logo
ic_menu

Villefranche-de-Rouergue

Rue Notre Dame, Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Occitanie

Description

Villefranche-de-Rouergue is a bastide developed in the 13th century around the Collegiate Church of Notre Dame and the public square in front of it that is lined with arcades and medieval townhouses. Other attractions in town include the 14th-century Pont des Consuls where a sculpture of the archangel Saint-Michel by Casimir Ferrer now stands, the Renaissance Château de Graves, and the Baroque Chapelle des Pénitents Noirs with its wooden painted ribbed vaulted ceiling. At the edge of the town is the 15th-century Chartreuse Saint-Sauveur that unusually has two cloisters and some attractive stained-glass windows.

Access & Transport

The town is located in the eastern part of the Aveyron department, 55km west of Rodez, 35km south of Figeac and 65km north of Albi. Villefranche-de-Rouergue is on the regional train line between Brive and Toulouse (via Figeac/Capdenac).

Instructions & Recommendations

If you are interested in the Chapelle des Pénitents Noirs and the Chartreuse Saint-Sauveur, make sure to check the opening hours online beforehand. They can be found on the website of the Bastides & Gorges of Aveyron tourism office. The weekly farmers' market is held on Thursday mornings on place Notre-Dame.

Meta review

This bastide is actually quite well-known among amateurs of slow travel and in-depth regional exploration. The Chapelle des Pénitents Noirs takes the crown of the best rated attractions in town and that of the highest number of fake entries on online review portals with a very strong push to take guided visits so as to better appreciate the art - whereas those who do not, state that it takes no more than 20mins to have a look. As for the collegiate church, there are positive comments regarding the wooden choir stalls and mentions that it is possible to go up the bell tower. Finally, the Carthusian monastery of St Sauveur also gets its fair share of artificial entries spurring visitors to attend a guided tour; ignoring that, there are frequent references to the peaceful atmosphere experienced in the cloister and the 17th-century tabula used to set the daily schedule is an interesting item.

Environmental & Social

The main activities in the town have a low carbon footprint. Tourism is a welcome injection of activity and revenues in the local economy

Conclusion

Villefranche-de-Rouergue is a nice small town to include on a road trip taking parts of the Lot and Aveyron departments but probably not worth a long detour despite a handful of interesting attractions

Key positive

Attractive medieval centre of town

A couple of visit-worthy religious buildings

Key negative

Not many other attractions in the vicinity

Suitability

No restrictions

About this Rating

TYPE

Desktop

RESEARCHED IN

February 2024

PROVIDER

Koreval

Included Items
None
Timing
Duration of visit

av. transport time:0h 45m

est. visit time:2h 30m

Sunlight based

Sunrise / early morningOk

MorningOk

Lunch timeOk

AfternoonOk

Sunset / eveningOk

Night – bef. midnightNo

Night – aft. midnightNo

Pricing
Free

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. For a complete overview of all cookies used, please see MORE INFORMATION.