Flowing Along Biking Trails by France’s River Lot

CAHORS, France â€”  It’s the river of discovery for American travelers to France this summer.

And there are discoveries for every travel interest along the River Lot, which has become to foreign tourism--but not to French vacationers--a kind of second cousin to the Dordogne Valley, scarcely an hour’s drive north.

But this summer the travel focus is broadening. Visitors from other European countries and from the United States are learning that the Lot River Valley is just as filled with scenic, historic and prehistoric discoveries as the Dordogne, and within easy reach 1868963944accommodations.

A Popular Destination

The French people have long enjoyed this river valley for their cycling, canoeing and kayaking vacations. Now Colorado-based Progressive Travels Ltd. has added bicycle tours of the Lot Valley to its schedule of trips along the Dordogne.

Three deluxe nine-day tours will pedal along the Lot River beginning June 12, July 31 and Sept. 16. All three trips will dip south to the white grape vineyards of the Tarn River Valley and then return north again to the Lot.

On a bicycle that is a full day of pedaling in each direction. Travelers by rental car can reach the Romanesque city of Moissac on the Tarn in little more than an hour of driving from Cahors, capital city of the Quercy region of France during the Middle Ages.

My wife Elfriede and I found that in addition to bicycles, kayaks and canoes were just as easy and inexpensive to rent.

Canoeing and Kayaking

Free guide booklets to canoeing and kayaking the Lot are available at the tourist office in the center of Cahors. They are carefully charted, with safety guidelines for portaging around the barrages.

The tourist office also has free guide booklets to bicycle touring routes from Cahors into the spectacular scenery and historic sites along the Lot River. The routes range in length from about 15 to 75 miles.

We treated ourselves to the best of both river valleys by driving east from Bordeaux along the Dordogne, through Bergerac and Sarlat into the countryside around Rocamador, then south toward the Pyrenees to Cahors in this region of the Midi known as Quercy.

There we stayed in the grandest chateau of the region, as well as in a cozy relais that is one of the many distinctively individual MinOtels throughout France.

We also found that the bicycle route planned for this summer’s tours from Progressive Travels offers one of the best introductions to the Lot Valley, whether you drive it or pedal it or paddle all or any part of it.

A Nine-Day Tour

Each tour includes 12-speed bicycles, a support van, services of two bilingual guides, gracious accommodations, meals, taxes, gratuities and admittance fees to museums, castles and prehistoric sites. The cost per person for the nine-day tour is $1,590, double occupancy, plus the lowest available Air France air fare.

The tour begins three cycling days upstream from Cahors at Figeac on the Lot. First optional side excursion is to Capdenac, where from high above the river you can get a perspective of the route ahead. Capdenac, with its terraces and narrow streets, is believed to be the last outpost of the Gauls’ resistance to the Romans. It was a strategic fortress during the Hundred Years’ War and during the Wars of Religion.

Lodging for the next two days of cycling explorations is in the terraced rooms of Le Mas de Cariteau, a restored little village with its own beamed-ceiling restaurant and swimming pool.

One excursion from here is to the cave of Grotte de Pech-Merle, where 20,000 years ago Cro-Magnon artists created illustrations of horses, bison and mammals, leaving the imprint of their own hands as signatures.

Day three of the river bike route leads to St.-Cirq-Lapopie, a 12th-Century village that is part of a fortress on crags high above the Lot. This was one of the most impregnable fortresses of medieval France. Richard the Lion-Hearted tried and failed to capture it, and the English were equally unsuccessful during the Hundred Years’ War. It was a Huguenot stronghold during the wars of religion.

Artisans Restore Village

Artisans, not the government, have restored this village. The second stories of Renaissance homes project over the street beyond the first story. This follows the pattern of nature’s architecture--the Jurassic limestone cliffs--overhanging the driving and cycling road along the river far below.

Cyclists on the tour go on to spend two nights, as we did, at Chateau de Mercues, above the Lot River and close to Cahors.

This ancient fortified chateau belonged to the powerful and noble clergy of Cahors for almost 12 centuries. Towers and crenelated parapets rise above the stone walls. The interior has been restored to historic elegance, with high-ceiling guest rooms that have all the modern conveniences.

The formal Golden Eagle dining room is presided over by a sculptured golden eagle, and the cuisine is rated among the best in the region. Landscaped gardens, a swimming pool and two tennis courts are part of this baronial complex overlooking the river. If you’re not on the bike tour package, a room for two with three meals daily begins at around $205.

Old Country Manor

After two nights there we shifted for another kind of experience to the MinOtel called Le Relais des Champs in the tiny village of Cadillac, about three kilometers from Mercues. There are 22 bedrooms in this old country manor, most with patios or balconies overlooking the flowering gardens and swimming pool.

Under the same ownership and within 100 yards is Chez Nadal, a restaurant offering the wines of Cahors along with top-quality regional and international cuisine. Truffles and pate de foie gras are regional specialties. Doubles at the Relais are about $86 a night, including taxes, service and continental breakfast.

In Cahors, cyclists and all visitors able to do so should set off on a self-guided walking tour mapped out by the tourist office. This medieval city is centered within a horseshoe bend of the Lot, and much of your walk will be along the river bank.

Turrets, half-timbered houses and shops rise above the streets. Pont Valentre is one of the most unusual fortified bridges in Europe, topped with three towers. Legend says the architect was only able to complete it after signing a pact with the devil, and the devil’s figure is carved atop the central tower. Cahors is also a center of music, art and theater festivals.

From Cahors, day six of the bike tour is through vineyards, farmlands, growths of junipers and white truffle oaks to Moissac on the River Tarn. Fruit trees cover the hills. Prehistoric monoliths tell of Druids who were living here when Caesar’s legions arrived.

Romanesque Architecture

Moissac white grapes grow in huge, iridescent and fragrant bunches. The Abbey of St. Pierre in Moissac is noted for some of the finest Romanesque architecture and artwork in France.

The cyclist tour overnights here at the Moulin de Moissac Hotel overlooking the Tarn. This hotel has been completely renovated under new ownership. The new room prices for those not on tour packages range from about $35 to $80.

From Moissac and the Tarn the cycling route returns to the Lot at Villeneuve-Sur-Lot, built after great tracts of France had passed into English hands when Eleanor of Acquitane married Henry Plantagenet of England in 1152. Notable in this area are the limestone caves and medieval fortresses such as Bonaguil Castle. The nine-day cycling tour ends with a farewell dinner at La Toque Blanche, a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Bicycle rentals along the Lot and the Tarn are as reasonable as about $35 for three days. Canoe rentals are about $10 daily, kayaks around $20.

For complete information on bicycle touring around the Lot River Valley, contact your travel agent or Progressive Travels Ltd., P.O. Box 775164, Steamboat Springs, Colo. 80477; phone (800) 245-2229.

Your travel agent can arrange chateau and MinOtel bookings. You can also get prepaid MinOtel reservations and vouchers by contacting the Salt & Pepper booking agency, 7 West 36th St., Room 1500, New York 10018l; phone (212) 736-8226.