The Lot lies right next door to the Dordogne, in fact some of the most beautiful parts of Dordogne river, form Bort-les-Orgues down to Beaulieu lie in the north of the Departement. Cutting a path south west, the river Lot itself plunges through a series of spectacular gorges between entraygues and Estaing before opening out into the broad meandering loops which carry it past the ancient and picturesque villages of Cajarc and St Cirq-Lapopie. In the south, beyond the administrative capital of Cahors, the river wanders through the vineyards which take the town's name.