Figeac, centre of historic and natural beauty

Figeac is a friendly mediaeval town nestling on the banks of the river célé in ancient quercy.

1st day : medieval sculpture and architecture  The medieval houses of Figeac constitute an exceptional inheritance which makes it possible to follow the evolution of the civil architecture of 12th at the 14th century. Crowning the frontage, the open attic - the traditional soulelho - is used for drying the fruit and vegetables and wool cloths. However, the carved decoration of the frontages are the most remarkable features of the old center.

2nd day : culture day  Espace Patrimoine: permanent exhibition "Figeac: Portrait of a city" invites you to enjoy the charm of its medieval streets, to admire the harmony of its frontages.  The Champollion Museum: muds canopes, ornaments, statuettes of oushebtis, tables of offerings... are exhibited on one side and the other of a mummy and of two sarcophagi. A window is devoted to fabrics coptes with the fine and picturesque themes.  Quercy-Cuzals open air Museum: farms dating from the end of the Middle Ages to the beginning of XXth century; museums of water and fire; potteries, coppers; the flour mill, presses; huts out of dry stone and thousands of objects of rural life.

3rd day : discovery of the saint-cirq lapopie village  The village of Saint-Cirq Lapopie is perched on a cliff 100 m (330 ft) above the river and is one of the major beauty spots of the Lot valley. 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 norrow and have steep tiled roofs. The gabled houses fronting on the street are separated by a narrow space called an entremi, which carried away rainwater and waste from sinks and latrines. Visit also of the castle for the exhibitions on Surrealist works.

4th day : gastronomy  Foie gras, cabécous, boletus, truffles, quercy lamb, nuts, sweet chestnuts. Visit of the market and of the streets of the old city.  You are then awaited in a farm for a country meal full of savours.

5th day : visit of carjac village  The old central street with its old houses.  The ruins of the Castle of l'Hebrardie (classified windows).  The city tower and the fortifications.  The Mariniers chapel.  The rock of Conté and the " Maison des Anglais".

6th day : saint foy abbey-church in conques  Saint Foy abbey-church, incontestable masterpiece of roman art, is the work of Conques' monks who had gained a solid reputation of builders. It is a perfect example of the churches called «of pilgrimage roads», even the major monument of this group of churches, preceding Saint Sernin of Toulouse, Santiago de Compostela, Saint Martial of Limoges and Saint Martin of Tours (the two last churches being destroyed). On the west side of the building, the tympanum (beginning of the XIIth century) with its 124 figures made in partly polychromatic wax illustrates the Last Judgment.

7th day : cardaillac, one of the most beautiful french villages  Cardaillac gave its name to the familly who erected it, brought it fame and prosperity. Two cliffs were used as natural fortifications. The castle was finished in the 12th. Some walls and 3 towers still remain : la tour ronde, la tour de l’horloge, la tour de Sagne. The city was attacked during the 100 years war then during the Religion War in the 16th. Cardaillac was then the most numerous protestant community in haut Quercy. The Church was destroyed by the inhabitants and returned to the catholic cult after the edict of Nantes, the building was rebuilt in the 17th. When the edict of Nantes was revocated, the walls and towers were razed to the ground.