Aveyron echoes with the past. Every densely wooded gorge and valley, every ancient bastide town and every winding road seems to whisper of pilgrims making their weary way south, of Romans and rebellious Gauls or of Knights Templars, thundering across the plateaux.
Part of the Massif Central but also the northern most part of the Midi-Pyrénées, as a department Aveyron has an earthiness, a simplicity and a quiet but wild ruggedness that’s hard to find elsewhere. Forests and vineyards cling to steep ravines, medieval villages poke their heads out of leafy canopies in the hills and rivers dotted with old mills and forges laze their way through cool musty valleys.
No one seems to be in a rush here and the region’s cuisine remains deeply connected with its past and its terrain. It’s all about the landscape and you just have to take your time here and absorb.
walk on the wild side
The plateaux of the Aubrac to the north east of the region are vast, forlornly beautiful and represent the Aveyron at its most untamed. It feels wild and unconquered here with a haunting beauty to its bleakness and you can roam for hours in solitary delight interrupted by nothing more than mountain shelters (Burons) and the occasional Aubrac cow. It’s definitely the place to start if you want to imbibe the very soul of the region and it also harbours one of the ancient pilgrim trails that cuts across France.
© D.Viet / CRT Midi-Pyrénées