Situated on the edge of the Rouergue and bordered by the Abligeois and Quercy, Saint-Antonin is one of the oldest medieval towns to have survived the ravages of history. It is surrounded by bastides and bordered on the west by the national forest of Grésigne, open to the public, around which the does, stags and wild boars roam night and day.
Dominated by the roc d’Anglars with its majestic white cliffs towering over the valley, Saint-Antonin Noble Val is huddled in the gorge, at the confluence of the Aveyron and the Bonnette.
Rue Rives Valat
The historic market town consists of a development of old residences tangled in a totally preserved network of narrow streets, twisting, often inaccessible to cars, sometimes mysterious and shadowed. They conceal their twin and mullion windows, gothic or romanesque arches decorating an ancient entrance, and traces of ancient workshops.
In the central section, opposite the oldest bell tower in France, in Navarre, probably in Europe, the covered marketplace, an invitation for a stroll in the neighbouring streets.
The surrounding countryside is accessible by more than 200 km (160 miles) of paths "Petites randonnées" marked and maintained which follow the shadowed river or zigzag to access the different plateau of the surrounding “Causses ". A guide edited and updated regularly by a team of volunteers of the Association of Friends of Old Saint-Antonin, is available in the Tourist Office or the newsagent. The Aveyron, a fishing river, offers a contrasting view, here a tranquil river, there boiling between the rocks, further away calming again to whisper between the shadows of the trees.
The Gorges of the Aveyron can seem wild and isolated. Their overhanging rocks are amenable to climbing. During your walks you will be able to discover some of the plentiful caves (grottes) either in their natural state or developed, like la grotte du Bosc, a real marvel in the bed of subterranean watercourse.
In parallel with the medieval town a modern Saint-Antonin has developed.
In a convivial, child friendly atmosphere, far from the anonymity and stress of the big cities, one can discover in Saint-Antonin the real charm of a simple life.
