What to do in Aveyron? Villages to visit, gastronomy... Our must-sees

The Rouergue.

With rolling “r”s, the aerial Millau Viaduct as a postcard and the Aligot-Roquefort-Fouace triptych on the menu.

Department with a strong character, Aveyron, former province of Rouergue, is a land of contrasts and mysteries, both harsh and sincere.

A land of lakes and rivers, causses and valleys, bastides and churches.

Crossed by four rivers, including the one that gives it its name, the Aveyron, in its northern part, stretches in length along the Truyère and in width along the Lot.

Time for a few stops on the Voie du Puy, discovering pretty villages, walks in the vineyards and other gourmet or artisanal encounters.

To discover

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On the road to the pretty villages of the Lot Valley

In the streets of Conques.

Kevin Guillois

First department in number of "most beautiful villages in France"!

The figures are there but above all this typically Aveyronnais authenticity which leaves these villages, as beautiful as they are, their true rural and village life.

And it is to the rhythm of transhumance, grape harvests and the passage of backgammons that life flows there.

Of the 10 "most beautiful villages in France" labeled in Aveyron, four are thus in the Lot valley, and not the least: Sainte-Eulalie d'Olt, Saint-Côme-d'Olt, Estaing and Conques.

Sainte-Eulalie poses as a village of artists and takes the pose of a village that was prosperous with its Renaissance mansions and its elegant castle.

Read alsoThirteen “Most Beautiful Villages in France” accessible without a car

And after the heritage walk, make way for unusual activities with the playful and bucolic Aqua-Vélo on the site of La Grave, a natural bend in the Lot which forms a lake with its pebble beach.

A little further, at the crossroads of the limestone Causse and the basaltic Aubrac but also of the Via Podiensis, one of the Ways of Compostela and the Ancient Way which linked Lyon to Toulouse, Saint-Côme-d'Olt is a fortified village that smells of the herds of wild cows in transhumance from the plateau.

Its flamed bell tower tells a beautiful legend: one wedding day, the devil perched at the top of the church would have turned his head to admire the beautiful bride, thus twisting the bell tower... Going up the Lot a little further,

Estaing combined vine and chestnut cultivation and still features the Art Deco houses of the Aveyronnais who left to make their fortune in Paris.

Without forgetting the castle of a former president…

Finally, almost on the border of Lot and Cantal, Conques arises at the bend of a bend, whether you arrive by road or on the GR65.

In 2022, the magnificent city, which houses the golden statue of Sainte-Foy, one of the five great European treasures of medieval goldsmithery, celebrates the 40th anniversary of its ranking among the first "Most Beautiful Villages in France".

Every evening, the tympanum lights up while inside, the abbey church vibrates to the rhythm of the organ played by Brother Jean-Daniel.

The faithful, passers-by and pilgrims will return the next day to feel the power of this church, a labyrinth of vaults and stone buttresses soberly lit by the stained glass windows of Pierre Soulages.

O Paddle d'Olt: La Grave, Sainte-Eulalie d'Olt.

06.50.84.34.72

Read the fileSantiago de Compostela: itinerary, pilgrimage... Our guide

Contemporary art and artisans today

The spectacular architecture of the Soulages Museum has made Rodez a world art destination.

Stanislas Fautré / Le Figaro Magazine

Relieve.

The Ruthenian master of the Outrenoir.

In 2023, a new long-distance hiking route, the GR62, will connect, "in the footsteps of Soulages", Conques to Rodez, passing through the aptly named Salles-la-Source, which is also worth a detour for its new Cascade restaurant. .

Once arrived in the Aveyron capital, the Corten steel museum sheds light on the career, the stylistic evolution and the artistic revolution embodied by Pierre Soulages, born on December 24, 1919, but still reinvents his painting and, beyond that, the way to see the painting.

In Saint-Côme-d'Olt, it is rather a return to the tradition of the leather trades that Frédéric Salé offers.

Labeled Living Heritage Company, Aubrac Bottier reinvents the high-end shoe, entirely handmade in 300 steps: you choose leather, sole, color for a unique model, even tailor-made.

Sainte Eulalie rhymes with glassmaking in particular: Yann Zuselli is a blowtorch glassblower and has made the water barometer, said to be Goethe, his specialty.

There is another useful object that has come back to life on the Causse Comtal, in Marcillac Vallon to be precise: the Liadou, a traditional winegrower's knife which was used, among other things, to split the wicker to bind the vines.

Soulages Museum: Jardin du Foirail, Av. Victor Hugo, 12000 Rodez.

Aubrac Bottier: 16 Av. de Saint-Geniez, 12500 Saint-Côme-d'Olt.

Le Liadou: 17 Quai du Cruou, 12330 Marcillac-Vallon.

Farçou and Fer Servadou

A farçou from Aveyron.

Laura F

In Aveyron, we like to add an “or” at the end of each word.

First names are no exception to the phenomenon, but it is at the table that it gains momentum with tripoux and other farçous, egg and chard pancakes with or without meat.

On the wine side, Aveyron is a land of vines in rebirth but is rich in four appellations which are concentrated along and to the south of the Lot: Entraygues-Le Fel, with its vineyards hanging on the slopes of the Truyère and the Lot and the so charming village of Fel, Estaing which has only 20 hectares and whose AOC was obtained in 2011 and Marcillac on its soil of rougier.

In Clairvaux, the Domaine Laurens invites you to taste its “Sunday under the cherry trees” in red, white or rosé, while the Domaine du Cros preserves “Lo Sang del Païs” in Goutrens.

From blends or grape varieties, in particular Fer Servadou also called Mansois in red or Chenin for whites, the wines of Aveyron have the character of their terroir but also rely on lightness and fruit.

Like the territory and those who bring it to life, they embody the unique blend of strength and finesse that is Aveyron.

Domaine Laurens: 7 avenue de la Tour, 12330 Clairvaux-d'Aveyron

Domaine du Cros: Le Cros, 12390 Goutrens

Go

By plane

 : 1 to 2 flights per day between Rodez and Paris-Orly (aeroport-rodez.fr)

By train

 : Rodez station then car (sncf-connect.com)

Find out more

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