The Aveyron is one of France’s largest departments and one of the least densely populated, a vast expanse of limestone plateaus, gorges and forests where medieval architecture seems to rise directly from the limestone of the plateaus. Far from the main tourist routes, the department preserves a castles heritage of rare authenticity, comprising Templar fortresses, count’s castles and fortified villages that have withstood the test of time for centuries.
Conques, a medieval village on the Way of St James, and its famous Romanesque abbey church frame a landscape where Cistercian and Templar art has left its mark in the stone. La Couvertoirade, a fortified Templar town on the Larzac plateau, is one of the most complete medieval complexes in France. Séverac-le-Château, Najac, whose royal castle overlooks the Aveyron valley from a vertiginous spur, Calmont-d’Olt, Estaing—listed among the most beautiful villages in France with its castle of the Counts of Estaing…
The gorges of the Tarn, Dourdou and Truyère carve the plateaus into spectacular landscapes, within which these castles and fortified villages are set, making the Aveyron one of the most authentic heritage destinations in the South of France.