Saint-Cirq-Lapopie (; oc, Sent Circ de la Pòpia) is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. It is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The most beautiful villages in France) association. Its position on a steep cliff 100m above the river, originally selected for defence, has helped make the town one of the most popular tourist destinations in the department, and the entire town is almost a museum. After being 'discovered' by the Post-Impressionist

Henri Martin Henri Martin may refer to: *Henri Martin (historian) (1810–1883), French historian *Henri-Jean Guillaume Martin (1860–1943), French impressionist painter * Henri Martin (French politician) (1927–2015), French communist leader * Henri Martin ( ...

it became popular with other artists and the home of the writer

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first '' Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...

Location

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie is 30 km east of

Cahors Cahors (; oc, Caors ) is a commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitanie Region. The main city of the Lot department and the historical center of the Que ...

, in the regional natural park '. The village overlooks the Lot River.

History

The stronghold of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie was the main seat of one of the four viscounties that made up

Quercy Quercy (; oc, Carcin , locally ) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and ...

, divided among four feudal dynasties, the Lapopie, Gourdon, Cardaillac and Castelnau families.

Way of St James

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie is on the French pilgrimage route, Way of St. James. Coming from Cabrerets pilgrims would pass through and then continue to

, visiting St Stephen's cathedral.

Notable people

Charles Rappoport Charles Rappoport (14 June 1865 – 17 November 1941) was a Russian and French militant communist politician, journalist and writer. A Jewish intellectual, and a multilingual scholar, he's been referred to as "a grand man of French radicalism". ...

(1865–1941) – Lithuanian-born militant communist politician, journalist and writer *Poet

spent time there in the 1950s in his 'auberge des Mariniers'. *Artist Pierre Daura lived there for many years.

Popularity

''The Guardian'' reported in July 2012 that the village received 400,000 visitors each year, mostly from within France, and that it had become "besieged by tourists" since winning a popularity vote on a French television programme in June 2012.

References

External links

Tourism office
Communes of Lot (department) Plus Beaux Villages de France {{Lot-geo-stub