Living the good life on the River Lot
Review Submitted: May 26, 2008
Date of Stay: May 2007
The apartment is quiet, comfortable and roomy, with an efficient kitchen, full bath, dining room, sitting room and bedroom. The pièce de résistance is the long terrace along the front with its view of the peaceful river and the fields and woods beyond. Just the spot for meals, drinks, reading, watching the sunset. Paths lead down to the river—Madeleine and John will show you where. In the summer a little tour boat plies the Lot from Fumel and shows you old mills, waterwheels and evidence of when this was a busy commercial waterway. Today the most activity you might see is a team of rowers smartly propelling their scull along.
Your superb hosts, Madeleine and John, are knowledgeable about what to see and how to get about. They’ll point you to the best restaurants, with the best wine lists. They’re the soul of friendliness and fun to talk to—but never intrusive. They respect their guests’ privacy completely.
Fumel is a pleasant small town but don't expect the quaint clichés (cobbled streets, half-timbered houses, bistros and boutiques) found in more tourist-frequented places in France. It has all you need: delis, books, groceries, butchers, coffeehouses, restaurants, bakeries. There’s a substantial hotel.
Nearby: Villeneuve-sur-Lot with its medieval city gates; take in a concert or play. Pujols, picturesque, founded by the English during the Capetian-Angevin wars and a good place to buy the tender, sweet prunes the area is famous for. The nearest castle is Bonaguil, parly ruined during the Revolution but still majestic..
Drive along the Lot to St-Cirq-Lapopie perched on its hill, one of the prettiest villages in France. Stop to tour the Cave of Pech-Merle for its stalactites and stalagmites as well as 20,000-year-old paintings.
The Valley of the Dordogne, rich in history, offers famed prehistoric caves such as Lascaux, and bristling castles that confront each other across the river.
Or tour to the bastides of Perigord—fortified towns built in the 12th and 13th centuries by French and English monarchs when they were battling for control here. Recommended: Castillonnes and Monflanquin.
Once you’ve been here, you’ll want to come back and do the things you didn’t have time for before. And repeat the experiences you liked best, such as taking up residence at Fumel again.
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