Saint-Cirq Lapopie The

Saint-Cirq Lapopie The ‘pearl of the Lot Valley’ a wondrous, cliffhanging beauty of a village in the Lot… by Sue Aran and Janine Marsh “It was in June 1950, as we rode by car…that I first saw Saint-Cirq, blazing with Bengal Fire, like a rose in the night…It was love at first sight…Above any other place in the world, in America or Europe, Saint-Cirq is my one place of enchantment…I stopped wanting to be elsewhere” – André Breton, writer and one of the founders of the surrealism movement Saint-Cirq Lapopie, officially one of the most beautiful villages in France, lies within the Parc natural régional des Causses du Quercy in the Lot. It’s an area known historically as Aquitania Prima, the ancient Quercy region in southwest France, composed of the Lot, Lot-et-Garonne and Tarn-et-Garonne départments. The best way to reach it is via the road from Cahors, just 18km to Saint-Cirq (pronounced Saint ’Sear’). The route is lined with cliffs and threads its way through the majestic Lot Valley. Then suddenly medieval Saint-Cirq is above you, perched almost 100m above the Lot river, looking like a mirage. Saint-Cirq, enclosed by fortified gates and punctured by picturesque bridges, is small but perfectly formed. Once a castle crowned its heights, perfect for seeing long distances, it made the town a defensive stronghold. Built in the 8th century by the Duke of Aquitaine, the castle became the property of the Lapopie family and did its job well. Even Richard the Lionheart couldn’t capture it. But those defences worked too well, and afraid that it would fall into enemy hands one day and never be retrieved, Louis XI of France ordered its destruction in 1471. From the ruins there are beautiful views over the rooftops of the village. Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, nicknamed the ‘pearl of the Lot Valley’ was the first village to be crowned “favourite village of the French” by the France Télévisions program in 2012. There are more than a dozen historical monuments and clifftop cobbled streets, hollyhocks grow out of cracks in the pavement bordering the ancient houses, cafés, charming restaurants and artisan shops. The 16th century Gothic church, l’Église de 52 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 53