Notes from the host
The Gite in Marcilhac
Marcilhac is on the secondary route to Santiago de Campostella. Situated in the Parc naturel regional des Causses du Quercy; an area of outstanding natural beauty, rich in history and architecture.
The town has a small grocery store, a bakery and a restaurant. The butchery-van visits four times a week and the fish-van once a week.
The bedroom, with a view over the town and the limestone cliffs, has a double bed. The bathroom is fitted with a walk-in shower, toilet and washbasin. The well-equipped, fitted kitchen has a gas hob, electric oven, microwave, electric kettle, washer/dryer and fridge. The terracotta tiled sitting room is also supplied with a CD player, bluetooth speaker, and reading material. Internet (Orange) is available free in the Gite. Low Season has a 4 night minimum stay, and High Season is 7 nights minimum - Saturday to Saturday.
The private walled garden has a barbecue and garden furniture for outdoor eating. The Cele River is less than 100 meters away where one can have picnics, canoe, or go swimming.
A 12-minute drive from Marcilhac takes you to Cajarc, the closest commercial town, with its own miniature Pompidou art centre. It has a municipal swimming pool, various good restaurants, and a pretty waterfront from where one can take boat trips up the river.
Figeac, less than half an hour's drive away, is an old and interesting Templar market town, with medieval streets, squares, many well-restored buildings and stylish modern shops. It has a good hypermarket nearby.
Marcilhac is the ideal base from which to explore the Cele and Lot valleys, and the Dordogne.
There is excellent walking, varying from Grandes Randonees forming part of the ancient pilgrim route to Santiago de Campostella, to smaller tracks and footpaths.
Cycling offers another way to explore. Bikes can be hired inexpensively in Cajarc and Marcilhac. You can also hire canoes and kayaks on both the Cele and the Lot, and there is horse riding at various nearby centres.
The following sites are also within easy reach: -
Rocamadour, St. Cirq Lapopie, Grottes de Pech Merle, Cahors and the winelands, Figeac, Gouffre de Padirac, Cuzals, Cajarc, Gramat, Carennac, Autoire, Conques, Laguiole, Albi, Cordes, Sarlat, Moissac, Brive and the Aveyron Gorge.
This is a two-person gite - unfortunately no children, or smoking are allowed. All prices include linen, gas and electricity. There is a supplement for heating if required.
The Gite is tastefully decorated and beautifully furnished, with Persian carpets throughout.
The town has a small grocery store, a bakery and a restaurant.
The butchery-van visits four times a week and the fish-van once a week.
The Midi-Pyrenees is one of France's largest regions, and it is certainly one of its most precious. Its landscape is beyond compare with the mighty Pyrenees bordering Spain to the south, the lush forests of Dordogne to the north, and in between the spacious valleys stacked with a history blended by many forces and land marked by mountain top monasteries, sleepy stone and wooded hamlets, green fragrant groves and medieval castles.
The Romanesque abbey in Conques is legendary and the village itself has recorded a very interesting history and seems largely unchanged by the passing decades. The Canal du Midi is one of the region's treasures and remains the oldest canal in use in Europe. So impressive is the undertaking that the Canal du Midi has earned the prestige of being included as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Star gazer's mouths will be agape at the Pic du Midi Observation and Research Centre perched at the mountain's apex. The Gite is situated in a 'black triangle' - ideal for star-gazing. The sandstone facades of the buildings of Figeac are not the thing of beauty in the quaint village. Figeac boasts lovely palaces and artistic sculptures. Albi is a larger town with much history and heritage to offer its visitors.
Gavarnie is a naturally occurring mega circular valley more than two miles in circumference at the base and more than nine miles at the top. The depth of 5,500ft gives way to splashes of green flora and blue cascading water at this amazing site. Rocamadour is one of the Midi-Pyrenees' main attractions. This city in the sky is built from the very mountain atop which it is perched. The site of pilgrimages since the 12th Century, Rocamadour still amazes all who visit.
The sumptuous flavours of the Midi-Pyrenees have been delighted over for decades, even centuries. Like so many other French regions, the Midi-Pyrenees also capitalises on the best of what is available in the area. Travellers will see delicious and warming cassoulet on most menus, and this thick stew of slow cooked meat (duck and/or pork) and haricot beans is divine.
Wild mushrooms are abundant and fabulous cheeses, like Roquefort are prevalent. Armagnac brandy and foie gras are readily available. The southwest of the region has gorgeous duck and goose dishes, including foie gras, pate, preserved duck, as well as truffles.
The Gite is recommended on Sawdays, FlipKey and TripAdvisor.
L
Hosted byLaurence Lurie
