The Causses du Quercy
Limestone is the common characteristic of the Causses du Quercy. A limestone that shapes a landscape of hot and dry plateaus gently dotted with combes and dolines. Valleys named Ouysse, Alzou and Célé pierce the ground on the surface like prominent veins. Underneath, the Causses du Quercy, a karstic land, are the dream terrain of every speleologist. The landscapes are carved by numerous chasms, igues, caves and galleries, allowing them to descend further and further towards the center of the earth.
The Causses, as the plural of the name suggests, are multiple. The Causses of Martel in the north precede those of Gramat and in the extreme south those of Limogne. There are some variations in the landscapes but also some common characteristics that give this area a unity. Thus, one finds among others on the whole of the Causses a strong presence of pubescent oak, many rare species of orchids, plum trees and junipers.
The Causse is also characterized by the presence of black-spectacled sheep, a Caussenarde breed of sheep adapted to the poor soil of the Causse. If the landscapes have been little impacted by human activity, the agrarian presence has drawn over the centuries lines by the hands of farmers. They have built low dry stone walls that delimit small plots. These low walls are today part of the local heritage characteristic of the landscapes of the causses.
White Quercy
The link between the Causses and the Quercy Blanc is made by the DNA of this land: the limestone. This light-colored rock gives its name to this part of the Quercy. A luminous white, a white that "stains" both the landscape and the people. This Quercy extends over the departments of Tarn-et-Garonne and Lot-et-Garonne. It is bordered by Moissac, Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Agen and Cahors. It is a land essentially carved by valleys like the Bargelonne, the most important one.
The Quercy Blanc is a land of gentle slopes, plateaus cut by valleys, an air of Tuscany, a light and a very particular softness. It offers soils prized for the cultivation of vines, wheat, corn but also market gardening and orchards. The melon is a treasure of sunshine, it makes the happiness of the amateurs every summer.
La Bouriane
Here is a region of the Lot which looks like nothing else ! Between the Quercy and the Périgord, the Bouriane is a charming region, hilly and wooded - the cep is the king - which offers various circuits and itineraries marked out by monuments which are as many signs of a rich history. Around Gourdon, the capital of the Bouriane, there is a string of small towns: Les Junies, Moncléra, Milhac... Tasty and authentic, this region likes to multiply its pleasures: gastronomy, traditions and leisure. Numerous lakes and rivers make it a paradise for fishermen and swimming enthusiasts.
The Dordogne Valley
Between Souillac, its abbey and its museum of automatons, and Saint-Céré, whose workshop-museum of the towers of Saint-Laurent reminds us of the great tapestry-maker Jean Lurçat, the valley and the surrounding limestone plateaus are lined with small well-preserved towns. With their feet in the water, Floirac, Carennac and Gintrac recall the glorious times of the boatmen. Montvalent and Loubressac with their flowery alleys dominate the hills of the Corrèze. Autoire, with its precious manors, cultivates its gardens watered by the brook which falls in a 30 meters waterfall.
The bastide of Bretenoux is dominated by the castle of Castelnau and its red stones where a festival of lyric art takes place every summer. Martel is nicknamed "the city of seven towers" and gathers around its market hall and its palace external signs of wealth.
Segala Garden
Country of borders, the Ségala-Limargue combines the mountain with the plain. Touching the Cantal, the first one is crossed by abrupt reliefs at the foot of the Massif Central. As you approach the villages where the stone is colored with the dark veins of sandstone, where the roofs weigh under the shale, hedgerows separate the plots where cows graze. The ground is covered with heather and ferns. The forest of Leyme gathers on 80 hectares beeches sometimes centenarians, chestnut trees and birches which weave a vegetal screen to the ardour of the sun. Between Sénaillac and Latronquière, the two small capitals of Ségala, the Tolerme lake, a real little sea in the mountains, welcomes vacationers and fishermen. Further south, the castle of Lacapelle-Marival and the fort of Cardaillac impose their presence.
Cahors Country
Downstream from Cahors, the Lot inscribes its course between the hills while upstream, it cuts sharply into the flesh of the cliffs. In all, 65 kilometers and 14 locks, between Luzech and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, certainly the most beautiful navigable area in France. The river strolls in majesty at the foot of the castles linked to the cult of wine and refined pleasures, skims the noble parts of Puy-l'Evêque between Luzech and its keep. In Cahors, all along the loop that takes the city in a sling, the river path reviews the monuments that trace its history: the warlike Valentré bridge and its mineral devil, the rounded domes of the cathedral, the towers and bell towers that bristle the upper city overhanging the quays. Shortly after the city, the hillsides of Laroque and Arcambal on their green flank. Heading south, to Montcuq where it is good to linger in the old quarter, amusingly called "Montmartre", and to lounge on the terraces of the cafés. "It sounds like the South" resounds in our ears... In Castelnau-Montratier, the central square lined with its covered galleries has a lot of allure with its bourgeois buildings, including the Jacob house.
Lot and Célé Valley
These two valleys full of freshness are home to numerous villages of undeniable charm, including Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, a medieval site classified by the Monuments Historiques, where André Breton had "ceased to desire himself elsewhere". Figeac, home of Champollion, also has a rich heritage, including the Champollion Museum, a museum of world writings.
