Carennac, one of the Most beautiful Villages in the Lot

Jewel of the Dordogne Valley

One of the « Most Beautiful Villages in France », which epitomises the good life.

© Lot Tourisme - CRT Dominique Viet - www.tourisme-lot.com Dominique Viet - www.tourisme-lot.com

You have to follow the banks of the Dordogne to find the village of Carennac, designated one of the most beautiful villages in France, which has lost nothing of its medieval inspiration. It is the foundation of a priory by the powerful abbey of Cluny in 1047 which marked its destiny. From the 13th century, the town developed around its rich priory made up of monastic buildings, a church, a cloister…

Classified "Pays d'Art et d'Histoire"

In Carennac, in the heart of the Dordogne valley, the houses have kept their sculpted windows, the Romanesque church and its 12th century tympanum, the Deans’ castle is the memory of the history and art of the place and the 11th century. The Clunisian priory hasn’t forgot anything of the time when it was home to Fénelon. Towers and tall chimneys fully emphasize the elegance of a village which is part of an Area of Art and History.

© Lot Tourisme - OT Vallée de la Dordogne - Cochise Ory - www.tourisme-lot.com

Relive the era of boatmen

Carennac testifies to the epic of the boatmen on the Dordogne who descended the river aboard “gabares”. These flat-bottomed boats transported wood to Bordeaux and then brought up salt, wine and exotic foodstuffs. Christian Signol also set the scene for his trilogy “La rivière Espérance” brought to the small screen in the summer of 1995 by Josée Dayan.

Don’t miss :

The 11th century Church of Saint Pierre and its carved tympanum
The half Romanesque half late Gothic cloister
The Chapter Room with a 15th century stone sculpture of the Entombment
The Château des Doyens (Deans’ Residence)

Around Carennac

Ruins of Taillefer

The ruins of Taillefer impose themselves to the visitors. They overlook the Dordogne Valley with a unique view of Carennac, the castle of Castelnau-Bretenoux… In the absence of written documents, extravagant hypotheses are mixed with legends.

Floirac

Made up of a vast meander of the Dordogne, closed to the northeast by the Puy d’Issolud plateau and to the southwest by the Copeyre gorge and the Château de la Roque, this exceptional site of harmonious proportions can be observed from the Lookout of Copeyre which dominates it.

Salmière spring

Discover the ancient thermal baths of the Salmière spring and its water rich in magnesium and sodium. A timeless place where calm and serenity reign there. We imagine the places in the good old days !

Restaurant Le Fénélon