Aurignac - The Oldest Town in France?

About 32,000 years ago, a small band of hunters made camp along the stream flowing beneath the base of a high limestone outcropping. They knapped flints, built fires, butchered game and bustled about. When they broke camp, the scattered detritus of their stay lay about in profusion.

In 1860, a famous naturalist named Edward Lartet found these remains and realized they represented a previously unknown culture. As is the tradition among archaeologists, the entire period was named after the site where it was first identified.

The Aurignacian Period was a relatively stable era. For thousands of years hunter gatherer clans lived amidst the hills and along the streams now dotted with towns and villages. Aurignac has a prehistoric museum devoted to this period and has received a multi-million euro grant to expand the exhibitions.

During medieval times, the town's population of about 1,200 moved upward onto the limestone hill dominating the area. Here, some 250 feet above the surrounding landscape, a strong castle dominated the countryside and formed the centrepiece of a wide barony. The town was a centre of resistance during the Cathar Crusade and much of the medieval centre is intact. This includes the lovely facade of the town's main church.

Visitors can still climb the ancient tower keep whose sloping roof and low walls will induce a sense of vertigo among the staunchest explorer. Descending along the old medieval walls, the sightseer can rest on benches overlooking lovely gardens and one of the oldest inhabited places on the planet.

Aurignac is a mere 10 minute drive from VillaNoue along the river on a lovely road winding through pasture lands and well wooded hills.

Definitely worth a visit!