La Vicomté de Turenne: Autoire.

Autoire deserves its “Plus Beaux Villages de France” label.

“In descending from the plateau by the precipices that edge them, one is suddenly transported from parched wastes to pleasant pastures... Above, on that stone table, are wind, cold, nakedness, poverty, moroseness, hideousness, - a void, for few villages are found aloft; below, orchard land, warmth, gaiety, abundance. The startling contrast between some of the cañons and their causses forms one of the most phenomenal beauties of beautiful France.”

Wrote Sabine Baring-Gould (an Anglican priest, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar), in his 1894 book: The deserts of Southern France: an introduction to the limestone and chalk plateaux of ancient Aquitaine. He found the causses to be ‘veritable deserts: in winter a Siberia; in summer a Sahara…’

Nestled at the bottom of the forested valley is the village of Autoire.

A year earlier (1893), compatriot Edward Harrison Barker, wrote in his book; Wanderings by southern waters: Eastern Aquitaine, after taking his ‘sheep-track up the arid steeps’:

“And yet, when I looked down into the bottom of this steep desert of stones, what soft and vernal beauty was there... just as if that strip of meadow, with its gently-gliding river, had been lifted out of an English dale and dropped into the midst of the sternest scenery of Southern France.”

Autoire can be explored through small alleyways.

Sadly the ‘epoch when everyone travels’ is over, but the modern day tourist can nowhere experience the contrast between the plateau and the valley easier than by hiking the Autoire ‘cirque’ (circus) with its 150 to 200 m high limestone cliffs. Shaped by the Autoire stream, grinding its way into the limestone plateau of the Causse de Gramat through a 30 m high waterfall (7). Beautiful and impressive, this majestic waterfall is the first highlight on a 3 km (2 hour) walk. On your way to the waterfall, stop at the Chappelle Saint-Roch (6) and have a quick look at its frescoes through the grilled window.

The 30 m high waterfall.

From the waterfall a steep climb brings you to a viewing area (8) on the edge of the cliff with great panoramic views of the valley and waterfall. The hamlet of Siran is home to a farm managing a flock angora goats. The descend passes the Château des Anglais cliff-castle (9), a medieval construction enclosing a overhang in the limestone cliff. Long the home of ‘brigands’, it has commanding views and is naturally protected on all sides, a closer inspection reveals it is basically a facade, only two meters deep at the interior.

Hiking the Autoire ‘cirque’.

Nestled at the bottom of the forested valley is the village of Autoire with its elegant manor houses flanked by turrets, mansions, castles and half-timbered houses. The Romanesque church of Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul (1) was rebuilt by the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th centuries. It was fortified towards the end of the Hundred Years War, and the bell tower was raised. Covered with a cupola it has interesting sculpted decorations.

Elegant manor houses flanked by turrets, mansions, castles and half-timbered houses.

The Fontaine aux Dauphins (2) build by ‘voluntary contributions’ takes center stage, pass l’ancien couvent (3) and the Chateau de Limargue (4) that obtained the right to build towers and machicolations after its owner was knighted by King Charles VIII. The door at the bottom of the tower is adorned with a toric arch carved in an accolade, typical of the late 15th century. The second tower, more imposing, served as a defense tower.

Map of Autoire and its hike.

The Manoir de Laroque-Delpratas (5) deserve special mention; owned by a bourgeois family since 1605 (judges, notaries, lawyers), it preserves its 17th century characteristics: L-shaped plan, stairwell, large windows and decorated skylights. Small restaurants, and shops promoting local art and gastronomy, can be explored through small alleyways. Autoire deserves its “Plus Beaux Villages de France” label. Find out more about the landscape, history, vegetation, the villages and life on the causse:

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