Cardaillac has stood firm on its rocky spur, surrounded by nature, ever since the Middle Ages. This is the family seat of the Cardaillac dynasty that ruled Quercy for many long years.
But today Cardaillac takes pride in its wooded landscape, cut through with hidden valleys, and its 12th-century fortress, a real town in miniature, with its three towers. Once you step through the gateway that leads into the village you are back in the Middle Ages. Alleys with central gutters wind between the ochre houses built of sandstone. Many architectural details have been preserved, including arches and carved signs.
Around the fortress lies a maze of back streets where restored houses with arched doors and windows, red-tiled roofs and amber-coloured façades complete the picture of a typically Mediterranean town.
Not to be missed
- The village
- The 'Eclaté' Musuem ('Exploded' Museum) - www.musee-eclate-cardaillac.fr - Tel: +33 (0)5 65 40 10 63
The various "rooms" of this amazing "exploded" museum take up the whole of the village of Cardaillac. Hundreds of objects from ages past have been brought together by volunteers in order to display them in the places where they were used. So, together with your guide, you can walk from the clog-makers’ shop to the chestnut drying room, taking in the prune tub and the walnut-oil mill on your way.
- The Medieval Garden - Tel: +33 (0)5 65 40 14 32
This open-air museum exhibits many medicinal and culinary herbs as well as plants reputed to be used by witches. Each plant is identified by a plate showing its origin, properties and the ways that it was used in the Middle Ages.
- The Château d'Assier - www.monuments-nationaux.fr - Tel: +33 (0)5 65 40 40 99
A Renaissance château of which only the entrance wing still remains; a very fine group of carvings, built from 1520 onwards by Galiot de Genouillac.
Cardaillac on the map
Our holiday offers
 Contact: Lot RéservationTel: +33 (0)565532090 e-mail: reservation@tourisme-lot.com |
 Hotel Le Pont d’Or in Figeac – 3-star hotelThe hotel offers cosy rooms with a view over the river or over the gardens, a lounge bar with brasserie service and a games room with billiards, a fitness area with sauna, body-building suite, deck-level pool and solarium.2 nights with breakfast from €104 per person Reference for this offer: LLHPONTD BOOK ONLINE |
 Contact: Lot Réservation Tel: +33 (0)565532090 e-mail: reservation@tourisme-lot.com |
Hotel le Relais de la Tour at Capdenac – 3-star hotelDo you want to know the setting for your break? A beautiful fortified village perched above the Lot Valley, at the approaches to Figeac and the Aveyron. Facing the 13th-century keep, this is an outstanding collection of buildings and restaurant. 2 nights with breakfast from €108 per person Reference: LLHCAPDE BOOK ONLINE |
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