
Places to visit: St Martin-Laguépie
We live half way between Cordes sur Ciel and St Martin-Laguépie. As places, they couldn’t be more different. Cordes sur Ciel is a medieval hilltop bastide village (see Places to visit: Cordes sur Ciel) whereas St Martin-Laguépie is actually two villages nestled in a valley where the rivers Viaur and Aveyron meet. St Martin is on the Viaur River and in the Tarn département, Laguépie is on the Aveyron River and in the Tarn et Garonne département! The small market town has a lively market twice a week and the ruins of an old castle looking over the valley on the St Martin side. On the Laguépie side there is a train station, with a service that runs to Toulouse.
The history of these two villages is long and fascinating. There is evidence of Gallo-Roman inhabitants from the 3rd or 4th century, as well as traces of a church from 825AD. The history of the château that stands above St Martin dates back to 1175, then owned by the Lord of La Guépie, Raymond Bernard. The villages have seen much conflict through history, including being under English rule for a while!
The château, once grand as you can see in the old picture below, is now mainly in ruins, although there is still a part that is inhabited. It has also had an interesting history, passing between families, being razed to the ground and rebuilt, being sold, and finally passed to the Mairie for maintenance and preservation. Apparently stone from the château can be seen throughout the villages, having been taken for construction use when it was ransacked during the Revolution. It is an impressive building and well worth the climb to see it close up. It is also fascinating to see, tucked behind the ruins, the part that people still live in, now 3 homes I believe.
The two rivers are beautiful in all seasons. We often walk the dog along both. The Viaur boasts a ‘beach’ during the summer and safe swimming. The Aveyron offers a long and scenic walk, passing into wooded areas and where you can enjoy a spot of fishing.
There are a few restaurants and cafés offering that all important place to stop for a coffee, apéritif or to eat. When we first came here we found a new restaurant, L’a Terrasse – an amazing place offering a different menu each day depending on what was available in the market or from their market garden. Truly delicious food, with the additional quirky feature of being on a terrace with shade sails for a roof, so only open in good weather. I don’t know if this special place has survived the long lockdown during the pandemic, as information seems to say it is closed for now. Fingers crossed it reopens.
Whilst the population of these two villages has dropped, like so many rural places, it is a lovely place to visit and wander around imagining what it was like in its heyday, taking in the interesting architecture, admiring the unusual such as a structure that looks like the town public address or alarm system and houses that are built into the rocks, as well as enjoying a riverside stroll or a dip in the river in the summer months!
(Header photograph of St Martin-Laguépie courtesy of guide-tarn-aveyron.com)


4 Comments
Brigitte
You certainly live in an interesting area full of history
Ali
Thanks Brigitte. It is a fascinating area – full of history. Big Cathar area. Hope all well? Ali x
Susan Self
Love your blog, you’re making me homesick! Love the photos. Thanks Susan
Ali
Susan hi
Thank you for the comments. I am glad you are enjoying it. Did you live in St Martin Laguépie or somewhere else in France? Sorry for the delay in replying. It is always lovely to hear from readers. Have a lovely Christmas. Ali