Le Rouergue Occidental Property Guide

Chateaux, Bastide Towns, Abbeys, Gorges & Valleys

This area boasts many chateaux, bastide towns, abbeys, gorges and valleys.

To the south, Najac, another most beautiful village of France, is set breathtakingly atop a conical hill on a sweeping bend of the Aveyron valley. The oldest medieval half-timbered stone houses are nestled between the church and the castle.

A little further north lies the popular market town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue. Agents say, “Half of the time we show clients around we end up in Villefrance-de-Rouergue, and everybody we show round the town says that they love it”. Villefrance-de-Rouergue is a refreshingly provincial and impressively medieval town. This area has traditionally been very welcoming with the Brits and as a result many live around there.
Further north is Villeneuve-d’Aveyron which a bastide town with a main square with beautiful stone houses with gothic arches and buttresses.

20kms. north-east of Villeneuve is Peyrusse-le Roc, a medieval site with 7 monuments, a medieval garden and many stone houses in the village.

There is also Decazeville, the old open coalmining town, it is not the prettiest town but, according to a recent survey, the residents want to see improvements of the town and the surrounding countryside and to enhance the facilities for greeting and embracing newcomers to the region. The cost of improvements in the Bassin de Decazeville, to be carried out between 2007 and 2013 has been estimated at over 73 million euros. More than 2 million is being spent in aid to residents wanting to improve the external appearance of their houses. A larger leisure park on 400 hectares of land, previously exploited by the mining industry, will be created. It may be one of these up-and-coming areas.

The Spa of Cransac, dating from Roman times, has been rebuilt and now attracts clients with rheumatism from all over the world.