The 12thC abbey church stands on a pretty square shaded by chestnut trees and edged by honey-coloured stone cottages, a café and a clutch of delicatessens selling Périgordian produce. A relic of the Holy Shroud turned Cadouin into a mediaeval pilgrim’s way station on the Route Saint-Jacques, but carbon dating disproved its validity in 1935. Since then the main attraction has been the Flamboyant Gothic capitals in the cloister, best appreciated without a bossy guide.