If you have your own transport you could easily make a side trip from Cahors to the cliff-edge village of ST-CIRQ-LAPOPIE, 30km to the east, perched high above the south bank of the Lot. The village was saved from ruin when poet André Breton came to live here in the early twentieth century, and though it's now an irresistible draw for the tour buses with its cobbled lanes, half-timbered houses and gardens, it's still worth the trouble, especially if early or late in the day. Public transport in the form of an SNCF bus will get you from Cahors to Gare-St-Cirq in the valley bottom at Tour-de-Faure, from where there's no alternative but to leg it up the steep hill for the final two kilometres. For accommodation, there's the simple and very pretty Auberge du Sombral on the central square (tel 05.65.31.26.08, fax 05.65.30.26.37; €55–70; closed mid-Nov to March) and La Pélissaria (tel 05.65.31.25.14, www.quercy.net/com/pelissaria/index.html; €55–70; closed Nov–March), in a sixteenth-century house perched on the cliff at the eastern entrance to St-Cirq. There's also a very comfortable gîte d'étape in the village centre (tel & fax 05.65.31.21.51), and two well-run campsites: Camping de la Plage (tel 05.65.30.29.51, www.les-campings.com/plage; all year), down by the river with swimming and canoeing possibilities, and La Truffière (tel 05.65.30.20.22, www.camping-truffiere.com; closed Oct–April), 3km to the southeast over the rim of the valley. When it comes to restaurants, you can eat very well at L'Oustal (tel 05.65.31.20.17; closed Mon & mid-Nov to mid-March; lunch menus from €10.50, dinner from €18), tucked into a corner of rue de la Pélissaria just south of the church. At the top of the village, with unbeatable views from its terrace, Lou Bolat (closed mid-Nov to mid-Feb; menus from €10) serves a varied menu of crêpes, salads and regional dishes.
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