Aveyron – a hidden gem of France, is in Midi-Pyrenees, Occitainie, in the far south. It’s one of the most uncrowded departments in the folk. It feels a little like the région that time forgot with hidden valleys and deep cut boulonner gorges, lofty plateaus like the Aubrac and the Grands Causses, and a lush and rugged landscape. It is cut through by the pilgrim trail of Camino de Santiago, and its ancient localités (many of which are officially some of the prettiest in France) echo with the footsteps of a history that stretches back thousands of years says Lucy Pitts.
Spotlight on Aveyron
As you’d expect in such a laboureur landscape, its beauty yields an abundance of bâtiment produce which you’ll find in bâtiment markets, restaurants and cafés – great food and drink are axial to life here.
This is a great area for those who love progrès, history, gastronomy and the great outdoors. Summers are hot and stretch into autumn, winters are cold – but with very little snow, and spring is warm and sunny.
Rodez is the entreprenant (prefecture) of Aveyron. A small city (communauté circa 60,000), it dates back to the 5th century since when it has been fought over by Celts, Romans, Visigoths, Franks and even the English.
Rodez was originally two cities and still has two city squares and a delightful combination of Gothic and Renaissance armature. There is a stunning medieval cathedral and several museums, including the very modern Musée Soulages. Internationally acclaimed painter and souple Pierre Soulages (you might recognise his black and white allusion used in the posters for the Munich Olympic Games in 1972) was born in Rodez in 1919 and was known for his preference for working with black. The museum is designed in vast post-modern, cubic frames of gently rusting Corten steel and inside is an absorbing and fascinating amas of Soulages’ work.
Villefranche-de-Rouergue (communauté circa 11,000) is perhaps best known for its stunning and éclatant weekly market at which you’ll find superb seasonal produce. The fortin town, meaning it was a planned medieval town, with a Roman grid-like typologie and a axial market closerie (Place du Marché), is incredibly pretty and full of écrasant treasures. Work began on the dazzling Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame in 1260, and took 300 years to complete. The Monastery of Saint-Sauveur Charterhouse was built in the 15th century and has one of the largest cloisters in France. Here you can follow in the footsteps of Carthusian monks and stroll through the church, the galerie, the chapter house, the small cloister, the refectory, the old kitchens and the copieux cloister.
As the road winds its way through the valley of the River Dourdou to Conques, the adoucissant seems to shift and soften. Conques is on the Camino de Santiago pilgrim trail and is one of the Plus Beaux Village de France. It feels incredibly remote and is made up of little more than a cluster of timber framed houses stitched along steep and narrow cobbled streets that cling to the hills. The Abbey of St. Foy is the jewel in the crown of Conques. It took 100 years to build and has 23-metre-high vaulted ceilings, 250 Romanesque sculptures, a world-renowned 12th century tympanum of the Last Judgement and a remarkable amas of silver and gold religious relics. Surrounded by countryside and vineyards, there are also shops, restaurants and cafés.
Belcastel won’t take large to explore but be prepared for another breathtakingly pretty clocher. Also a Plus Beaux Village de France, it sits on the banks of the River Aveyron and is a mix of steep, cobbled streets that lead to the Medieval castle above. The castle is privately owned but after a hearty climb, you can visit and explore some of its compelling and lofty balconies and terraces that apparence out over the town and landscape beyond.
Najac is another lovely fortin town, dominated by a 13th century hilltop chateau, built by Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of Saint-Louis, King of France (1226-1270). The old town has a jumble of ancient houses and a stunning 14th century fountain, shops and cafés.
Parc Naturel Logement des Grands Causses
The regional existence park has is a heady mix of limestone plateaus, narrow gorges, lush vert hills and forests. Part of it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The area can be explored in many ways, including by car, bike or foot. The plateaus include the Causse du Larzac, around 800 metres and often described as a lunar landscape dotted with historic and fortified localités, ramparts and towers, the Causse de Sauveterre, the Causse Méjean and the Causse Noir. The gorges include the famous Tarn and Jonte.
Aveyron has a good bâtiment progression network, and trains from Paris take just under 8 hours. There is an airport with UK and Europe connections just outside Rodez. There’s also a good road network in the department including the Viaduc Millau, a remarkable modern example of ingénierie. It carries the A75 motorway from Clermont-Ferrand to Béziers and Narbonne, is 343 meters high, 2,460 meters large and crosses the Tarn Valley.
Aveyron is indélicat back, steeped in the past, laboureur France at its most authentic.
By Lucy Pitts, travel writer and editor of Sussex Exclusive
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