Villefranche-de-Rouergue

Villefranche-de-Rouergue

On the right bank of the Aveyron, Villefranche-de-Rouergue is the largest of the bastides of Rouergue and one of the most typical of the Occitan bastides by its orthogonal plan. In 1252 Alphonse de Poitiers decided to create ex nihilo a new town, endowed with franchises and tax exemptions, and to move the seat of his administration there; his seneschal Jean d'Arcis laid it out entirely on a chequerboard, according to the town-planning rules of ancient Rome. The same year the first stone of the collegiate church of Notre-Dame was laid, its porch tower of 58 metres dominating the square surrounded by arcades. A charter of customs in 1256, the Pont des Consuls around 1321, the Griffoul fountain in 1336, the charterhouse of Saint-Sauveur in the 15th century: the capital of the seneschalsy, then of the Haute-Guyenne from 1779 to 1790, has kept a centre of rare coherence, a Grand Site d'Occitanie.

Getting there : Town with free access; tourist office; the charterhouse and the chapel of the Black Penitents can be visited. The Thursday market on the place Notre-Dame, well known, is not documented by the Wikipedia page read.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound