Carennac () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Lot department in south-western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the historical region of

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 ...

. The village lies in the fertile valley of the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...

under the arid plateau locally named 'le

Causse The Causses () are a group of limestone plateaus (700–1,200 m) in the Massif Central. They are bordered to the north-west by the Limousin and the Périgord uplands, and to the east by the Aubrac and the Cévennes. Large river gorges cut through ...

'. Its landmarks include a

medieval priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of monk ...

, combining an 11th-century church and cloister, and a 16th-century castle, in which the author of '' The Adventures of Telemachus'',

François Fénelon François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon (), more commonly known as François Fénelon (6 August 1651 – 7 January 1715), was a French Catholic archbishop, theologian, poet and writer. Today, he is remembered mostly as the author of '' The ...

, lived from 1681 to 1685. The church features a tympanum, and the cloister a 15th-century "mise au tombeau".

Activities

Carennac is one of the most beautiful villages of France (along with 148 others, including neighbouring Loubressac,

Autoire Autoire (; Languedocien: ''Altoire'') is a commune in the Lot department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Lot department The following is a list of the 313 communes An intentional community is a voluntary re ...

, Curemonte and Turenne). The summer months are warm and dry, with temperatures averaging 30°.

Surroundings and access

A few kilometres from the village are the

Gouffre de Padirac The Padirac Chasm ( French: ''Gouffre de Padirac'') is a cave located near Gramat, in the Lot department, Occitanie region, France. Features The chasm itself is deep, with a diameter of approximately . Visitors descend 75 m via a lift o ...

(caves) and

Rocamadour Rocamadour (; ''Rocamador'' in Occitan) is a commune in the Lot department in Southwestern France. It lies in the former province of Quercy. Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogn ...

(pilgrimage) sites. Other landmarks are the

Château de Castelnau-Bretenoux The Château de Castelnau-Bretenoux () is a castle in the commune of Prudhomat, Lot ''département'', France. One of the most impressive in the Quercy region, it has been listed as a ''monument historique'' by the French Ministry of Culture sinc ...

, the Castle of Montal and the prehistoric caves of Lacave and Presque. Further on,

Sarlat-la-Canéda Sarlat-la-Canéda (; oc, Sarlat e La Canedat), commonly known as Sarlat, is a commune in the southwestern French department of Dordogne, a part of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Sarlat and La Canéda were distinct towns until merged into one commune in 1965 ...

Brive-la-Gaillarde Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 7 ...

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 ...

and

Aurillac Aurillac (; oc, Orlhac ) is the prefecture of the Cantal department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aurillacois'' or ''Aurillacoises''. Geography Aurillac is at above sea leve ...

are regional hubs. The A20 motorway (linking

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

) lies away from Carennac. The closest railway station is away, in Bétaille.

References

External links

Official website
Communes of Lot (department) Plus Beaux Villages de France {{Lot-geo-stub