A photograph of the ancient medieval bell and clock tower at the top of the citadel fortress of the French town of Rocamadour, the most popular and famous tourist destination in France. Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its dramatic and magnificent setting in a deep vertical gorge above a tributary of the beautiful River Dordogne, and especially for its historical monuments and its ancient sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which for centuries has attracted pilgrims from every country, among them kings, bishops, and nobles. 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.
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