Houseboats on the Lot

Cahors : an enchanting destination to indulge in the pleasures of waterway tourism

This town, occu­pied as far back as pre-Antiq­ui­ty, still har­bours ruins from the splen­did Gal­lo-Roman peri­od. The amphithe­atre and Diane’s arch are two of the most beau­ti­ful exam­ples. As you stroll through the shop­ping streets, don’t miss the oppor­tu­ni­ty to stop off on the fore­court of Saint-Eti­enne cathe­dral. This part-Romanesque, part-Goth­ic edi­fice was built over more than 600 years, between the 11th and 17th cen­turies. Head back towards the waters of the Lot before reem­bark­ing on your licence-free rental boat and admire the town’s emblem : the for­ti­fied Valen­tré bridge. This bridge, on the pil­grim­age route to San­ti­a­go de Com­postela (Via Podi­en­sis), is a UNESCO World Her­itage site but is not, how­ev­er, the one that appears on the city’s coat of arms. That place is reserved for the old bridge — Pont Notre Dame — which was destroyed in 1868.

A cruise on one of France’s most beautiful rivers : welcome to the Lot !

Many describe the Lot as France’s most beau­ti­ful riv­er, as you’ll appre­ci­ate once you embark on your licence-free rental boat, tak­ing in its series of green, hilly land­scapes. Cahors is one of the most pop­u­lar tourist des­ti­na­tions in the epony­mous départe­ment, part­ly due to its many gas­tro­nom­ic spe­cial­i­ties, from truf­fles to foie gras, along with its wine her­itage. Take the time dur­ing your water­way cruise to admire the vine­yards that have secured the rep­u­ta­tion of the wines of Cahors and Côtes du Quer­cy. Of course, your water­way cruise promis­es to be just as appeal­ing as the time you’ll spend strolling around this cap­i­tal of taste.

Dream up an unforgettable itinerary for a few days or a week

Set off from Cahors on your licence-free boat to enjoy the calm, sooth­ing waters of the Lot. The well-pre­served wild nat­ur­al envi­ron­ment will allow you to quick­ly for­get the stress­es and strains of every­day life. Your whole crew will enjoy every moment. Down­stream from Cahors, the bastide of Castel­franc or the medieval city of Puy‑l’Evêque will be the focus of your atten­tion. You can also opt to head for one of France’s most beau­ti­ful sites : Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. This city is lit­er­al­ly perched 80 metres above the riv­er – an unfor­get­table view to take in from your boat.