Located 66 km SE of Sarlat-la-Caneda and 63 km NE of Cahors, the city of Rocamadour is perched on a limestone cliff overlooking the gorge of the Alzou River. The city first became an important pilgrimage center upon the discovery, in 1166, of an ancient grave containing an undecayed body believed to be the Christian hermit known as St. Amadour, the husband of Saint Veronica, who fled to France to escape religious persecution. Reportedly, a number of miracles soon followed the discovery attributed to the Black Madonna in the Chapel of Notre Dame. Today, as in the Middle Ages, the faithful continue to arrive to worship in the town's Cite Religieuse, a cluster of chapels and churches. There are 216 steps and an elevator up to the 11th- to 13th-century St. Sauveur basilica, built in the Romanesque-Gothic style, and the chapel of St. Michel with its well-preserved 12th-century frescoes.
Tourist Office46500 RocamadourPhone: 33 5 65 33 22 00Fax: 33 5 65 33 22 01
