Conques

About this place

Conques is a medieval village in the Aveyron department of southern France, at the meeting of the Dourdou de Conques and Ouche rivers, about 31 km northwest of Rodez in a straight line. It is listed among the most beautiful villages of France, and in 2016 it became part of the commune of Conques-en-Rouergue. Its name comes from the Occitan for basin, from the Latin for shell, as it sits in a basin-shaped valley. It was a well-known stop on the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela. The village was largely passed by in the 19th century and later rescued by a small group of devoted people, so its medieval buildings survive remarkably intact, with very little built between 1800 and 1950. Stone houses with half-timbered fronts and grey schist roofs step down the hillside, linked by narrow, steep cobbled lanes. Densely wooded hills surround the village, and stretches of its old walls remain. Visitors leave their cars outside and enter on foot, as large vehicles cannot fit into the narrow lanes. They wander among the houses and squares and photograph the stacked roofs against the green valley; early morning is the quietest time.