Rodez Walking tour 1h and 17 audio comments

Behind these walls lies more than fifteen centuries of religious history. You are in front of the old Bishop’s Palace of Rodez. The diocese was founded in the 5th century with Saint Amans, the first bishop, on the lands of the ancient Gallo-Roman city of Rutenes.

In front of you stands one of the largest Gothic monuments in the south of France: Notre-Dame de Rodez Cathedral. Built entirely of pink sandstone, it has dominated the city for more than seven centuries. Its fortified silhouette, once integrated into the ramparts, reminds us that it served as a place of worship as well as a refuge.

You are here on Place de la Cité, in the heart of Old Rodez. Since the Middle Ages, this space adjacent to the cathedral has always been a center of religious power. Completely renovated between 2018 and 2020, the square now offers a vast granite carpet, discreet lighting and integrated benches, creating a modern meeting place within the Episcopal Quarter.

Galerie Sainte-Catherine is a place where history and contemporary art meet. The building you see was once only part of the great Dominican convent, founded at the end of the 13th century on the ruins of the Roman forum in Rodez. Only the north wing, which was used as a refectory for the monks, remains of this huge complex.

This is Place du Bourg, one of the historic hearts of Rodez. In the Middle Ages, this square was the domain of the Counts of Rodez, in opposition to the neighboring city controlled by the bishops. Here trade beat: fairs, markets and shops were the wealth of the Bourg, and beautiful bourgeois houses are still witnesses.

Here you are in the Place Raynaldy, in the heart of the old center of Rodez. In front of you stands the Fenaille Museum, housed in the Inn de Jouéry, a remarkable private Inn mixing medieval and Renaissance architecture.

While you’re quietly crossing Robert Taussat Alley, this is the perfect time to make a little room for gastronomy. Rodez is a city that can be enjoyed as much as it can be visited. Here, the cuisine is a real pride, inherited from the terroir of Aveyron and its centuries-old traditions.

On your left stands the Royal Chapel of Rodez, one of the most beautiful remains of the prestigious Jesuit College. Founded in 1562 by Cardinal Georges d’Armagnac, this institution was very successful: 800 pupils were already there the following year!

This is the monument to the dead of Rodez, at the entrance to the Foirail garden. Created in 1923 by the Aveyron sculptor Denys Puech, this bronze statue represents Victory, erected in tribute to the Ruthenian soldiers who fell during the First World War.

You have here a building that does not go unnoticed. The Museum of Fine Arts was born in 1910 from the will of its founder, the Ruthenian sculptor Denys Puech, who dreamed of offering his hometown a real sanctuary dedicated to Aveyron art.

Next to the Royal Chapel is the Foch Gallery. This 17th-century building was part of the same complex, but it had another destiny. Long integrated into the buildings of the Jesuit College, then reused with the nearby Foch High School, it ended up threatened with demolition in the 20th century.

In the heart of the Foirail garden, let yourself be seduced by the Rodez bandstand. Its elegant and light cast-iron octagonal silhouette dates from 1894. It was designed by the architect Besse and made by the founder Barthe de Rodez, whose signature still appears at the bottom of a column. At the time, it housed the military orchestras of the nearby 122nd Infantry Regiment.

Here, take a moment to look at this large stone sculpture, more than two meters high. Entitled The Abduction, it was created in 1937 by the sculptor André Deluol. Originally from Valencia and trained in Paris, Deluol was one of the great advocates of direct cutting, a technique consisting in carving stone without first having to go through a model.

Welcome to the Foirail Garden, one of the largest green spaces in Rodez. Its name recalls its original function: as early as the 17th century, cattle fairs and markets were organized in the heart of a vast field planted with abalone. Until the beginning of the 20th century, this place was an essential economic center for the city and for the whole region.

As you walk along Planard Street, let us tell you the story of Rodez. Not for nothing is it nicknamed the Old Historic City. From ancient times, the city was the center of the Rutenes, a Gaulish people. The Romans then established Segodunum, a prosperous city connected by trade routes, some vestiges of which still survive.

In front of you stands one of Rodez’s most emblematic cultural sites: the Soulages Museum. Inaugurated in 2014, it is entirely dedicated to Pierre Soulages, a local child who has become a major figure in contemporary art.

It doesn’t look like that, but the door on your left is the entrance to the chapel of the Franciscan sisters. Nestled in the Lucadou district, it is officially dedicated to Sainte-Thérèse de l’Enfant Jesus. It was built between 1927 and 1933 on the plans of the architect André Boyer, who gave it a sober but elegant neo-Gothic style.