Local Area and Things To Do

Local Area

Our local village of Catus is only a few minutes drive away and has all the necessary shops including a small supermarket, a greengrocers, a butcher, a bread shop, a tabac (with English newspapers!), a second-hand/antiques shop, two hairdressers, a post office, a bar and a restaurant. There is also a tourist information office with an “internet café”, as in cheap internet access but no coffee. Market day in Catus is every Tuesday morning. A short distance from the village is Lac Vert, a leisure lake which has a large sunbathing lawn and a small beach with a cordoned off children’s bathing area. During high season there is a lifeguard on duty and canoes/pedaloes can be hired. There is also children’s play equipment, free tennis courts (advisable to book) and sports fields. There are bigger supermarkets and shops in either Cahors or Prayssac, both of which are roughly 20 minutes drive away.

Things to Do

 

The Lot is full of interesting things to see and do and both the tourist information office in Catus and the tourist website will provide lots of ideas. We keep a number of leaflets, maps and guides in the gite and can help you with bookings if your French is a bit limited. Some suggestions: 

Cahors, which originated in Roman times, is full of old and interesting buildings, including the famous Pont Valentre, a 700 year old fortified bridge.   

Figeac “second city of the Lot” with a museum dedicated to Jean-Francois Champollion (1790 – 1832), the man who deciphered the Rosetta stone and thus unraveled the mysteries of Egyptian hieroglyphics.             

Rocamadour. A major pilgrimage centre in the Middle Ages and now one of the most significant tourist sites in France. Rocamadour consists of the village and the ecclesiastical city which is a complex of churches and buildings rising above the village. 

St. Cirq Lapopie, a medieval town perched on the cliff edge above the Lot.  

 

Sarlat and the castles of Beynac and Castelnau on the Dordogne. 

Gouffre de Padirac, Grottes de Cougnac and Grotte de Peche Merle. Prehistoric caves with fantastic rock formations and cave paintings.       

 

Try canoeing on either the Lot or the Dordogne.

 

      

                                                  

Catus and environs. Walking on one of the 17 marked local trails of between 5 to 8 km . A small guide book and map can be purchased from the Tourist Information Centre in Catus for each of the walks.

Evening entertainment. Fetes, occasional night markets and cultural and musical events or have a night off from the stove by going to one of the many restaurants.