Saint-Cere

Visit Saint-Cere, Midi-Pyrenees

Saint-Céré is a market town situated in the Lot department of the Midi-Pyrenees, in the Bave River valley, where it sits below the hill with Saint-Laurent-les-Tours above.

The town is quite a lively, bustling destination and well placed to explore this attractive region. It also very much deserves an exploration, because it has several interesting sites to discover.

Explore Saint-Cere

Even more than in most towns, I strongly recommend that start your visit at the Saint-Cere tourist office (near the main car park / square), because there are some fascinating medieval and turreted houses that you may miss if you don't follow the suggested route through the town (especially around Rue St Cyr) - there is lots to see and enjoy here but some of the highlights are rather hidden away.

The centre of Saint-Cere is quite compact and based around two main squares, the Place du Mercadial and the Place de l'Eglise These two squares are together surrounded by the medieval centre of the town, with narrow streets and ancient houses.

The Place du Mercadial is very attractive with some impressive buildings to admire (probably restaurants as well but we visited in winter early in the morning so I can't be sure!). The principal building in the square is the 15th century maison des Consuls.

In the smaller Place de l'Eglise the main monument is the Church of Saint-Sperien with origins dating back to the 10th century.

After exploring the old town in Saint-Cere take a walk along the river at the Quai des Recollets, before heading up the hill to discover the ruins of the castle at Saint Laurent les Tours. The castle played an important role in recent history when the artist Jean lurcat operated a secret wartime radio for the French resistance from here.

Attractions nearby

Highlights in and around Saint-Cere are numerous with a great deal to explore. Several 'most beautiful villages' are found nearby: to the west you can follow the Dordogne valley towards Souillac; to the north is the southern Correze with Loubressac, Autoire and Curemonte being among the prettiest of the villages.

To the south-west of Saint-Cere be sure to visit Rocamadour and the Goufre de Padirac, to the south you will find the lovely historic town at Figeac.

See Midi-Pyrenees and Lot (the region and department for Saint-Cere) for more travel ideas...

Photos of Saint-Cere

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Suggested places to visit near Saint-Cere, France

Distances shown are direct, driving distances will be greater.

More suggestions: Lacapelle-Marival 15km; Gramat 16km; Curemonte 19km; Cardaillac 22km; Rocamadour 23km; Martel 24km; Argentat 26km; Collonges-la-Rouge 29km; Maurs 29km; Figeac 31km; Turenne 33km;

Saint-Cere tourist information: sights and attractions nearby

Chateau Montal - national monument (2km) : Castelnau-Bretenoux Chateau - national monument (7km) : Gouffre de Padirac - site of natural beauty (11km) : Eglise de Saint Pierre (Carennac) - religious monument (14km) : Assier Chateau - national monument (21km) : Abbaye Sainte Marie (Souillac) - religious monument (33km) : Causses du Quercy - regional natural parc (36km) : Gouffre de la Fage - site of natural beauty (40km) :

See more places and a map at places near Saint-Cere