Central France - Auvergne
Arlempdes is an impressive sight appearing as it does after a bend in the road. The village stands at the top of a volcanic peak that the Loire encircles in a meander and the ruins of its castle serve as backdrop for the "Théâtrales du Velay" drama festival every summer.
Themes
- By the waterside : The river Loire
- Castles and ramparts : The castle
- Gastronomy : The green Puy lentils
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In this former stopping place on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, by the banks of the Aveyron, stone-built houses and roofs tiled with "lauzes" stone slabs rise in tiers at the foot of the fortified castle that was remarkably well restored in the late 1970s by architect Fernand Pouillon.
Themes
- By the waterside : The river Aveyron
- Castles and ramparts : The castle
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Blesle owes both its existence and its expansion to the Benedictine abbey founded there in the 9C. Although all that is left of the stronghold built by the Barons of Mercoeur is the keep, the towers and the outer walls, half-timbered houses and carved doors still bear witness to the village’s medieval past.
Themes
- Castles and ramparts : Towers, outer walls, keep
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50 kilometres south of Rodez, where the Tarn joins the Alrance, the towers of a medieval castle overlook the village of Brousse to which it gave its name. An old gothic bridge spans the Alrance and leads to the flagstoned streets and the 15C fortified church.
Themes
- By the waterside : The river Alrance
- Castles and ramparts : The Castle
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A short break in Charroux in the Bourbonnais, just 30 kilometres west of Vichy and 20 kilometres south of Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, promises great charm and difference ! The village is famous for its mustard that is used by several great chefs and exported around the world, but this former fortified village and centre of trade has other things to show off too.
Themes
- Castles and ramparts : The ramparts, porte d’Orient and porte d’Occident East and West Gates (Tour de l’Horloge)
- Gastronomy :
- Unusual sights : La Cour des Dames, a small inner courtyard in the centre of the village, Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste with its truncated spire.
Charroux mustard
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A small village that is labelled a Grand Site de France. In the heart of the Lot Valley, this key stopping place on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela conceals a wealth of treasures : half-timbered houses, the 11C and 12C abbey church of Sainte Foy, its 250 capitals, its contemporary stained-glass windows by Pierre Soulages and its tympanum with 124 sculpted figures depicting the Last Judgement, but also THE treasure, that of Sainte Foy, a golden statue covered in gold and precious stones.
Themes
- Abbeys and churches : Sainte Foy Abbey Church
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At the foot of the Aubrac Mountains, not far from the gorges of the Lot and Truyère, Estaing bears the name of a family of Lords one of whom became famous by saving the life of King Philippe-Auguste in Bouvines. The king then gave the village the right to display the royal fleurs-de-lys on its coat of arms. Shale stone houses with their "lauze" stone-slab roofs are nestled around a keep and castle dating back to the 12C and 15C and some of the finest town houses can still be seen.
Themes
- By the waterside : Rivers Coussane and Lot
- Castles and ramparts : The castle
- Wine : VDQS white, rosé and red wines
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High up on the Causses du Larzac plateau, La Couvertoirade has several stories to tell : the tale of the Knights Templar who built the castle in the 12C, the story of the Knights Hospitallers who, in the 15C, took over from them and enclosed the village in a ring of ramparts and finally that of the village when its economy and population was at a peak and it boasted fine 16C and 17C houses.
Themes
- Castles and ramparts : The castle and ramparts
- Panoramas : View of the whole village and the Larzac plateau from the top of the rampart walk
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In a setting not unlike certain Scottish landscapes, La Garde-Guerin looks down on the impressive Chassezac Canyon from its plateau. The village used to be a strategic site on the Régordane Way, a trade route that linked the Languedoc coast to the Massif Central ; it was attacked on several occasions but has kept its watchtower, its houses and its flagstone streets.
Themes
- By the waterside : River Chassezac
- Castles and ramparts : The ramparts and watchtower
- Panoramas : View of the village from the access area to the canyon, view of the Chassezac gorges and the Cévennes from the watchtower
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The village gets its name from the Benedictine abbey established here in the Middle Ages and which turned the Senouire valley into “la vallée de Dieu” (valley of God). The abbey is one of the jewels of Auvergne’s religious heritage what with its Romanesque cloister and the Byzantine-inspired mural adorning its refectory. The village is just like it with its creamy-stone, round-tiled winegrowers’ houses
Themes
- Abbeys and churches : The Benedictine abbey
- By the waterside : The River Senouire
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 Estivales Du Larzac _ Ot La Couvertoirade.jpg "Couvertoirade (La) Estivales Du Larzac _ Ot La Couvertoirade.jpg")
-vue-du-ci.jpg "Garde-Guérin-(La)-vue-du-ci.jpg")
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