The region
Les Causses du Quercy
The Chant du Verdier estate is located in the department of Lot on a hill in the beautiful region of Les Causses du Quercy in the small hamlet of Le Verdier. The landscape in the south easterly part of the Lot is very typical. The hilly plateaus of chalk (Les Causses) typify the region along with their splendid views from all points of the compass. The ground is sometimes rugged and meadows and oak woods abound. Lovely old stone walls form the division between fields and woods put there by the locals hundreds of years ago. You'll also come across round stone dwellings, called Caselles, where shepherds and goatherds sheltered from the weather or spent their nights there. The Chant de Verdier estate also has two Caselles on its land, both completely intact. The region adjoins the Parc Naturel regional (nature reserve) des Causses du Quercy, an extensive area of natural beauty with primeval forests and plenty of game.
Cajarc
The small town of Carjac is but three kilometres away and has all the usual facilities and amenities. There are supermarkets, bakers, butchers, restaurants serving delicious regional dishes, pavement cafés, a chemist's, a doctor's surgery, a tourist office and two markets where you can buy all the local produce you need. There is also the Centre d'Art Contemporain Georges Pompidou gallery which is not only affiliated to the Centre Pompidou in Paris but was also founded by the French president, Pompidou. The exhibitions of contemporary art, held from spring until autumn, are well worth a visit.
Picturesque towns in the vicinity
15 minutes driving north from Cajarc brings you to the charming town of Figeac, known for the writers that lived there. The town also boats a few excellent restaurants and an attractive market on a Saturday morning. To the south of Cajarc, some twenty minutes driving away, lies the town of Villefranche de Rouergue with its beautiful cathedral and typical French market on a Thursday morning with a wide choice of regional specialities. The medieval town of Cahors is also certainly worth a visit with its art galleries, shops and restaurants, not forgetting the famous place of pilgrimage, Rocamadour, with its black Madonna.
Bon vivant
The region around Lot is a paradise for those who really enjoy life to its fullest! The area is renowned for its wine (Cahors and Gaillac), goats' cheeses (Rocamadour and Cabécou), foie grâs, maigret de canard, saffron, truffles and the (liqueur and oil from) walnuts. It seems that every season is a celebration of regional delights: the saffron festival in Cajarc in September, the wine harvest festival in October, the truffle market in Lalbengue in January, seeing the newborn goats and lambs frolicking in the meadows and sampling fresh cheeses in spring.