"A Site That Is Up, Down and in the Middle" Rocamadour by hquittner

When we arrived at the top of the gorge and saw the siting of the town below we realized that it too must have once been a fortified town. Negotiating an independent tour of Rocamadour can be satisfying but the information available before you come is not as useful as it should be. Description of assistance and transport is briefly described on the web site and most fees are not provided. We started at the top, walked down and rode back from the botttom (eating lunch in town) and spent most of the day exploring it all. Foolishly we rushed to take pictures at the outset and left no time to take informative views before we left.

Clover Field in Bloom Near the Chateau

We came to Rocamadour (pop. 800) from Gramat via L'Hospitalet, taking from there the D673, which shortly to the left by sign-posted road led after 2 km to the parking area next to a church and the Chateau. These are situated on the cliff overlooking the gorge in which the town is sited. This is the only sensible place to bring a car since you cannot drive through or into Rocamadour, and we were continuing on to Sarlat.

The Town of L'Hospitalet from Belvedere

Rocamadour is claimed to be one of the most visited sites in France, but we do not think it is a 3* (Michelin's rating) attraction except for the view. (We would go to St.-Michel with its crowds, twice, before considering the Roc. However the Dordogne valley nearby and many other attractions in the vicinity of Roc. make it an ideal area in which a family or other active people can spend a week (animal activities, canoeing, Padirac, plus Romanesque treasures) or more. In the U.S. an area like this would have several time-share vacation sites. It seems that the French only want to crowd in and burn on the Med. south of Montpellier.

• Pros:An Interesting Site with old churches
• Cons:A Tourist Trap? (We think so)
• In a nutshell:Seniors should start at the top and walk down. Everyone should.