The Local Area

The true French experience 

The Lot Region

The real France, lying a little to the south of the Dordogne is a most beautiful region of glorious sunflowers, tobacco plantation and walnut groves. The river Lot winds its way through rolling hills, with emerald meadows mingling with forests and limestone gorges, which are dotted with caves then weaves a blue ribbon through some of the oldest vineyards in France. It’s a diverse region, with inland beaches, and pretty bastide medieval towns, with castles and chateaux perched on cliff tops. The area is famous for wine, cepes, pickled walnuts, and foie gras, black truffles and other gastronomic delights.

Catus (nearest to Pagel main site)

Catus is only a few minutes drive away from Pagel and has a some excellent shops including a small supermarket, butcher, post office, bread shop, tabac, bar, restaurant and a tourist information office. Market day is every Tuesday morning and a short distance from the village is Lac Vert, a leisure lake which has a large sunbathing lawn and a small beach with a cordoned off children’s bathing area. There are bigger supermarkets and shops Cahors and Prayssac, both of which are about 20 minutes drive away.

Cahors (main town for all locations)

Is the chief town of rural Quercy and two thousand years old. It is encircled with the natural defences of the Lot river. It is a medieval town with a major wine centre. The town’s landmark site is the Pont Valentre a fortified bridge with seven pointed arches spanning the river. It is a cosmopolitan town famous for its Wednesday and Saturday morning market, dark heady wine, cafes, shops, truffle centre and Cathedral de St-Etienne.

Click here to see the French markets >

Labastide du Vert (For Champs)

Has a Boulangerie for those morning croissants and is only 10 minutes drive from the wonderful small town of Praysaac which hosts a fantastic local market every Friday morning and has an array of cafes, restaurants and local shops.

Lherm and Cazals  (For Mas sarrat)

A morning walk to the local bar/boulangerie for your bread and croissants will take you up the road from Mas Sarrat to Lherm your tiny local medieval village. Further afield but only ten minutes drive is the wonderful village of Cazals with a fabulous Sunday market, shops, Cafe de Paris and Auberge.

Our Welcome Folders have a comprehensive list of regional towns and villages to visit.