The Château de Bonaguil (Bonaguil Castle):
secluded gateway to a world of legend
http://www.bonaguil.org/

The fertile, welcoming valleys of the countryside around Agen often cause this sunny region to be likened to Tuscany. But these delightful landscapes so reminiscent of Italy, as even Stendhal once wrote, gradually take on a different aspect towards the north-east of the former earldom. The pleasant area around Villeneuve-sur-Lot marks the end of the peaceful orchards and gardens, which soon give way to an area of transition with more strongly-marked features.

The majestic, dream-like Château de Bonaguil, set at the foot of the forest, where two valleys meet. Seen here from the southern hillside. Leading into the barren stretches of the Causses du Quercy and the dense forests of the Périgord Noir region, the upper Agen region is a land where castles once sprang up like mushrooms. Here begins the land of the cavemen: Pech-Merle and Lascaux. Here begins the land of a thousand and one castles, stone giants whose names conjure up victorious battles! At the end of a secluded valley, at the very spot where the road seems to dwindle out, the enchantment begins. Like a ship's hull that has weathered a violent storm, the stone vessel of a singular dungeon rams the surrounding landscape, opening the doors to a world of legend. (Original text in French by Max Pons, Editions Sud-Ouest)