Department profile: Aveyron

Discovering Aveyron means walking along the Saint-Jacques de Compostelle pilgrimage trails to see Aubrac and Conques, a masterpiece of Romanesque art, or listening to a concert of religious music at Sylvanès. Discovering Aveyron means trying a plate of aligot in a buron, visiting Larzac and the Templar region, or rediscovering the Gallo-Roman era at Graufesenque just outside Millau (The Millau Viaduct). It means gazing in amazement at the sites along the Route of the Lords of Rouergue, in the Lot valley, looking up from the foot of Rodez cathedral, an taking the wonders of the Gorges du Tarn. It means visiting the largest collection of Megalithic stones in France, entering a new dimension at Micropolis, the world of insects, in Saint-Léons, home of Jean Henri Fabre, and exploring the circuit of bastide towns around Villefranche-de-Rouergue. But above all, discovering Aveyron means meeting people who cultivate a unique tradition of warm hospitality.

Aveyron seems to have been created for physical exercise. For athletes and thrill-seekers, the incredibly wide variety of rock formations, air currents, lakes and rivers provide boundless opportunities for sporting excitement and adventure. There’s so much to choose from. And for quieter souls, there is also the deeper, more spiritual side of nature: each forest, each village, each footpath is a natural adventure, revealing the rich heritage of Aveyron, such as the Templar and Hospitaller fortified villages, right in the heart of the Parc Régional Naturel des Grands Causses or the calm of the in-land seas, the great lakes of Lévézou.

Come discover the Aveyron of the Saint-Jacques de Compostelle pilgrimage trails, the Aveyron of the mountains and Causses, the Rougiers or the Ségalas, the Aveyron of rivers and valleys, each with its own character, its own accents and its own recipes.

The legendary Laguiole knife and Roquefort cheese are the department's ambassadors throughout the world, epitomising the traditional Aveyronnais know-how that's been handed down through generations.