spectacular St-Cirq Lapopie, while the nearby Grotte de Pech-Merle, with its glittering rock formations and prehistoric cave art, draws almost as many visitors. Pech-Merle lies in the hills above the wild and pretty Célé valley, which leads northeast to lovely, medieval Figeac, the Lot’s second largest town.

The principal northern gateway to the Dordogne and the Lot is the charming city of Brive-la-Gaillarde (usually shortened to Brive), whose cosy café culture exudes the spirit of the south, a hint of pleasures to come. West lies Périgueux, where an extraordinary Byzantine-style cathedral stands

By far the most striking of these is Puy-l’Évêque. An outpost of the bishops of Cahors, the town’s medieval and Renaissance houses jostle for space on a steep incline, reaching upwards like trees for light, though none is equal to the bishop’s thirteenth-century keep towering above. An even more dramatic sight lies in store in the country northwest

Shadowing the Dordogne to the south, the Lot flows through comparatively wild country where, even in high summer, it’s possible to find quiet corners. The departmental capital, Cahors, is home to France’s best surviving fortified medieval bridge,

The main gateway to the Upper Dordogne valley is Souillac, a busy little town whose major attraction is its domed abbey church. A short distance upstream, an attractive back road strikes off along the River Ouysse, a minor tributary of the Dordogne, heading southeast to the spectacular pilgrimage town of Rocamadour, whose seven religious

On the high limestone causses lie secluded dairy farms, where goat’s cheese reaches its apogee in the creamy Cabécou,

CARENNAC is without doubt one of the most beautiful villages along this part of the Dordogne valley. It sits on a terrace above the river’s south bank 16km or so east of Martel; backtrack to Gluges and then head upstream on the D43 for the prettiest route in – as you approach from the west, you’ll get one of the best views of Carennac’s towers and

The village of LA ROQUE-GAGEAC, on the Dordogne’s north bank 5km east of Beynac, is almost too perfect, its ochre-coloured houses overlooking the lazy-flowing river and sheltering under dramatically overhanging rust-coloured cliffs. Regular winner of France’s prettiest village contest, it inevitably pulls in masses of tourist buses, and since the

Of these the most vivid is that at Sarlat-la-Canéda, held among the fine medieval and Renaissance houses built