Tour-de-Faure is located in the Parc naturel régional des Causses du Quercy. The municipal area offers views of the medieval village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie; the picnic area at the Stade also offers a view of the village from below. There are also historic buildings from different centuries and the Via Causs’Mos, marked with brown mountain biking signs. This gives you different options to focus on when planning your trip: views and a break, architectural history or cycling.
Views and a picnic break
At the Stade de Tour-de-Faure, there is a picnic area with several stone tables and stone benches. From there, you can look up at Saint-Cirq-Lapopie from below. The municipal area also offers views of the medieval village; the resting spot at the Stade and the views from the municipal area therefore offer two distinct perspectives. If a break with somewhere to sit is part of your plans, the area is a convenient place to stop. Check before your visit that the facilities are still there, as they may change.
Church and historic buildings
The Church of Saint-Étienne was built in the 18th century on Romanesque foundations. It was remodelled in the 19th century, when it also acquired a bell tower. This reveals several distinct building phases: the older foundations, the original construction and a later alteration. The Tour de Faure also dates from the 18th century, is four storeys high and is a private building. These offer two distinct historical perspectives: the four-storey 18th-century tower and the church, with its Romanesque foundations and 19th-century remodelling.
The Maison forte des Montanhagol was built in the 15th century at the former port of Tour-de-Faure. This fortified house adds an earlier period and a connection to the port to the architectural history; it can be viewed from the outside. Together with the church and the Tour de Faure, it forms a timeline from the 15th to the 19th century: the Maison forte and the 18th-century buildings are followed by the church’s remodelling and the addition of its bell tower.
Cycling in Tour-de-Faure
On the Via Causs’Mos, follow the brown mountain biking signs through Tour-de-Faure, pass the church and then turn left towards the D662. Saint-Étienne is therefore both a cultural and historical highlight and a landmark in the route directions. Check the route markers on site, and look out for the signs at the turn.
Les VĂ©los de Saint-Cirq offers mountain bikes, electric bikes and hybrid bikes for hire in Tour-de-Faure. If you want to use a specific type of bike, check availability before your trip, as it may change. The route directions and the rental offer provide different kinds of planning information: one specifies the brown mountain biking signs and the sequence of directions, while the other lists the types of bikes available.
Discover more destinations: Floressas, Pradines, Gintrac, Concorès, Soulomès, Grézels, Castelnau-Montratier, Puybrun
For the broader travel overview: Lot.
