Hiking tour – The Saint James way from Cahors to Lectoure

Day 1 – Arrival at CAHORS

Nestled in a meander of the Lot River and dominated by high rocky hills, Cahors is a very old city that flourished in the Middle Ages. In the 13th century, it was the first banking center in the world (at that time!). There are still many vestiges of this glorious past that you will discover during a walk through the city: the famous Valentré bridge, the St Etienne cathedral, its cloister and the old neighborhoods around. Dinner, night and breakfast in a 3 star hotel

Day 2 – LABASTIDE MARNHAC – MONTCUQ (23 km – 6h00 walking) hours’ walk)

Transfer by cab from Cahors to Labastide-Marnhac. You will avoid the southern exit of Cahors, a large industrial and commercial area, and will gain a few kilometers on a long stage. Labastide used to have a hospital, of which only the small chapel of St Rémy remains, at the edge of the village. You will take the road to Hospitalet and reach the hamlet of Baffalie, in the bottom of a valley, before reaching Lascabanes, a pretty village. You will continue your way to reach Montcuq, a medieval village perched on a hillock and dominated by a square keep dating from the 12th century. This village was the object of bloody battles and changed hands many times during the fight against the Cathars and during the Hundred Years War. Today, it is pleasant to walk through the sloping streets of the village and to admire the panorama from the top of the keep. Dinner, overnight stay and breakfast in a 2 star hotel

Day 3 – EMONTCUQ – DUFORT LACAPELETTE (25 km – 6h30 hours’ walk)

Here you are in the white Quercy which owes its name to the color of its chalky soil. The relief of the region is peaceful, vast plateaus interspersed with valleys. On the hillsides, vines, fruit trees and melons grow while tobacco, corn and sunflowers occupy the bottom of the valleys. You can already feel the south, the buildings are made of pink bricks and the cypresses appear near the houses. You will visit the church of Rouillac before climbing the ridges overlooking the valleys or greenhouses of the Targutié and the Lendou to reach the village of Montlauzun before reaching Lauzerte perched on its rocky peak, a real sentinel which, for many centuries, has protected the road from Cahors to Moissac. The upper town, grouped around the church of St Barthélemy and the Place des Cornières, is home to houses dating from the 13th and 15th centuries. You will continue your way through huge orchards. You will admire the St Sernin chapel before reaching the hotel on the heights before Dufort - Dinner, night and breakfast in a 2 star hotel

Day 4 – DUFORT LACAPELETTE – MOISSAC (16 km – 4h00-hour walk)

The stage is short and you will have time to visit Moissac. You will go down to the village of Durfort-Lacapelette which stretches along a hillside and is distinguished by... its absence of a church, a rare thing in a French village! After Dufort, the vineyards are everywhere and here, the famous golden Chasselas is harvested, a delight for gourmets. Finally, here is Moissac and the Tarn. The St Pierre de Moissac abbey is home to masterpieces of Romanesque art, the 12th century tympanum representing the Apocalypse and the cloister, a real stone lace - Dinner, overnight stay and breakfast in a 2 star hotel

Day 5 – MOISSAC – AUVILLAR (21 km – 5h30 hours’ walk)

This stage is very pleasant, especially in hot weather, because you will walk in the shade and by the water! In Moissac, you will reach the banks of the lateral canal of the Garonne that you will follow for several kilometers. You will admire the confluence of the Tarn and the Garonne and then continue this walk on the banks of the Golfech canal which runs alongside the Garonne. You will leave the waterfront and head south towards Espalais to cross the Garonne by a suspension bridge and join Auvillar on the other bank. This village is an ancient port and the chapel of St Catherine on the banks of the river bears witness to the flourishing activity of the boatmen during the last centuries. Built on a promontory, Auvillar dominates the valley and possesses numerous testimonies of the past such as the church of St. Peter, the clock tower and the magnificent grain market. Dinner, overnight stay and breakfast in a 2 star hotel

Day 6 – AUVILLAR – MIRADOUX (18 km – 4h30 hour walk)

You will cross the Lomagne, a very fertile hilly region, great producer of garlic, and enter the department of Gers, whose name alone evokes the terroir and the art of good living! After Auvillar, you will go to Bardigués and its 13th century castle, pass through the charming and original village of St Antoine before crossing the Arrats on an old dam-bridge and reaching Miradoux through the village of Flamarens on top of which stands a castle under restoration. Miradoux has a beautiful church built on the ruins of a castle and a very nice market hall from the 16th century - Dinner, night and breakfast in a guest house

Day 7 – MIRADOUX – LECTOURE (16 km – 4h30 hours’ walk)

Return by cab to Miradoux to take the road to St Jacques. You will pass not far from the castle of Gachepouy, cross the village of Castet-Arrouy and its church of the 16th century entirely decorated, at the end of the 19th century, by a local painter. Then you will go to the perched village of St Avit-Frandat and pass by the castle of La Cassagne before reaching Lectoure, capital of the Lomagne region, built on a promontory above the Gers valley. The city has a rich Roman past which you will discover in the Gallo-Roman museum. The St Gervais cathedral was also built on the ruins of a Roman temple! Dinner, night and breakfast in a 3 star hotel

Day 8 – LECTOURE

End of the hike after breakfast