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AUTOIRE

Autoire, a charming village in an exceptional site

Near Saint-Céré, 70 Km northeast of Cahors, Autoire is one of those villages which give the department of the Lot its atmosphere of luxury and simplicity combined. Autoire also carries the title of «most beautiful village in France».

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AUTOIRE - Lot (46)

Before visiting Autoire, you should see the village from the circus of the same name. This impressive amphitheatre of cliffs is accessible from the road which comes straight from the Gouffre de Padirac (7 minutes from here).

A short steep path leads to the side of the circus from where there flows a waterfall 30 metres high. From this belvedere, the view is magnificent, stretching as far as the Limousin, with the village of Autoire appearing down below, like a raspberry on a bed of moss.

With its blend of turrets, roofs the colour of fruit and golden façades, Autoire was once a holiday resort for the notables of Saint-Céré.

The town centre has kept all its character. Its little streets reveal timbered or corbelled houses, a fountain decorated with bronze dolphins, a church with a Romanesque chevet (12th century) and elegant manor houses like the Laroque-Delprat manor or the château de la Busquelles.

It is difficult to imagine that the village was besieged by the English during the Hundred Years war and was even a thieves' den. To bear witness to this one can see, perched on the Autoire circus, the ruins of the «castle of the English», an eagle's nest used by the infamous Bernard de la Salle who ransomed Figeac in around 1371. Autoire has forgotten this tumultuous past, and now offers us the beauty of its natural setting and the serenity of its old stones, shining golden in the sun.

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