Loubressac glows a warm welcome in the late afternoon sunshine, brooding on its ridgeline overlooking the Dordogne river valley, the mighty Castelnau and, to the east, St. Laurent les Tours.

Another of the most beautiful villages of France - Les Plus Beaux Villages de France - that the Lot around St. Céré seems to excel in, Loubressac has been much altered and fortified through the ages. Loubressac started out as a fortified Gall-Romano settlement, becoming a stronghold of the Lords Castelnau in the 100 years war. The village boasts a very impressive fortified chateau, the entrance of which is about as close as you will get, as it is in private ownership. We show a detail of this entrance, to the right of this page.

Most of the more obvious signs of military fortification have long since gone, but it is not hard to imagine the way it might have been, as you sit on the terrace of the the bar/restaurant and take in the magnificent view across the village green. Indeed, you can still see the remains of one of the steep winding paths that would have led up to a sally port in the village ramparts.

The imposing entrance to the simple little 13th Century church is also worth a minute or two of your time, as too is the interior of the church itself.