Cahors
The Vía Podiensis
Cahors is the capital of the Lot department and one of the great stops on the Via Podiensis. The city sits on a dramatic peninsula almost entirely encircled by the Lot river, which wraps around it like a natural moat. Climb Mont Saint-Cyr for the full effect: the horseshoe meander, the terracotta rooftops, and the three towers of the Pont Valentre rising from the water.
The Pont Valentre is the headline. This 14th-century fortified bridge is one of the finest surviving medieval bridges in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Six Gothic arches span the Lot, defended by three square towers. Construction began in 1308 and took nearly 70 years. According to legend, the builder made a pact with the devil to complete it; look for the small carved devil on the central tower, added during 19th-century restoration to honor the story.
The Cathedrale Saint-Etienne is Romanesque, with two massive domes over the nave that show a clear Byzantine influence. The north tympanum, carved around 1135, depicts the Ascension of Christ and is one of the masterpieces of Romanesque sculpture in France. The cloister, though smaller than Le Puy's, has fine Gothic carving.
The old town is a pleasure to wander. Rue Nationale, Rue de la Daurade, and Rue du Chateau-du-Roi are lined with medieval houses, including one of the oldest half-timbered buildings in southern France at 12 Rue Daurade. The Tour du Pape Jean XXII is the last remnant of the palace of the brother of Pope John XXII, who was born in Cahors in 1244. About 25 Jardins Secrets, small themed gardens, are linked by a marked trail through the old town.
Cahors is wine country. The Malbec grape has been grown here for centuries, producing the dark, tannic red wines that carry the Cahors AOC. You'll find bottles everywhere and vineyard visits are easy to arrange.
Full services: supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, hospital, post office. The train station has connections to Toulouse, Paris, and regional destinations. Wide range of accommodation. The Wednesday and Saturday markets are excellent.
Cahors was the Roman city of Divona Cadurcorum, and traces of the Roman period include the Arc de Diane and remnants of thermal baths. The city thrived in the Middle Ages as a banking center, rivaling the Lombard banks of northern Italy. Pope John XXII, born Jacques Dueze in Cahors in 1244, was elected pope in 1316 and brought immense prestige to his hometown.
In 1345, the consuls completed a system of fortifications that sealed the peninsula's isthmus with walls and barbicans, while a curtain wall ran along the Lot from the Porte des Morouls to the Pont Valentre. The Hundred Years' War battered the city nonetheless. In 1580, Henry of Navarre, the future Henri IV, took Cahors by storm during the Wars of Religion, a siege that lasted three days of street-by-street fighting.
Leon Gambetta, the statesman who proclaimed the Third Republic in 1870, was born in Cahors in 1838. The main boulevard bears his name.
From Cahors the route crosses the Lot over the Pont Valentre and begins the long approach to Moissac. The terrain changes again: you're leaving the causses behind and entering the rolling farmland of the Quercy Blanc, a landscape of white limestone, sunflowers, and gentle hills.
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