Bruniquel Cité Médiévale en Quercy

Our day ended in the village of Bruniquel which is perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Aveyron valley below. The builders - 500 years apart were obviously thinking of protection with their selection of location. 

View of Bruniquel from our van. 

Having a near perfect night sleep - even though the locals partied on to 2 or 3 in the morning - we took an early morning walk around the village and noticed that there was quite a bit activity given last evening. 

Sleepy settlement as seen from our early morning walk. 

We left Venerque mid-morning, called into a supermarket before tackling the traffic around Toulouse. It was relatively smooth sailing and we were soon on our way northwards to Monturban, before turning eastward again, towards the hills and Bruniquel. 

View of the hills and valley from the Chateau at Bruniquel. 

The locals have provided a fabulous aire for motorhome visitors - terraced and shaded areas that provides a spectacular view of the medieval village of Bruniquel. 

Mid afternoon we set out to walk the village, quite a climb on a warm afternoon- but it was well  worth the effort. 

Many of these old villages have much in common but each have their own individual attractive features that make them special to explore. 

We came across a delightful gallery where the artist had sculptured a huge range of birds and animals. Very clever! 

It was pointed out that some of the street names have little surprises, such as “rue Bombe cul”, meaning sliding on your bottom, for a very steep street; and, “rue trotte garces”, meaning loose women street! 

The Château of Bruniquel, founded in the 6th century, has gone through some changes over time. A makeover in the 13th century, and again, in the 15th century, has given us what we see today. We reached the Chateau by a steep walk up through the village.  

The Catholic Church (top left) was rebuilt in the 17th century from the stones of the destroyed Protestant church further along the village!

Interesting paintings, depicting the village, on display in the Chateau Gallery. 

The grounds of the Chateau are used each year to perform opera. We enjoyed seeing some of the rehearsals for this event. 

The Tour de France will be passing Bruniquel on Wednesday - interestingly the women in the Tourism Office had no idea as to what the route was around the village. Such was the enthusiasm  for Le Tour!