Cahors (pop. 21,432), picturesquely situated in a bend on the Lot, was the old capital of Quercy and in medieval times an important commercial and university town. Its most important monument is the Pont Valentré (1308-1380), with three 40m/130ft high towers, an outstanding example of a medieval fortified bridge (restored in the 19th C). Beyond the bridge, under a crag on the Lot some 400m/440yd south, is the Fontaine des Chartreux or Source de Divonne, which supplies Cahors with drinking water.
A short distance northeast of Place Aristide-Briand (in which is a monument to Léon Gambetta, 1838-1882) is the Romanesque/Byzantine Cathedral of St- Etienne (11th-15th C.), with a fine Romanesque north doorway, originally the main entrance, dating from the first building phase. The facade is 14th century. Fine paintings in the choir and on the dome. On the south side of the church is a Flamboyant-style cloister (16th C.).
The Maison de Roaldès, in Place Henri-IV, dates from the late 15th C. (restored 1912). Henry IV is said to have lived in the house during the siege of Cahors in 1580. The former Bishop's Palace now houses the Municipal Museum (mementos of the politician Léon Gambetta, a native of Cahors).
At Cabrerets, between Figeac and Cahors, is the Domaine de Cuzals, with the Quercy Open-Air Museum. Here, on a site of 200 hectares/500 acres, farmhouses and farm buildings from all over Quercy have been re-erected. There are also a number of thematic collections (country life in the 19th C., folk art, local crafts).
Just off Place de-Gaulle is the 34m/112ft high Tour Jean XXII, a relic of an old palace. Farther north, on a crag, is the Tour St-Jean, which, like the Barbacane, the old Guard-House (15th C.), was part of the town's defenses. In the highest part of the old town is the church of St-Barthélemy (14th C.).
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Cahors
