About 15km east of Souillac and set back even further from the river, MARTEL is a minor medieval masterpiece, built in a pale, almost white, stone, offset by warm reddish-brown roofs, yet it suffers none of the crowds endured by the likes of Sarlat. Another Turenne-administered town, its heyday came during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, when the viscounts established a court of appeal here.The main square, place des Consuls, is mostly taken up by the large eighteenth-century covered halles, but on every side there are reminders of the town's illustrious past, most notably in the superb Gothic Hôtel de la Raymondie. Begun in 1280, it served as the Turenne law courts, though it doubled as the town's refuge, hence the distinctive corner turrets. Facing the hôtel is the Tour des Pénitents, one of the many medieval towers which gave the town its epithet, la ville aux sept Tours (the town with seven towers). The Young King Henry, son of Henry II died in the striking building in the southeast corner of the square, the Maison Fabri. One block south, rue Droite leads east to the town's main church, St-Maur, built in a fiercely defensive, mostly Gothic style, with a finely carved Romanesque tympanum depicting the Last Judgement above the west door. If you'd rather stay here than in Souillac, head for Le Turenne on avenue J.-Lavayssière (tel 05.65.37.30.30; 30–40; closed Dec–Feb), with traditional cuisine from 11.90. There's a basic municipal campsite, La Callopie (tel 05.65.37.30.03, fax 05.65.37.37.27; closed Oct–April), on the northern edge of town, and the little riverside Camping les Falaises (tel 05.65.37.37.78, fax 05.65.32.20.40; closed Oct–April), 5km away in the village of Gluges. You'll find a nice hotel with a pool here as well, also called Les Falaises (tel 05.65.27.18.44, fax 05.65.27.18.45; 40–55; demi-pension (half-board) from 46.50 per person; closed Nov–Easter), and you can rent canoes and bikes from Copeyre Canoë down by the water (tel 05.65.37.33.51).
Pages in section ‘Martel’: The tale of Young King Henry.
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