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Image by Martin Kelly

Sightseeing

The Lot Valley is one of France's best kept secrets. All the fine cuisine, rustic villages, markets and general French charm of the Dordogne, but without the crowds.

One of the most striking things about the region is the varied landscape. In a day, you can go from rocky, heath covered highlands through thick ancient forest to vast uninhabited lakes. With this variety comes some fantastic outdoor activities.

Set in rural France, the Lot valley flourishes on tourism and wine. It's young, dynamic yet wholeheartedly traditional. For discerning Francophiles, it's a place to relax among the Malbec vineyards, explore medieval villages and colourful market towns and enjoy fabulous views along the way.

We are sure, that during your stay at Les Granels, you will want to explore a little. The valley is dotted with delightful restaurants and boutique hotels. Whether one chooses to ramble, drive along quiet country lanes or sail on the river, the Lot has attractions for every taste and budget. The western reaches of the Lot valley cover the départements of Lot and Lot et Garonne.

We feature some of the more popular places to visit below, but we know that during your stay with us, you will discover some wonderful gems of your own!

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 Walking distance from Les Granels:


There is small old lavoir reservoir in the woods just below the manoir, full of water containing small water creatures a  nice 5 minutes stroll from house.

 

Some 20 minutes walk from manoir there is ancient menhir de la Piere Levee. Well hidden in the wineyard. Find it here

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​There is one beautiful viewing point above Albas. Nice view across the valley and meandering river. Accesible by car with picnic spot. Find it here

 


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Close to Les Granels:

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Albas worth visiting for its tiny Toscan garden right behind the mairie.  https://www.cahorsvalleedulot.com/en/patrimoine/jardin-toscan/
and there is is small lovely restaurant by the river near the chain bridge.


  • Luzech nice stroll around the island as they call it. Some bars, great cafe by the river and local museum with real dinosaur's footprints!
    If there is any Secret guide to Lot it must be there.:-)
    https://www.ville-luzech.fr/musee-armand-vire-et-ichnospace/

  • Not far from Luzech in Crayssac there is a hidden gem. Pterosaurs beach with the only footprints of pterosaurs (prehistoric flying lizzards) in the world. Visited with Veronika and Dutch couple this year. The footprints are tiny but there are dozens of them, five different species and the guide gave his first ever tour in English and it was the best tour I've experienced so far. Really.
    https://www.plageauxpterosaures.fr/

  •  If you want unique and 100% local souvenirs except of wine this is it. Short way from Cambayrac there is a lavender field and a shop. What a shop! Veronika loved it.
    https://lemasdelessentiel.fr/

  •  Art lover?
    Then Zadkine museum in Les Arques is must go. Don't forget to visit local church. There is his pieta in the crypt and Jesus above the door.
    https://www.cahorsvalleedulot.com/en/patrimoine/musee-zadkine/

  • Religious?
    Church in La Masse is your thing. Seven deadly sins on the way to the hell depicted on the wall is really scary feature. Keys to the church in veranda at the house across the road under the small bell.
    https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89glise_Saint-Perdufle_de_la_Masse

  •  Fond of human prehistory? Then dolmen walk in the oak woods above Castelfranc is your choice.
    https://www.cahorsvalleedulot.com/en/itineraires/petit-circuit-des-dolmens/
    That was more or less around the manoir.

  • Cahors and around:
    Essential Cahors I omitted DIY and painting shops alright;-):
    https://www.cahorsvalleedulot.com/en/explorer/visitez-la-vallee-du-lot/une-journee-a-cahors/

  • And there are that Igues what I translate as abyss near Cahors. Once there was huge cavern and then the roof collapsed. Well not quite. Once there were two huge caverns and then the roofs collapsed. Not necessarilly in the same time but both abysses are sooo close to each other, just some 80 metres.
    https://www.google.com/maps/place/Igues+de+Aujols/@44.443137,1.5254446,495m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x12acf4c974aef193:0xbe8113427c6e004f!8m2!3d44.4431349!4d1.5268897!16s%2Fg%2F11fy1f827t?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTAwOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

  •  Further affield.
    East from Cahors

  • And here it comes finally, your cliff village!
    Saint-Cirq Lapopie:
    https://www.cahorsvalleedulot.com/en/explorer/decouvrir-les-lieux-emblematiques/saint-cirq-lapopie-plus-beau-village-de-france/ 

  • Keen on engineering?
    Tow path carved into the cliff under Cirq village
    Bousies:
    https://www.cahorsvalleedulot.com/en/patrimoine/chemin-de-halage/

  • Pech Merle Cave
    https://www.cahorsvalleedulot.com/en/explorer/visitez-la-vallee-du-lot/plongez-dans-la-prehistoire/grotte-du-pech-merle/
    Some 15 minutes from Saint Cirq Lapopie you will get a treat.
    Cave with all the stalactites, stalagmites and stalagnates. Not enough? What about prehistoric carvings and paintings?
    Want a bonus? Petrified foot prints of a girl. From 30 000 year ago. Foot size 32!
    Still not enough? You are demanding Claire!:-) Well oak root 10 metres long growing through cavern.
    Well seriously this is something amazing. This is the closest you can get to the prehistoric cave art. Lascaux like but unlike Lascaux experience which is completely new remodeled show cave, Pech Merle is real. Hurry up before they close it for good.

  • Champollion museum
    https://musee-champollion.fr/practical-information/
    Egyptian hieroglyphs, old hebrew, chinese or mayan writing? Here you will get it all in museum of world writing in Figeac. Champollion was the guy to desipher the hieroglyphs.

  • South of manoir
    Montcuq
    https://www.cahorsvalleedulot.com/en/explorer/decouvrir-les-lieux-emblematiques/montcuq-et-le-quercy-blanc/
    Heard the story about French Monopoly game vote? 
    In standard French, Montcuq is pronounced the same as mon cul, meaning my arse. However, the locals used to speak Occitan in which language, and in the local dialect even today, the 'q' is pronounced [k].

  • In 2007, Hasbro, the company that manufactures the Monopoly game in France, had the idea to have the online community choose the cities that will appear on the new version of the game. Montcuq by far won the most votes (52879 votes), well ahead of Dunkirk with 30640 votes and Reims (20727 votes). Hasbro, however, decided it had "played long enough with web 2.0" and had "decided to maintain its editorial line and to develop products that fit a commercial demand", so decided to leave out Montcuq from the board game. But after huge popular uproar Hasbro has nonetheless decided to issue an all-Montcuq edition. [3][4] 


  • Whatever arse it is it's nice town worth visiting.

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  • Lauzerte 

  • Bastide town. Another hill top town in this case fortress.

  • https://www.tourisme-tarnetgaronne.fr/en/offers/lauzerte-lauzerte-en-2353676/

  • Check the town square.

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  • Moissac

  • Nice town on the bank of the Tarn river.  Famous for its romanesque abbey and "stolen" Chagall window 

  • https://www.abbayemoissac.com/en/saint-pierre-abbey

  • and aquaduct over Tarn river.

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  • North of Manoir

  • It's about an hour from there.

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  • Gardens

  •  Marqueyssac

  • Garden on the top of plateau, great buxus trimmed garden with the views.

  • Never seen something like this in England.

  • https://www.marqueyssac.com/?lang=en

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  • Water gardens of Carsac

  • Gardens you have never seen before.

  • https://jardinsdeau.com/photos-jardins-eau-perigord.html

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  • Rock town with acces to river

  • Roque de Cageac

  • Can hire a canoe for a river trip there.

  • https://www.visit-dordogne-valley.co.uk/discover/cultural-heritage/villages-to-visit/la-roque-gageac

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  • And services on A20

  • That's what I call services with terraced gardens even with its own look out tower.

  • Great shops with local produce. Wish all services looked like this;

  • https://www.tourisme-occitanie.com/fr/fiche/restauration/aire-jardin-des-causses-du-lot-labastide-murat_TFORESMIP046V52JWDC/

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  • And last but not least most quirky place I found:

  • Montech water slope

  • https://www.pentedeaudemontech.fr/en/

Image by le Sixième Rêve

Cahors

Medieval town

Cahors is a large and quintessentially French medieval town, with many arcade houses of bricks and timber frames, surrounded on three sides by the meandering river Lot. The Pont Valentré bridge over the Lot is one of the finest examples of medieval architecture and along with Cahors cathedral are UNESCO world heritage sites.

Now world famous for the wonderful wines from this area the town is a bustling, thriving centre of commerce, full of attractions.

02

Agen

Agen, the county town of Lot-et-Garonne, dates back to Roman times and has been of great importance as a trading centre since then. Although much of the town is modern, Agen's setting on the banks of the River Garonne offers delightful riverside walks and there are well preserved medieval houses and interesting churches, including the Romanesque church of St Caprais. Masterpieces by Goya and treasures from the Gallo-Roman period can be viewed in the town including a statue discovered in a field beside the Garonne.

Place des Laiters nearby plays host to relaxing cafés, interesting shops and find bargains in the outdoor Wednesday market. A Saturday morning market is held in the public gardens of Le Gravier near a footbridge across the river. You can hire canoes and take cruises by the hour or day on the Canal Lateral which flows parallel to the Garonne.​

  • 47000 Agen ~1h15 (directions)

Image by Kitera Dent
Cycling Up the Hill

Les Arques

Sculptor lovers

The pretty village of Les Arques was home to the Russian Sculptor Zadkine and boasts a Museum of his amazing work. https://www.lesarques.fr/

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie 

Beauty spot

The village of Saint-Cirq Lapopie is perched on a cliff over 300 feet above the river Lot and is one of the major beauty spots of the Lot valley, having been officially designated as one of France's most beautiful villages.

Below the fortress, the village streets lead down to fortified gates. Many historic houses have stone or half-timbered fronts going back to the 13th-16th centuries. The houses are narrow and have steep tiled roofs. Beneath the Saint-Cirq Lapopie cliff there are watermills, weirs, harbours, locks and towpath.

Many painters came to live and work in Saint-Cirq Lapopie. First the Post-Impressionist Henri Martin, then the Surrealists with the poet André Breton, who said he would not want to live anywhere else.

46330 Saint-Cirq Lapopie

saint-cirq-lapopie.jpg
Alba.jpg

Albas

Toscan garden

Albas worth visiting for its tiny Toscan garden right behind the mairie ​and there is is small lovely restaurant by the river near the chain bridge.

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