Rich in its heritage, its history and its landscape, the Valon castle and its village offer a breathtakingly charming ensemble. The castle, perched high on its rocky outcrop, proudly dominates the most savage of the Truyère gorges. A sumptuous 360 degree view awaits you. Each season is a different picture, with changing colors and atmosphere. Discover this feudal colossus for a historical adventure out of time. Come and stroll for a while in the only old street of the village, mixing volcanic stones, slate roofs and valerian. You can even enjoy a gourmet break to prolong this moment.

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12600 Lacroix Barrez
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A great history lesson

André Meravilles
Valon Castle Lower Court

The castle of Avalon is mentioned for the first time in 1150. Since then, the castle defies, from the top of its promontory, time and people. From the Hundred Years War to the Revolution, he knew cross history and centuries, serving in turn, as a residence and shelter, as a defense or even as a stone quarry. He symbolized power of its multiple owners. Today, it is the imprint of an exceptional heritage of carladez and Aubrac plateau and a vanished common history. It has not passed through the centuries without sequels, abandoned since the Revolution, it served as quarry for the construction of the village. Open your eyes, during your stroll in the village you will be able to observe the magnificent freestones of the castle of Valon around the doors and windows of the houses.

Did you know?

The Château de Valon, formerly castel d'Avalon then de Vallon, takes its name from "d'Aballo" which means "apple", "apple orchard". Not so surprising, it is one of the rare places, very warm in the Valley, where the cultivation of precious vines and fruit trees has been possible. You will still discover some today on the terraces or coultades of the village.

Its imposing keep remains and the renovations made by the Community of Communes since the 2000s have given it a proud look. Go through the door, you enter a medieval universe where a magical place is revealed:

  • Contemplate the illuminations of the chapel.
  • Take advantage of the calm of the high court for a moment of pause.
  • Discover the warm room on the ground floor and its small clay kitchens.
  • Imagine yourself in the defense corridor, watching the arrival of enemy troops in the distance.
  • Experience the historical and sporting adventure of climbing the dungeon by an astonishing staircase.
  • Enter the lord's bedroom and discover his incredible four-poster bed.
  • Finally the reward, at the very top of the dungeon, a vertiginous breathtaking panorama between sky and earth.

The Château de Valon was only taken during the Hundred Years War by a certain Aimérigot Marquès, a famous Limousin captain of a troop of mercenaries who seized the building by stealth. This band of demobilized soldiers, also called truckers, held the country to ransom from the castles they had seized. This episode is reported to us in the Chronicles of Froissart (1337 – 1410).

A magic castle

The Château de Valon becomes yours for a visit, come and live a unique experience.

  • Free visits: for strollers, the free visit is made for you. Take your time to explore the building and its fully furnished rooms. Follow the interpretation panels, they will guide you to discover the history of the place and its secrets carefully guarded by the old stones of the castle. Follow the adventures of Jacques and Lucie, they will tell you about daily life in the Middle Ages.
  • Guided tours : for history buffs, live the adventure with our passionate guide. He will tell you about the avatars of the castle during the Hundred Years War, as well as the more recent history of the village and the region. He will not fail to share with you his many anecdotes.
  • Storytelling tours : come and take part in a storytelling and costumed visit to the bowels of the castle. As princesses, witches and knights, follow the adventures of Little King Titus as a family, in a world where the real and the imaginary intersect.

Tour prices

Admission fees Min. Max.
Individual adult free visit – Free visit > 12 years old
5 € -
Free visit for individual children – Free visit for children from 8 to 12 years old
2 € -
Individual adult self-guided tour – Preferential rate (disability cards, students, etc.)
4 € -
Individual adult – Adult Season Pass Year (excluding entertainment)
20 € -
Individual adult guided tour – Guided tour > 12 years old
6 € -
Individual child guided tour – Child guided tour from 8 to 12 years old
3 € -
Individual adult guided tour – Preferential rate (handicap cards, students, etc.)
5 € -
Self-guided adult group visit
4 € -
Adult group guided tour
5 € -

In the gallery, find mores princesses, witches and knights without forgetting the essential accessories swords, shields and horses on wheels. Just for a photo or for the complete visit, take a trip to the Middle Ages. Keep an eye out during your visit, small fairy creatures populate the castle, miniatures straight out of the imagination of Little King Titus. Relax around the wooden games at your disposal: ring toss, marble game, goose game, for a family moment. Follow the entertainment schedule of the castle, permanent thematic visits and one-off shows are offered to you.

A village with admirable charm

Pierre Soissons
Church of Valon

Contemplate it exceptional built heritage of the village for a stroll along the only main street: its row of slate roofs at street level, the Saint-Blaise church and its typical Carladez comb bell tower, the old cereal threshing floor and its large slab of shale. Walk the streets lined with small stone walls dried and valerian to the old bread oven still used today for cook the village fouaces. Stop for a moment in front of the sécadou, a vestige of a not-so-distant era when each inhabitant dried chestnuts from the chestnut forests on the slope.

The landscape of the village offers you an unobstructed view of the Truyère gorges, the Montézic hydroelectric plant, nestled at the bottom of the valley and the waterfall of Dog Jump which does not bear this name by chance with its pretty rock in the shape of a dog's head.

To take full advantage of nature and discover the two slopes of the village of Valon, go hike along forests and coultades, on paths lined with dry stone walls or on a portion of the Camin d'Olt, emblematic path of North Aveyron. There is something for all levels and for all durations.

In the village, pretty tables of schist and wood are at your disposal for incredible picnic spots or a relaxing break. For a regional picnic, decorate your basket with local produce simple and good, farm specialties and traditional recipes, by going to the shop Gourmet Valon, in the old school, on the village square and leave with a little piece of Valon, its heritage, its gastronomy, its history.

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