Le château de Castelnau-Bretenoux

About 40 minutes by car from Rocamadour, and just 15 minutes from Autoire, stands what is probably the most impressive castle in the old Quercy province of southwestern France. Its name is Castelnau-Bretenoux [kass-tell-no bru-tuh-noo]. The Michelin Green Guide (for Périgord and Quercy) describes it as an énorme masse rouge and says its lacy stonework is de couleur sanguine. It was built starting in the 11th century. It is open to the public and owned by the French government. We didn't take the tour of the interior. Here's a link to Castelnau's web site.

Autoire, a village in the old Quercy province

The village in these photos, called Autoire, is not actually in the modern-day Dordogne, though it is in the Dordogne river valley. It is located only a 30-minute drive east of Rocamadour. It is also one of the plus beaux villages de France, as is another nearby village called Loubressac. There are two châteaux in Autoire. It's a place I'd like to go back to, because 20 years ago all we did was drive through and stop to take a few photos. We didn't go to Loubressac or either of Autoire's châteaux.

More views of Rocamadour

 

Rocamadour: views from on high

At Rocamadour, you can park your car at the bottom of the town and walk up to the top. There's also an elevator you can take for the steepest part of the ascent, if I remember correctly. The other option is to drive up the the top, walk down, and then take the elevator by up. I think we did that, and I took pictures of house farther down.