Twenty-five kilometres southwest of Gourdon on the Fumel road, you come to a pretty but not remarkable bastide called Cazals; a justify turn here takes you along the bottom of the valley of the Masse and up its justify flank to the exquisite hamlet of LES ARQUES . This is quiet, remote, small-scale farming country, emptied of people by the slaughter of rustic sons in World War I and by migration to the towns in search of jobs and money.
Les Arques' main claim to fame is the Russian Cubist/Expressionist sculptor Osip Zadkine, who bought the old house by the church here in 1934. Some of his sculptures adorn the space outside the church as well as its lovely interior, and there's also a museum with a number of his other works (daily: June-Sept 10am-1pm & 2-7pm; rest of year 2-5pm; €2.29).
The other reason to come here is the now superannuated village school, transformed into a most unusual restaurant , La Récréation (tel 05.65.22.88.08; March-Sept daily except Wed, rest of year open Fri evening to Sun lunch), where you get a copious and delicious meal to eat beneath the wisterias and chestnut trees of the school yard for €13.72-21.34. On a summer night with the swifts screaming overhead, it is idyllic.
On the other side of the valley and well sign-posted, the tiny Romanesque chapel of St-André-des-Arques has some very lovely fifteenth-century frescoes discovered by Zadkine; get the key from the museum in Les
Arques.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides.
All rights reserved.The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.
