Rocamadour

Towns and Villages - by Provence Beyond

Villages > Rocamadour      

Nearby:  | Borrèze 48 km | Cahors 62 km | Gourdon 30 km | Gramat 9 km | La Roque-Gageac 56 km | Salignac-Eyvigues 53 km | Sarlat-la-Canéda 55 km | Souillac 37 km |

Below: | History | Fun | Hiking | Lodging Hotels |

The village is really a magnificent site, with houses and castle built onto the side of the vertical cliffs. Quite logically this has become an extremely popular tourist site, and the approach to the village along the top of the cliffs is a collection of souvenir and curio shops and the attendant commerce.

Driving down to the village entrance, it's all pay parking, and pay elevators to get up and down the cliff between the vertical parts of Rocamadour. (We don't object to any of the "pay" element; the tourism-maintenance cycle does require funding.)

Being in the region in mid-August, and being shy of crowds, we were content to park on the little road on the south side of the gorge and walk along there to view this magnificent sight from the outside. We do intend to return at a calmer time for a tour of the village.

It was a very cloudy August day, and mostly rainy, when we were there. Not great for photographs, but it adds to the Medieval atmosphere of the place.

History

Prehistoric: There were significant prehistoric sites at Rocamadour, which is easy to understand when you see the deep river valley and the tall cliffs here. The Grotte des merveilles at L'Hospitalet (eastern edge of Rocamadour) had engravings and prehistoric wall paintings. A dolment and tumulus were found at the area called "Les Places". The IGN 2136ET map shows a dolmen just 1.5 km southwest of Rocamadour, and several other cave-type sites (gouffres, grottes).

Gallo-Roman: Remains of Gallo-Roman habitation have been found at several locations, including En Caminou, Pech d'Ouriac, Borie del Pec.

Medieval: Rocamadour is a 2-star medieval village, and full of great medieval buildings, sites, and interesting remains. The adjacent hamlet of L'Hopital have the remains of the Hopital Saint-Jean, founded in the 11th-century to welcome pilgrims. The Hopital Saint-Jean was rebuilt in the 13th century and restored again in the 14th century.

Fun - Amusement - Kids

Birds

Eagle Rock - Le Rocher des Aigles

Spectacle with birds of prey in free flight, and a show with parrots.

Open: April through October

Entry: 8 euros

Tel: 0565 336 545, or 0565 653 906

Web: www.rocherdesaigles.com

Their website is very fancy; doesn't work with Firefox and Mac.

Caverns

Grotte Préhistorique des Merveilles

Cave drawings

Open: Apr-June 10h-12, 14h-18. July-Aug 9h-19h. Sept-Nov 10h-12h, 14h-18.

Closed: Nov after Toussaint until end March.

Tel: 0565 336 792; Fax: 0565 33 67 92

Beautiful subterranean caves, with 20,000 year-old cave drawings, from the late paleolithic.

Hiking

Maps:

IGN (1/25,000) #2136 ET "Rocamadour, Padirac, Vallee Dordogne"

Lodging - Hotels