The Lot is a department of cliffs and limestone plateaus, carved by the river of the same name and its tributaries into spectacular gorges where villages have clung to the limestone cliffs since the Middle Ages. Cahors, its capital, was one of Europe’s major banking centres in the 14th century, and its financial wealth has left its mark on its architecture: the Valentré Bridge, with its three medieval towers, is the symbol of this past prosperity.
Rocamadour, a medieval town perched on a cliff above the Alzou Canyon, is one of France’s most visited sites: its Marian shrine, its tiered chapels and its castle have attracted pilgrims since the 12th century. The Château de Mercuès, the former residence of the bishops of Cahors converted into a luxury hotel overlooking the Lot, and the Château de Bonaguil, a 15th–16th-century Gothic fortress straddling the Lot and Lot-et-Garonne, are two architectural gems of the department.
Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, perched on its rock above the Lot and ranked among the most beautiful villages in France, and the numerous castles of the Quercy Blanc bear witness to the richness of a department steeped in gastronomy — truffles, walnuts, Quercy lamb — a natural extension of its cultural heritage.