2 Best Sights in Rocamadour, The Dordogne

The Basse Ville's Rue Piétonne, the main pedestrian street, is crammed with crêperies, tea salons, and hundreds of tourists, many of whom are heading heavenward by taking the Grand Escalier (staircase) or elevator (€3) from Place de la Carreta up to the Cité Religieuse, set halfway up the cliff. If you walk, pause at the landing 141 steps up to admire the fort. Once up, you can see tiny Place St-Amadour and its seven chapels: the basilica of St-Sauveur opposite the staircase; the St-Amadour crypt beneath the basilica; the chapel of Notre-Dame, with its statue of the Black Madonna, to the left; the chapels of John the Baptist, St-Blaise, and Ste-Anne to the right; and the Romanesque chapel of St-Michel built into an overhanging cliff. St-Michel's two 12th-century frescoes—depicting the Annunciation and the Visitation—have survived in superb condition.

The town is split into four levels joined by steep steps. The lowest level is occupied by the village of Rocamadour itself, and mainly accessed through the centuries-old Porte du Figuier (Fig Tree Gate). Past this portal, the Cité Médiévale, also known as the Basse Ville, though in parts grotesquely touristy, is full of beautifully restored structures, such as the 15th-century Hôtel de Ville, near the Porte Salmon, which houses the tourist office and an excellent collection of tapestries. If you enter from the top of the town, the Château and vertiginous Ramparts (€2, coins only) offer tremendous views well loved by bird-watchers for the many birds of prey that circle the cliffs. The picturesque ruins of 14th-century Hospitalet St. Jean, with vestiges dating as far back as the 11th century, also offer wonderful views.