The first shock is the place itself – in reality a tiny village with a world-wide reputation – seen from l’Hospitalet ! Built into the cliffside on successive levels, 120 metres in length, it clings high above a canyon through which flows the Alzou. Its houses, roofs and churches seem to be part of the rock itself.
What genius conceived Rocamadour and built it? Maybe you’ll find out when you come here. As early as the Middle Ages, Rocamadour excited people’s admiration. In the 12th C., pilgrims crossed the whole of Europe to come and pray here. The village housed the relics of Saint-Amadour (a famous hermit who sought solitude in Rocamadour). It was also the much-venerated sanctuary of the Black Virgin.