Quercy Tourism And Leisure
CONTENTS
Holidays in the Lot, Lot et Garonne and Tarn et Garonne
The Lot and Quercy region in the sunny south of France - the perfect place for a well earned holiday!
Beautiful Villages of the Quercy
AutoireAuvillar
Bruniquel
Cardaillac
Carennac
Lacapelle Marival
Lauzerte
Loubressac
Montflanquin
Poujols le Haut
St. Cirq Lapopie
Rocamadour
Cahors Weather
What's the Weather Really Like?
Which Airport?
Market Days
Holidays and Leisure
Lot and Quercy - The perfect holiday destination! The Lot and Quercy region is an ancient land of hills and valleys, rivers and overhanging precipices. Bastide villages crown the craggy tops and perch precariously on the edge of sheer cliffs. Vineyards drape the lower slopes and oak forests romp over any uncultivated land. It’s an outstandingly beautiful landscape. Situated as it is, in the southwestern corner of France, squeezed between the elegant city of Bordeaux and the fabulous city of Toulouse, it enjoys a delightfully warm, climate and an extended summer, warm weather often continues well into November... more...White Stone Black Wine by Amanda Lawrence
Life among the ancient vineyards of the Quercy Blanc
Looking for the perfect holiday read this year?Want to find out more about the undiscovered Quercy Blanc?
White Stone Black Wine - "A relaxing and entertaining book about life in the Quercy region"
Synopsis
A light-hearted and whimsical romp through the lovely Quercy Blanc, one of the last undiscovered corners of southern France. White Stone Black Wine is generously slanted towards the regional specialities and famed local wines. It is as light as a soufflé, just as delicious and will fall very happily into a holiday suitcase..
Read more...
Cycling In The Lot
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When asked about the original reason that made us decide to move to France nearly 15 years ago with our, then young, sons, I remember trying to cycle down to our village in Kent and thinking that I could never let our boys do the same. It was just far too dangerous...
Cycling In The Lot...
Cabrerets And The Surrounding Areas
Notes from a visitor
Situated 30kms East of the region’s main town of Cahors, Cabrerets sits astride the Celé river (which itself joins the river Lot at Conduche) in a quiet valley sided by imposing limestone cliffs. The village itself dates from around the thirteenth century and as a result, has a lot of history to share with any visitor who takes an interest...
Cabrerets In The Lot...
Book Review - Moondrop To Gascony
by Anne-Marie Walters
The inspiring tale of one woman’s war.Anne-Marie Walters was a mere twenty years old when she was recruited by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and secretly dropped by parachute into occupied south-west France one freezing, moonlit night in January 1944.... Moondrop to Gascony...
Cahors Concert - Thousands Raised For Haiti
February 2010 Concert
When pianist and jazz-singer Judy Blair saw the plight of the Haiti earthquake victims, her response was immediate: she started organizing a benefit concert. Just as she had for the Katrina disaster. The musicians she contacted, including Gary Brooker (founder of Procul Harum)...
Cahors Concert For Haiti...
Hot Air Ballooning in the Lot and Quercy
Vol en Montgolfiere
A hot air balloon ride provides a unique way of experiencing the sights and sounds of the region from a new perspective.We recently had the opportunity to take a balloon flight with one of our neighbours - and it was a fantastic experience! A mix of fear and complete calm. Fear because you are 300m above the ground in a basket suspended from a balloon and calm because it is so peaceful and quiet - no wind, no noise - apart from the noises from below - dogs barking mainly. Well it was 7 on a Sunday morning! Hot Air Ballooning...
Camping In The South Of France - Just For Adults
Château de Lacomté Country Retreat
NEW for 2010 - A Camping Holiday for those seeking serenity. Château de Lacomté Country Retreat introduces Camping and Holiday Rentals "Just For Adults" in South West France.Peaceful 4 * Camping Château de Lacomté is idyllically situated within the heart of the “Causses du Quercy Regional Natural Park”. Camping In The South Of France...
Prayssac In The Lot Valley
Holiday Destination With Plenty To Offer
The pretty town of Prayssac is located in between two of many large, meandering bends of the river Lot in a beautiful area of France known as the gastronomic heart of the country. Prayssac is a growing, lively area, ideal to spend long awaited, welcomed summer breaks....
Prayssac...
Lot and Quercy Restaurant Guide
Looking for places to eat in the Lot and Quercy region? Check out our Restaurant Guide and read reviews of some of our favourite eating places...
Monet's Water Lilies in the Lot et Garonne
Latour-Marliac at Le Temple sur Lot
What's the connection between Claude Monet and a Lily nursery in the Lot et Garonne? The nursery of Latour-Marliac not only supplied the lilies that became so famous through Monet's paintings, but also provided the inspiration for his garden at Giverny
Monet's Water Lilies...
Castles in the Lot
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Wildlife Parks and Countryside Visits in the Lot
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Bicycle Gourmet's Treasures of France
Cycling through the French countryside with a video camera
Want to explore the "Treasures of France" from the comfort of your armchair?Bicycle Gourmet Christopher Strong has created a collection of DVDs recording his exploration of rural France - the people, the food and the wine.
The series was created over a 5 year period and covers virtually every French region. Here he tells us about The Bicycle Gourmet and what it took to bring it all together...
Bicycle Gourmet's Treasures of France...
Cahors from Mont St-Cyr
An aerial view of Cahors
The historic city of Cahors lies on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the meandering river Lot and tall hills. The peninsula faces approximately North-South and high on the hills to the eastern side is the viewpoint at Mont St-Cyr. It's a winding and hilly drive by car, but well worth it for the view of the whole city...
Cahors from Mont St-Cyr...
Caves and Caverns in the Lot and Quercy
Les Grottes et Gouffres
The Lot and Quercy region contains many underground caves and open caverns - a result of thousands of years of erosion of the limestone by underground streams. Many of these caves are open to the public and contain cave paintings and wonderful displays of stalactites and hidden underground lakes...
Caves and Caverns...
The Secret Gardens of Cahors
Les Jardins Secret de Cahors
Created in 2002, the secret gardens of Cahors amount to 29 in total and are laid out along a waymarked route around the city. The secret gardens include an arab garden, a lavender garden, an apple tree garden, a garden of spices, a monastery garden...
Cahors Secret Gardens...
Cave Diving in the Lot
World class venue for cave diving
France is spoilt for caves of a world class with most départements containing caves. As far as sumps (flooded cave passages) are concerned then the Lot is in a class of its own with hundreds...
Cave Diving in the Lot...
Champollion Museum in Figeac
Jean-François Champollion (1790 - 1832)
A celebrated son of Figeac, Champollion revolutionised our understanding of ancient scripts by deciphering the hieroglyphics on the famous "Rosetta Stone". First opened in 1986, in the house where he was born, the Champollion museum has remained dedicated mainly to hieroglyphics and Egyptology.
Champollion Museum, Figeac...
Tournon d'Agenais Flower Festival - 1 May
First of May, First of May, Flowers Strive to Bloom Today
They certainly did in Tournon on Thursday. This ancient and beautiful bastide village was overflowing with flowers and plants of every conceivable variety. The sun shone, heat radiated from the old stones and delicious fragrances permeated the alleyways...
Tournon d'Agenais Flower Festival...
Cahors, Ancient and Beautiful Capital of the Quercy
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Book Review - Lot by Helen Martin
Lot – Travels through a limestone landscape in southwest France. Helen Martin's book is a vast volume of impeccably researched fact and delicious personal preference. She puts meat on the bones of other guidebooks...
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Africajarc - African Music Comes to Cajarc
July
For one weekend each year the tiny village of Cajarc in the Lot plays host to a huge African music festival - Africajarc. With so much to see and hear it's a not to be missed event if you are in the region at the end of July...
Africajarc...
Canoë-Kayak on the Lot, Dordogne and Célé Rivers
A guide to canoe and kayak hire centres
Canoes and Kayaks can be hired by the hour for exploring the Lot, Dordogne and Célé river at your leisure. Alternatively, you can be transported up river and take your time drifting back downstream with the current. There are many places to hire canoes and all are well signposted in summer
Canoe and Kayak...
Horse Riding and Pony Trekking in the Quercy
The perfect way to explore the region
There are many horse riding and pony trekking centres in the Lot and Quercy region, allowing visitors to take full advantage of the enormous number of trails available. Many centres offer beginners classes as well as the possibility to hire a horse for the day and explore at will...
Horseriding...
Edith Piaf - Gluges Church Donation
Edith Piaf was one of France's best known and most loved singers. Less well known is that she was a regular visitor to the Lot and Quercy region. Lesser known still is the secret donation she made to save the church at Gluges in the Northern Lot...
Edith Piaf...
The Most Beautiful Villages in the Quercy
In search of perfection in the land of sunshine and stone |
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Staying at a Château in Villeneuve-sur-Lot
A brief stop on a European Tour by camping car
Retired librarians, Jill and Ian Maxted have spent the last few years travelling around the whole of Europe, accompanied by Modestine, their faithful camping car. Here they recount one small part of the trip where they spend a memorable few days in a family Château in Villeneuve...
Maxted Travels...
Looking For Saints in the Quercy - Part 2
The elusive tomb of Saint Namphaise
Linda McCabe continues her tale of chasing saints across the Quercy. Having travelled thousands of miles she finally gets close to the elusive tomb of Saint Namphaise in the little village of Caniac-du-Causse...
Tomb of Saint Namphaise...
The Attractions of the Lot and Quercy Region
A Taste of Midi-Quercy
Our corner of the Quercy region of south-west France is known as Midi-Quercy. It’s a peaceful haven of contrasting scenery, extensive wild life and picturesque mediaeval villages...
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Holiday Activities in Lot et Garonne
Things to do in the region |
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Things to do in the Lot
Listing of activities available in the region |
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Big Carp Fishing in the River Lot
A really big one this time
After a wet weekend Monday 11 July provided a classic Lot valley dawn. Wreaths of mist rising from the glassy surface of the river and the promise of a warm day to come...
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The Black Wine of Cahors
Revered by Tsars, Popes and Princes
Why black? Principally because it is almost black, just hold a bottle up to the light and you’ll see into its deliciously inky depths. Cahors wines are reputedly the darkest in the world; they are also some of the strongest and richest and will keep for years...
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Out and About in Tarn et Garonne
Activities to keep you busy |
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Looking For Saints in the Quercy
"I went on a wild saint's chase..."
I am now home safe and sound from my trip to France. It was exhausting, but very rewarding. One of the goals I had was to find out what I could about an obscure saint that I had stumbled across while doing research for my novel...
Wild Saint's Chase...
The Ancient History of the Lot
Man and nature, limestone and water
Landmarks denoting the passing centuries are particularly numerous in the Lot. Traces of the art present in our distant ancestors' daily lives, cave paintings, specimens of tools, vestiges of human occupation abound. Living water is omnipresent beneath the causse and has shaped fantastical landscapes under the thick rock vaults...
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A Journey Down the Lot
From Fumel to Villeneuve-sur-Lot |
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An extract from "Dordogne & The Lot" by Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls. more...
Tourist Information Offices in the Lot and Quercy
Covering the Lot, Lot et Garonne and Tarn et Garonne |
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Puy L'Eveque Fireworks
Spectacle Pyrotechnique
For one night in August each year, the sleepy town of Puy L'Eveque is taken over by pyrotechnicians for a spectacular display of fireworks. Viewed from across the river Lot, with the ancient stone houses as a backdrop, it makes a magnificent event..
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Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of England
The English rule of South West France |
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Market Days in the Lot and Quercy
Complete Listing for the Region |
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Big Carp Fishing in the River Lot
A couple of memorable nights at Arcambal
Bob Spinks is a keen fisherman and had heard the rumours about big carp in the river Lot. Last summer, with son Michael, he decided to try it out for himself and found more excitement than either of them had bargained for…more...
Albas Wine Festival
Largest Cahors wine festival in one tiny village
Albas is a charming little village, built entirely of the local stone and wedged precariously into a rocky cleft on the left bank of the river. Today is the day of the annual fête du vin and the whole village bows in worship of the grape and gives itself up to the pleasures of the table...
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The Growing Art Movement in Puy l’Eveque
La Nuit des Arts
Puy l'Eveque is a delightful medieval village perched on the right bank of the meandering river Lot. When Artist Sharon Tompkins arrived in Puy l’Eveque in September 2004, little did she realise that this sleepy little town was soon to become the centre of a burgeoning art movement.more...
French Public Holidays
Did you know that Good Friday is not a public holiday in France?
Why not print out our list of holidays for 2012... more...
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