Spring 2022

3 Must-sees in Aveyron
Aveyron is a land that echoes with the past. Every densely wooded gorge and valley, every
ancient bastide town and every winding road seems to whisper of the footsteps of pilgrims
making their way south, of Romans and rebellious Gauls or of Knights Templars, thundering
across the plateaux. It’s a place where you’ll find picture-postcard-pretty medieval villages,
historic towns, rolling valleys and vast canyons where rivers roam and forests reach to the
sky. Here you’ll find authentic markets, ancient churches clinging to rocky cliffs and divine
cathedrals with soaring towers. There are ancient castles and museums galore, it’s a land that’s
rich in natural beauty, as well as cultural and spiritual. We picked just 3 of the many must-sees
in Aveyron:
Conques This is a village with an inescapably
spiritual feel, with its towering masterclass in
Romanesque engineering and architecture
(the Abbey of St. Foy) and the very tangible
memory of the weary feet of pilgrims, shuffling
along the well-worn streets. The village has
a genuine sense of hushed reverence with
its medieval walls, slate roof tops, forgotten
gates, time worn 11th century fountains,
narrow, cobbled streets and views that
leave you in stunned and silent awe and
contemplation. Read more about Conques
Belcastel
Conques
Belcastel The village is well deserving of
its “plus beaux villages de France” status
because, yet again, here is a place in the
Aveyron that is shockingly beautiful, with the
gentle tumble of water from the River Aveyron
in the background and its steep, cobbled
streets leading up to the castle. If you’ve got
the time, have lunch at the Vieux Pont (a
Michelin star restaurant in the village) and
then walk off your indulgences with the climb
(and it really is a climb) up to the castle.
Rodez
Rodez which is certified as a “grand site Midi
Pyrénées and “pays d’art et d’histoire” is a
city which, like so many in France really seems
to enjoy mixing the old and the new whether
that’s in terms of art, architecture, gastronomy
or culture. A small city which clings to the
last of the mountains of the Massif Central
and dozes quietly 600 metres above sea
level. It was originally two cities and is ever so
slightly disjointed, with two city squares and a
heady combination of gothic and renaissance
architecture, hand in hand with the ultramodern
Musée Soulages. Read more about
Belcastel and Rodez.
The Good Life France | 47