on the Lot
The Lot valley is now bringing part of its past back to life: boats ply up and down at the river's own gentle pace. Awakening echoes of the "gabares" which once went down to Bordeaux laden with barrels or returned carrying salt cod, the river cuts a swathe of poetic charm across the landscape.
It is, without doubt, the loveliest of France's navigable waterways, so subtle and varied are the impressions imparted by the 70 kilometres of country between the vineyards of Luzech and the impossible village of St. Cirq Lapopie. Downstream, the river flows past gentle hills ; upstream, it cuts through the living rock of the cliffs. But it is the same spell throughout that leads the novice boatman through the 14 locks without any hindrances of a technical nature. On board a passenger boat or a house boat, from meander to meander, let the river tell you its own story.
Set sail on the Lot… Captain for a week, on board a boat for which no licence is needed, explore the Lot river, its 64 km open for boating and its 14 locks, all manually operated (by you !)
• 8 days from 596 euros per 2/4 berth boat in low season.
• Reservations :
Loisirs Accueil Lot, Maison du Tourisme, place F. Mitterrand - 46000 Cahors - Tel.: 05 65 53 20 90 - Fax: 05 65 53 20 94
• Contacts :
loisirs.accueil.lot@wanadoo.fr
www.tourisme-lot.com

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