For centuries in the Middle Ages, pilgrims and penitents from all over Europe found their way to this dramatically set little city in south-central France.
Even kings like Henry II of England, Alphonse II of Portugal and Louis XI of France came here in hopes that St. Amador, the reclusive, cave-dwelling holy man for whom the town is named, would cure their ills, pardon their sins or grant them long-sought peace of mind.Visiting Rocamadour (literally translated as "the rock of Amador") today, modern tourists and pilgrims can only hope for the third type of miracle sought by their medieval predecessors.
The town is built directly into a sheer cliff, with a castle at the top, a cluster of churches midway up the rock wall and the narrow, cobbled streets of the town below. From all three levels, there are sweeping views of a rocky rift where humans have lived since Neanderthal times.
But there's nothing Neanderthal about the experience of coming to Rocamadour.
Air-conditioned trains from Paris arrive twice daily in nearby Brive, where cars can be rented from four different agencies on the Rue de la Gare - the street of the station.
A 30-minute drive through rolling country studded with groves of ancient oak trees brings visitors to one of the holiest sites in France.
Tour buses also bring in visitors, who can ride a funicular up and down the cliff to visit all three levels without trudging the thousand-year-old stairs cut into the rock.
And there are modern miracles aplenty to be found in Rocamadour and the surrounding Dordogne region.
Start with smooth highways almost devoid of traffic. There's no rush hour here.
Add comfortable hotel rooms often available for about half the price of anything similar in Paris or Nice.
Emblematic of modern life in the Dordogne is the story of the Domain de la Rhue, a 10-room hotel that opened last May in a converted horse stable on the outskirts of Rocamadour.
The hotel is operated by the genial and solicitous Christine and Eric Jooris, whose family bought a 99-acre farm with several fieldstone buildings in the mid-1970s.
"Eric always wanted to raise sheep and cattle," says Christine. "So we bought some sheep and we have been doing it for 15 years. But the land just won't support it. We could not make much money."
The chalky earth of the region, which sports myriad caves and underground streams, absorbed most of the water the family used to irrigate its pastureland.
Meanwhile, just two miles down the road, the Chateau de Roumegouse, a member of the Relaix and Chateaux chain of luxury hotels, was mining many francs from its 16 guest rooms and ultra-gourmet kitchen.
"A lot of people suggested we should open a hotel and the people at the Roumegouse also encouraged us," said Eric.
So in mid-1989, the Jooris family embarked on a massive remodel of their gray stone stable, set in open country about a mile off the main highway from Brive.
The lobby and some rooms feature stone floors once trod by horses. Wooden rails that formerly separated horse stalls are now stained and polished, serving as dividers in some rooms.
But there's no stablelike quality to this intimate hotel, with its brand-new swimming pool. All rooms have modern bathroom fixtures, built-in hair dryers, heaters, plenty of mirrors and ample light.
Price for two persons in superior and deluxe rooms ranges from 450 French francs (about $85) to 500 French francs (about $95), a bargain by current French standards.
For that, you get not only a room, but the friendship and advice of the hosts, who delight in lending out road maps, clearly marked for both well-known local attractions like caves with wall-drawings from the Cro-Magnon era and perfectly-preserved medieval villages that don't show up in any guidebooks.
All that can make the Rocamadour experience a bit like a visit to old Hawaii when it comes to granting the modern miracles of peace of mind and relaxation.