What to see in the Bastide Villefranche Rouergue (Southern France)

In your sightseeing trip in the south of France You will find that in many places a town or small city will be referred to as bastida.

Butwhich is a bastida?

It is a type of medieval village which developed especially in the south of France from the 13th century onwards, which with its special urban layout specific It offered security to its inhabitants and allowed the development of commercial activities.

The bastides They were fortified towns with houses closely grouped together due to the narrowness of their streets, which were arranged around a central square, and which became true strongholds that allowed defense against attacks by bandits.

Currently, 415 are cataloged in France. bastides. all in the southwest of the country, distributed in four departments.

If you want to have a good example of what a bastida, you find it in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, a town of medieval origin that was created in 1252, and now has about 12.500 inhabitants, in the department of Aveyron, riding a Midi-Pyrenees.

Located on the banks of the river that gives its name to the department, the bastida from Villefranche-de-Rouergue is arranged around the Notre Dame square, the central point of this town, where the Notre Dame Abbey, a building that began construction in 1260 and was completed at the end of the XNUMXth century.

This square is also the venue for the traditional Thursday market, which ensures that Villefranche has a great atmosphere of visitors attracted by the street stalls on that day of the week.

The best way to see the bastida from Villefranche de Rouergue is climb the bell tower of the aforementioned Note Dame Abbey, with its narrow circular staircase of 163 steps.

From the tower lookout you have a splendid views of the bastida, With the Notre Dame square spotlight. If you visit the town on a Thursday morning, from there you can see the colorful tarps that cover the market's street stalls, creating a very peculiar image.

On my visit last summer I was not able to see this image because the square was under construction, so the market stalls were distributed along the arcades of the square and along the adjoining streets.

Also from the church tower you can see some towers that protrude from the town's houses, as well as the agglomeration of buildings and the narrow alleys that show how the medieval town was configured from the 13th century onwards.

Here you have more photos of the panoramic views of the bastide of Villefranche de Rouergue from the abbey tower.