Bournazel Castle and garden
Bournazel counts with 300 inhabitants. Its a really charming medieval village. You will see nice timbered houses with carved windows from the fifteenth and sixteenth century. This site, surrounded by nature, is a perfect background to the castle, a true Renaissance masterpiece, which has been restored and decorated with original tapestries, paintings and furniture.
https://www.tourisme-pays-rignacois.com/
Conques
Listed as one of the Most Beautiful Villages in France (one of the greatest classifications for french villages). Discover Conques, a stop of major interest on the way to Compostela. Be amazed by St. Foy abbey-church and its tympanum of the Last Judgment, a true Romanesque “chef d’oeuvre”. Admire the exceptional medieval treasure in goldsmith art. Enjoy the light coming through the contemporary glass windows by Pierre Soulages
https://www.tourisme-conques.fr
Peyrusse-le-roc
Composed of seven edifices which attest to its former power, Peyrusse-le-roc still has an exceptional medieval site. Conquered by Pépin le Bref in year 767, this village was a highly strategic place, from a geographic, military and political point of view. It also was an important commercial place thanks to the nearby silver mines. Peyrusse-le-Roc was a main place for the Dukes of Aquitaine and the Counts of Toulouse.
Nowadays, we still can find some ruins from these glorious times. This medieval site is an open book about the history of the Middle-Ages.
https://www.plateau-de-montbazens.com/
Belcastel and its castle
Listed as one of the Most Beautiful Villages in France, Belcastel is one of the finest destinations in our department. Located on the banks of the river Aveyron , this thousand-year-old village managed to showcase its history and its heritage so well that it became one of the most beloved places in the region.
Belcastel is the witness of its own history which shaped the village throughout centuries. Dominated by its eleventh century castle, superbly restored by Fernand Pouillon (a famous architect), the village invites you to travel through time, by taking to the fifteenth century bridge which links the church (from the fifteenth century as well) with the village, its narrow streets (also called »Calades » ie coblestones), and so much more.
Belcastel is an experience which invites all of us to discovery, to relax and to get away from the daily routine.
https://www.tourisme-pays-rignacois.com/
Rodez
Rodez is the capital of the Aveyron department. It has a little bit more than two-thousand years history. It is the perfect combination of art and history. First of all, Rodez has its own identity with its impressive gothic cathedral and its mansions. But, this city is also a cultural capital for the region with its three important museums. the Denis Puech Museum dedicated to this local sculptor/painter, the Fenaille Museum an Archeological Museum where all the archeological discoveries of the region ae displayed(from the prehistorical period to the Middle-Ages). And last but not least, the Soulages Museum which has the largest collection of paintings by the world-wide renowned artist Pierre Soulages.
La Vinzelle
Perched high up on the hillside ans above the steep Lot Valley, La Vinzelle is a picturesque and remarkable village with with nature all around. This site offers very impressive sights over the surrounding countryside. There visitors can discover the beautiful Saint-Clair fountain, the famous “Campana Bella” bell, the small church and its steeple as well as typical lauze roofs.
https://www.tourisme-conques.fr
Figeac
Figeac is the second largest city in the Lot department and Champollion’s birth place. Thanks to the Rosette stone, he solved the mystery of Egyptian hieroglyphs. This stone was composed of a text written in three different languages (including ancient Greek and Ancient Egyptian). He created an Ancient Egyptian Grammar and an Ancient Egyptian Dictionary. His birth house is now a museum dedicated to Egyptology and ancient writings from all over the world. The rest of the city is worth visiting too. Figeac has a very rich past that you can discover through fancy medieval mansions, houses and warehouses, you’ll find downtown. Most of them were built between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. You’ll discover sculpted facades, carved windows, coats of arms, and open attics for drying shed use.
https://www.tourisme-figeac.com/
Villefranche-de-Rouergue
We call « Bastide » those cities which were built during the thirteenth century. They all correspond to precise criterias. The most important and obvious one is the main square. It is the real center of the Bastide, where all the streets converge. The houses are separated by the streets, a deliberate way of preventing arson.
Villefranche-de-Rouergue is one of the most important bastides in the region with its exceptional urbanistic plan. It was founded in 1252 by Alphonse de Poitiers (heir to the Count of Toulouse and King Saint Louis’ brother). The streets and the gothic houses give the impression to return to the past. There are several sites worth visiting: The Notre Dame Square and its church, the baroque chapel of the Black Penitents, the cloister of the Saint Sauveur Charterhouse, the Urbain Cabrol Museum and the Saint Jean d’Aigremont Ordeal. All of them allow a panoramic view over the city.
https://www.tourisme-villefranche-najac.com/
Villeneuve d’Aveyron
This city was founded by the Church in year 1053, before becoming a bastide about 200 years later. It kept its medieval parts indamaged. We can admire the Romanesque church, which is a copy of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. It was enlarged by a gothic nave. The high gate (and its impressive dungeon) and the Cardalhac gate were part of the former surrounding fortified walls of the city.
http://villeneuve-aveyron.com/
Rignac
A lovely hamlet located in the heart of nature, Rignac is the perfect place for outdoor activities. Discover a beautiful panorama overlooking plateaus, greeny valleys and open spaces. Enjoy many suggested hiking itineraries.
https://www.tourisme-pays-rignacois.com/
Entraygues
Whichever direction you come from, by charming routes that linger, you will always arrive at Entraygues, and will be rewarded by the amazing beauty of the place! With numerous Medieval vestiges, nestled between the waters of the Lot and the Truyère, the town offers us its old streets, lanes, tiny yards, narrow alleys, superb Tudor houses dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries, its castle and its 13th century bridges…
https://www.tourisme-espalion.fr/
Estaing
Along the way to Santiago de Compostella, the history of Estaing meets the history of its castle. Classified on the Historical Monument list since 1945, it has been restored step by step (as it was bought) by a group of investors (known as Foundation V.G.E. nowadays) led by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing a former President of the French Republic in 2005. Inside the castle a permanent exhibition called « Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, a man at the service of France and Europe » can be seen.
https://www.tourisme-entraygues.com/