Saint-Cirq-Lapopie

Medieval Village Clinging To A Cliff 100 M Above The Lot River, Once Home Of The Poet André Breton, Voted France'S Favourite Village In 2012 · Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, Occitanie

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie is a small medieval village perched on a cliff about a hundred metres above a bend of the Lot, east of Cahors. Its houses of pale stone and old timber, with steep brown tile roofs, tumble down the slope beneath a fortified Gothic church and the scant ruins of a castle that once belonged to several rival lords. In the Middle Ages it lived from river trade and from craftsmen who turned wood into taps, bowls and spindles; later it emptied, and in the twentieth century painters and writers rediscovered it, above all André Breton, the founder of Surrealism, who bought a house here and said he had stopped wishing to be anywhere else. The village was voted France's favourite on a television programme in 2012, and in summer its few lanes are busy from morning to evening with visitors and craft shops. Below, a towpath carved into the cliff follows the river toward Bouziès, canoes drift on the Lot, and the painted cave of Pech Merle, Cahors and the Célé valley are all within a short drive.

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, 46330, Lot, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, Occitanie, France

The village lanes, the church terrace and the viewpoints are open at all hours and free. The church is usually open during the day. Craft workshops, galleries and shops mostly open daily from spring to autumn and cut back to weekends or close entirely in winter; confirm before an off-season trip. Restaurants follow the same pattern, busy at lunch in summer and with limited choice from November to March. The paid car parks above and below the village are open at all times; confirm current charges and payment methods. Canoe and kayak hire on the Lot runs roughly from spring to early autumn, depending on water levels, and needs booking in high summer. The towpath to Bouziès is open all year but can close after floods or rockfall. The Grotte du Pech Merle nearby is open from spring to autumn only, with timed, limited entry and daily caps to protect the paintings, and it closes in winter; book ahead in summer and confirm the dates. Boat trips on the Lot from Bouziès are seasonal too.

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