Rocamadour Attractions

The little town of Rocamadour (pop. 631), one of France's most unusual places of pilgrimage, lies in an extremely picturesque situation, clinging to the rock face above a gorge on the Alzou (which is frequently dry) in the Causse de Gramat in Quercy. In the Middle Ages pilgrims flocked here to honor the Black Virgin of Roc-Amadour (12th C.). Above the town is its 12th C. castle, which is reached on a steep flight of steps with the Stations of the Cross. It is not known with certainty who St Amadour was - perhaps a hermit named Zacchaeus from Jericho. The great shrine of Rocamadour is the Chapelle Miraculeuse with the Black Virgin.