Forget the GPS and follow your curiosity: head for the off-piste version of the Lot!

But once you've ticked off the 'must-haves' in the guide, why not slow down, take a breather... and get lost, on purpose?

The Lot Valley and the Cahors vineyards are a little corner of paradise. Postcards sometimes forget it, but curious travellers will never forget their stay in the north of the Quercy region. Here, queues of tourists are exchanged for paths lined with low stone walls, crowds for farmers' markets where the accent is as tasty as the goat's cheese, the little cabécou which - once labelled - becomes Rocamadour AOC.

Imagine taking a siesta in the shade of a hundred-year-old oak tree, your feet still wet from swimming in the Lot, a glass of Malbec in your hand, and the only sound you'll hear will be the birds, crickets or even cicadas (these have come up from the Mediterranean and are now colonising our regions). "It sounds like the south", as Nino Ferrer so rightly sang. Add a walk through the vineyards at sunrise or sunset, a cool canoe trip or an impromptu meeting with a passionate winemaker who will tell you all about his life... between two sips.

This Lot doesn't try to impress. It seduces gently, to the rhythm of the river and the old stones. And that's what makes it unforgettable. So, are you ready to swap the beaten track for the bush?