11 Extraordinary Cliffside Villages & Towns Clinging to Impossible Perches

6. Rocamadour, France: The Vertical Pilgrimage

A sacred site clinging to a cliffside in the Dordogne Valley, Rocamadour has been a major Christian pilgrimage destination for centuries. Its chapels, sanctuaries, and monastic buildings ascend in tiers up the sheer rock face, seemingly defying gravity. Pilgrims traditionally climbed the Grand Escalier (Great Stairway) on their knees. The village itself, with its medieval houses, is nestled below the religious complex. This vertical village is an extraordinary feat of faith and engineering, a spiritual beacon carved into the very stone it venerates.