| |
 Brimming with Bastides > Villeneuve-sur-Lot : Bastide in a valley
Before visiting Villeneuve, climb up to the medieval village of Pujols to get a stunning overall view of this low lying Bastide, built in 1264 on both banks of the river Lot. Then enter the town itself through the belfried North gate with its rose-red great tower and you’re straight into the gentle bustle of the Bastide streets, still as lively as they’ve been throughout the centuries.
Visit the four ranges of arcades squaring up to the central fountain in the Place Lafayette to feel the sense of permanence, of solidity and protection the Bastide dwellers must have felt. Down by the river, the houses seem to bury their foundations in the waters by the Pont Vieux, originally the twin to Cahors’ three-towered Valentré bridge, until the central pillar collapsed beneath the floodwaters, a fault of engineering that Richelieu rightly blamed on the English who built the bridge in the 13th century.
The new Musée de la Vallée du Lot is well worth a visit for those who want to get a global view of the river Lot’s long course to the Garonne.
|
|
:J.M.-CDT47)
