Rocamadour

Rocamadour (French pronunciation: [ʁɔkamaduʁ]; Languedocien: Ròcamador) is a commune in the Lot department in southwestern France. It lies in the former province of Quercy. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association.

Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogne and especially for its historical monuments and its sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which for centuries, dating back to the turn of the 12th century, has attracted historical and anonymous pilgrims from many countries, among them kings, bishops and nobles (including Henry II of England, Simon de Montfort, Blanche of Castile and Saint Louis IX of France, Saint Dominic and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, among other illustrious figures).

The town below the complex of monastic buildings and pilgrimage churches, traditionally dependent on the pilgrimage site and now on the tourist trade, lies near the river on the lowest slopes; it gives its name to Rocamadour, a small goat's-milk cheese that was awarded AOC status in 1996.

Rocamadour is located in the Lot department in the far north of the Occitanie region. Close to Périgord and the Dordogne valley, Rocamadour is at the heart of the Parc naturel régional des Causses du Quercy [de; fr] , a regional nature park. Rocamadour is located 36 km NNE of Cahors by road, on the right bank of the Alzou.

Rocamadour can be reached by car from the A20 autoroute, or by train: Gare de Rocamadour-Padirac on the Brive-la-Gaillarde–Toulouse (via Capdenac) railway.

Rocamadour is served by two regional airports that provide easy access to the Dordogne Valley. The Aéroport Brive Vallée de la Dordogne (BVE) is located only a few kilometres from many of the region's star attractions whilst the Aéroport Bergerac Dordogne Périgord (EGC) is situated just 6 km south of Bergerac.

The territory of the commune of Rocamadour includes several hamlets: L'Hospitalet, Les Alix, Blanat, Mas de Douze, Fouysselaze, Magès, La Fage, La Gardelle, Chez Langle, La Vitalie, Mayrinhac-le-Francal.

There are two attested medieval forms of Rocamadour: an Old French one, Rocamador, dated 968; and a folk-etymological Latinate form, Rupis Amatoris ("[town] of Amadour's Rock", rupis being the genitive of rūpēs, "rock; cliff"), which is from 1186. According to Dauzat, the toponym comes from a hagionym, i.e. the name of a saint, Amator (Latin for "Lover").