Circuit des 10 Plus Beaux Villages de France
Discovering Aveyron through its ten "Most beautiful Villages of France" (the record in France!) will confront you with a remarkable architectural heritage, an exceptional soil and buildings, and all this preserved by inhabitants proud of their identity!
Let's start with Belcastel, where the castle, restored by the famous architect Fernand Pouillon, dominates a romantic landscape of local stone houses, coiled around the bridge and the river Aveyron.
You will then go up to Conques, one of the pearls of the Way of Saint James of Compostela, with its Romanesque abbey church, its tympanum of the Last Judgement, its treasure... in a fairy tale setting!
We continue along the Lot valley to arrive in Estaing nestling in a natural setting of hills on an ancient meander of the river. Its castle, classified as a historical monument, has been restored by the former President of the Republic, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, to make it a place of memories.
After passing the town of Espalion, the capital of northern Aveyron, you will end up in the ancient suburbs of Saint Come d'Olt, which date back to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. One of the great curiosities of the village is the flaming bell tower of the church. Continuing eastwards, still between the Causses and Aubrac, here are the narrow streets of Ste Eulalie d'Olt where it is good to stroll. The centre of the village showcases the many craftsmen and artists who exercise their talents there all year round.
And now it is the road towards the South of the Department that will lead you to the troglodytic houses of Peyre, a village built on the sides of an enormous rock, where caves and caverns have been dug since prehistoric times. From there you may see a boat which has just passed under the Millau viaduct and ends its journey on the Tarn.
It's time to head towards the south-eastern end of the department, and go to La Couvertoirade, a Templar and then Hospitaller City remarkably preserved within its fortified enclosure built during the Hundred Years' War. You can also discover the other Templar sites: Ste Eulalie de Cernon, the Cavalry, the Viala du pas de Jaux and St Jean d'alcas.
Heading west, after crossing the country of Roquefort and the wild Raspes of the Tarn, you arrive at Brousse le Château, one of the jewels of medieval Rouergate architecture, whose first building was already built in the 9th century.
You will then reach the country of the hundred valleys, the Ségala, to discover the medieval bastide of Sauveterre de Rouergue, characterized by its central square surrounded by arcades. Since the 14th century various craftsmen worked there: tailors, cutlers, tanners... They are still there, and their talent too!
Finally you will end your trip at the western end of the department near the Aveyron gorges, in Najac, former capital of the Bas Rouergue, protected by an imposing fortified castle. The village preserves many religious and military buildings and vestiges and its roofs covered with lauses and schists are of great beauty.
