Exploring Valley of the Célé About Musée de Plein Air du Quercy
Set back from the north side of the River Célé, about 13km from Marcilhac, near Cuzals, the Musée de Plein Air du Quercy
(daily except Sat: April, May, Sept & Oct 2-6pm; June
9.30am-6.30pm; July & Aug 10am-7pm; July & Aug €7.62, otherwise
€6.10) is one of the better open-air museums, and was set up in the
1980s to preserve the distinctive rural architecture of France.
Reconstructions that range from a half-timbered eighteenth-century
farmhouse to a garage from the 1920s are scattered around the site,
which is centred around a twentieth-century château burnt down by the
Nazis in the last war. It's best on Sundays in summer (June-Aug), when
many traditional activities like milling, haymaking and blacksmithing
are demonstrated. The information is dished out with an appealing blend
of humour and didactics, and the whole place is less blatantly
commercial than many other écomusées .
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