HIDDEN GEMS: LES SALAMANDRES is a French guest house in the middle of Quercy Natural Park, in the Lot region. On the outside it appears to be a typical traditional farmhouse, with ivy-covered walls and logs for the fireplace. It exudes a sense of rough comfort.
The interior, however, warms the soul. The rooms are painted in vivid shades of orange, red and blue, with original paintings to create a welcoming atmosphere that enfolds and enchants the visitor.
This is a region of villages with narrow medieval streets that cling to limestone cliffs while the broad river Lot winds below. Nearby is Calvignac, on top of a steep hill, with intricate streets that suggest the pathways of a dream. Farther up the valley is the climbing village of St Cirq Lapopie.
In our days at Les Salamandres, my wife and I explored these places, as well as the caves at Pech Merle, where you can view incredible rock formations and paintings created 20,000 years ago. We spent a day in Figeac, with its ancient buildings and the Champollion Museum, dedicated to the decoder of the Rosetta Stone.
But our best memories will be of the farmhouse lovingly restored by the artist Laurence Decobert and her husband, François. We will never forget the simple pleasure of drinking local wine on the terrace as the cicadas chanted in the warm dusk.
The house is surrounded by small fields with limestone walls where birds sing all day as the wilderness encroaches. It reminded me of the eastern parts of the Burren for the richness of the flora, but the climate is much warmer. If you want to stay somewhere special in southwestern France, you won’t find anywhere more beautiful than Les Salamandres.
* Les Salamandres, Calvignac, France, 00-33-5-65501922, www.chambres dhotes-lot.com.
* Do you know of a hidden gem? E-mail us at go@irishtimes.com