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Cahors is the capital of the Lot department in south-western France.
Its site is dramatic, being contained on three sides within a U-shaped bend in the River Lot known as the presqu'île ("peninsula").
Cahors Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Cahors) is a Roman Catholic cathedral and a national monument of France in the town of Cahors, Midi-Pyrénées. It is an impressive example of the transition between late Romanesque architecture and the Gothic.The church was built by bishop Gerard de Cardaillac[1] in the 11th century, over a church erected in the 7th century by St. Didier of Cahors. It was consecrated by Pope Calixtus II on September 10, 1119, and completed around 1135. The church, located in the city's centre, has the sturdy appearance of a fortified edifice: at the time, the local bishops were in fact also powerful feudal lords in their role as counts and barons of Cahors.

The façade, renovated in 1316–1324 by Guillaume de Labroue, cousin of Pope John XXII, confirms this impression: it resembles a heavy castle wall, consisting in a porch surmounted by a bell tower enclosed between two towers. The six windows, as well as those on the porch sides, are rather narrow; the only elements characterizing it as a church are the magnificent portal with triple splays, surmounted by a gallery of small arches, and the large rose window.