The bastides in Aveyron

Useful addresses

Thus began a period in the south west which lasted 150 years (1229 - 1373), and during which some 315 “bastides”, or new towns, layed-out on a regular grid system, were built.

Aveyron boasts five such bastides: :

1. Najac
2. Villefranche-de-Rouergue
3. Villeneuve-d'Aveyron
4. Sauveterre-de-Rouergue
5. La Bastide L'Évêque

From the village square at one end to the imposing château at the other, the village extends along its main street in the form of a bastide. In Najac, the bastide quarter takes its form at the point where the road widens out into a huge square.

FORTERESSE ROYALE DE NAJAC
12270 NAJAC

Tél. 05 65 29 71 65
Fax 05 65 29 76 03
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A medieval new town, Villefranche was founded in 1252 by Alphonse de Poitiers, Comte de Toulouse and brother of the King Saint-Louis. Its layout is typical of a bastide town, with regular streets intersecting at right angles and converging towards a central square bordered by arcades, the economic heart to the town. Today, it is the scene of a lively, weekly market.

CHARTREUSE SAINT SAUVEUR
Avenue Caylet
12200 VILLEFRANCHE DE ROUERGUE

Tél. 05 65 45 13 18
Fax 05 65 45 55 58
http://www.villefranche.com
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CENTRE ANCIEN - BASTIDE DE VILLEFRANCHE DE ROUERGUE
12200 VILLEFRANCHE DE ROUERGUE

Tél. 05 65 45 13 18
Fax 05 65 45 55 58
http://www.villefranche.com
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CHAPELLE DES PÉNITENTS NOIRS
Boulevard de Haute Guyenne
12200 VILLEFRANCHE DE ROUERGUE

Tél. 05 65 45 13 18
Fax 05 65 45 55 58
http://www.villefranche.com
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At Villeneuve, the bastide was grafted onto a Romanesque shelter which was part of a monastery. From such inauspicious beginnings, Villeneuve became a 'bastide comtale' and then a 'bastide royale' at the end of the 13th century.

A medieval village classed among the "plus beaux villages de France", Sauveterre-de-Rouergue is a magnificent 13th century bastide royale, built around a central square with arcades revealing superb half-timbered houses.