Must-see attractions in The Lot

This museum is named after Figeac-born Egyptologist and linguist Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), whose efforts in deciphering the Rosetta Stone…

High on a hilltop 150m above a hairpin bend in the River Aveyron, Najac’s fortress looks as if it's fallen from the pages of a fairy tale: slender towers…

Enter the historic centre of Figeac at place Vival, where the tourist office occupies the Hôtel de la Monnaie, an arcaded 13th-century building where…

The Sanctuaires are seven beautiful 12th- to 14th-century chapels built into the rock-face and surrounding a central courtyard. You can see worn stones…

Discovered in 1889, the spectacular Gouffre de Padirac features some of France’s spangliest underground caverns. The cave’s navigable river, 103m below…

The seven-span Pont Valentré, on the western side of the city, south of the train station, is one of France’s most iconic medieval bridges, built as part…

The airy nave of Cahors’ Romanesque cathedral, consecrated in 1119, is topped by two cupolas (at 18m wide, the largest in France). Some of the frescoes…

Not to be confused with the Château de Castelnaud, Castelnau-Bretenoux was constructed in the 12th century and saw heavy action during the Hundred Years…

Discovered in 1922, the 1200m-long Grotte de Pech Merle is one of the few decorated caves found around the Lot Valley. It has several wonderful galleries…

Feeling energetic? The return walking loop from Autoire's waterfall (around 1km) passes by a spur trail that climbs another kilometre up to the base of…

Just inside the gateway of the Château du Doyen sit the priory and the Romanesque Église St-Pierre with a remarkable Romanesque tympanum of Christ in…

This 30-metre waterfall is accessed via a pleasant 1km walk through the forest heading upstream. The trail leaves from the parking lot at the north end of…

Martel’s central square, place des Consuls, is home to the former fortress of the viscounts, Hôtel de la Raymondie, and is filled by a great market on…

About 15km west of Puy l’Évêque, near St-Martin-Le-Redon, the imposing feudal Château de Bonaguil is a fine example of late-15th-century military…

Little remains of St-Cirq's fortress, witness to sieges during the Hundred Years War, the Wars of Religion and long before. The crumbling walls still…

The Tour du Pape Jean XXII (closed to the public) is the town’s tallest building at 34m high. It was originally part of a 14th-century mansion belonging…

This soaring spot on the Compostela pilgrims’ trail, the 11th-century former Benedictine Abbey church, features the exquisite Notre-Dame-de-Pieté chapel,…

Perched atop Rocamadour, the château is a series of 14th-century protective ramparts with excellent views of the valley. Exact change is required for the…

Eclectic collection of French furniture, African and Chinese art, and rotating exhibitions. Delightful garden.

Two hundred metres below the Forteresse Royale de Najac is the austere 13th-century Église St-Jean, constructed and financed by local villagers on the…