More information on activities in the region
This page is intended as an overview of the activities in the Aveyron department.
The departments in France are not all that large, however, plus Réquista is close to the boundaries of other neighbouring departments and regions. So, even though the activities listed here are available in the Aveyron department, these activities may also be available in nearby departments and regions, and additional activities may also be available. This page serves to give and overview of what is available.
Activities in the department
There are plenty of things to do in the area to keep you occupied and some of the sport and leisure activities are listed below, in the following sections land-based, water-based, air-based, and other activities.
Land-based
Mountain biking and road cycling
There are many activities base around cycling in the area, including mountain biking and road cycling. The area has a great landscape for both and many interesting places can be visited by bike from the house or you could try one of the circuits or routes that can be found on the mountain biking and cyclotourism page on the Aveyron Tourism website, along with other useful information, including events.
Horse riding
If you are a fan of horse riding or want to try it for the first time, there is something for everyone in and around the Aveyron area. The horse riding page on the Aveyron Tourism website, gives useful information, including events and details of who to contact regarding learning to ride or going on organised tours.
Winter sports and other activities
Aubrac, a large volcanic plateau, is situated in the north of the department, and also spreads into the Cantal and Lozère departments. It rises from 1000 to almost 1500 m above sea level, meaning the area receives frequent snow falls and so there is a great deal that can be done in terms of winter sports.
You can go cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, walking (there are snow-shoe routes available), ice skating plus there are snow gardens and other attractions available. Visit the Aubrac portal website, or this version, translated into English by Google's automatic translator (which seemed to do better than AltaVista's Babel Fish service on these pages).
For more information on winter sports in the area, see the Aveyron Tourism website's winter activities page.
Many people also take day trips or longer visits to the Pyrenees (Pyrénées), where there are even more activities available. People visit the Pyrenees for both winter sports in the winter and walking or hiking in the summer, including guided hikes and treks.
A good source of more information is the Pyrenees National Park official website (English version), which is also available in French and Spanish. There are many other sites run by companies regarding activities in the Pyrenees area.
The Pyrenees Tourism .org and Pyrenees Guide .com websites provide are good sources of information on activities in this area of France.
Golf
There are four main golf courses in Aveyron (Golf du Grand Rodez, Golf club de Mezeyrac, Royal Aubrac and Golf du Totche - Villefranche de Rouergue). More information can be found on these courses on the golf page on the Aveyron Tourism website.
There are many other golf courses in the Midi-Pyrénées region and surrounding regions. These are accessible as day trips or the real enthusiast could arrange a tour.
For courses in the Midi-Pyrénées region, see the Golf in Midi-Pyrenees pages (an index is also available for the region).
Several golf courses are also listed on the golf page on the Guides du midi website (both are automatic translations from French to English by Google), which also has other useful tourism information.
Walking and hiking
There are a huge number of walking trails around the area of Réquista, Aveyron and beyond. A good start is to view the hiking and rambling page on the Aveyron Tourism website, which gives useful information, sources and details of maps and events in the local area.
Water-based
Boating and canoeing
Aveyron and the surrounding areas have many beautiful rivers and lakes, giving a wide range of possibilities for those who wish to go boating or canoeing.
You'll find cool, clear water to visit and plenty of beautiful spots to stop at.
Canoeing is especially popular on the river Tarn, which winds its way though the enormous and picturesque Tarn gorge.
The gorge can also be walked, but going by boat or canoe is one of the best ways to see the gorge.
More details of where to go can be found on the Aveyron Tourism website whitewater sports page.
Hire of canoes is possible for all or part of a day and some companies also do trips over more than one day (some up to 6 days). An example of this kind of canoe trip can be found on the Tarn pages of the Canoë France website (both translated into English using the Babel Fish service).
Flatwater and general water activities
Aveyron is home to many rivers and lakes that allow a multitude of water sports and other activities, one of the main locations being the Lévézou plateau, which, contains a huge set of artificial lakes with a total surface area of 1,800 hectares.
All kinds of water-based activities are possible in this well-maintained region - two lakes reserved exclusively for fishing and others are available for sailing, canoeing, jet skiing or parascending, boat tours, swimming, sunbathing and much more!
Tours of the lakes can be taken on foot, horse-back, boat or bicycle and the local communities are a great place to explore.
See the Aveyron Tourism website flatwater sports page for more information and especially for useful addresses for organising water-based activities.
Lots more information on the Lévézou plateau can be found on the Pareloup Lévézou Tourism Office website, including events, activities and places to visit (automatic translation from French to English by Google). They also provide a useful brochure in French and English, in PDF form. Caution: this file is fairly large (1.13 MB) and may take some time to download.
There are also many more activities available in, around and related relaxation and water. See the Aveyron Tourism website's leisure centres and spas and fitness pages for more information.
Fishing
Fishing is a popular activity in Aveyron, as there are such variety of places to fish - there are 7000km of Class I or II waters and 38 lakes that are open to the public.
These places also often provide excellent alternative activities, allowing other to enjoy a range of activities in and around the fishing waters, so many differing preferences for activities can be accommodated in each place, if needed.
Suitable locations near to the house include the lake at Villefranche de Panat (Tourist Information Office, more information on the area) and Pareloup (Pareloup Lévézou Tourism Office website), as well as the river Tarn, other rivers and their tributaries.
General information on fishing in Aveyron can be located on the fishing page of the Aveyron Tourism website. The page contains links to addresses you may find useful if you want to go fishing in the area.
Requista has a fishing and tackle shop where supplies and licenses can be purchased and more local information can be sought.
Another good source of information is the Fishing in Aveyron website.
The page contains a link to translate the website via Softissimo's Reverso translation software, but if you want to translate the site to English, though, you may wish to compare the output from the Reverso translation with one carried out using Babel Fish. Neither automated translation tool will give perfect results, but we found that the version translated by Babel Fish seemed more readable.
Air-based
Hang gliding and paragliding
The area around Millau is one of the most popular places in Europe for hang gliding and paragliding. Its position, in a huge basin at the intersection of the limestone plateaus of the Causses offers excellent conditions both for those learning to fly and for experienced flyers.
The views once in the air are spectacular, with 400 m cliffs over deeps gorges with water running below. You may even get to fly near the vast Millau viaduct (see the section below for links to images).
Millau has become the European capital of hang gliding and paragliding due to the excellent conditions available there and there are many paragliding schools for beginners and more advanced levels.
The Aveyron Tourism hang gliding and paragliding page has more information and useful addresses for organising these activities.
Of course if not everyone in your group wishes to take part in these activities, there is a great deal to do in the area, such as rock climbing, canoeing and kayaking, rambling, mountain biking and many more activities.
Hot air ballooning and light aircraft flying
You can be taken on flying tours, fly yourself or learn to fly in a wide range of aircraft in Aveyron and the surrounding area.
Aircraft available include hot air balloons, and any aircraft from small planes to helicopters to microlights and ultralights.
There are several bases to fly from and the region is an excellent place to learn to fly.
The Aveyron Tourism ULM, flying page has more information and useful addresses and website for airfields and clubs who can help you organise these activities.
Other activities
There are so many activities to take part in this are, it is hard to cover them all, but there are many listed on the Aveyron Tourism website, under the adventure parks, rock climbing and caving, miscellaneous pages.
If the activities mentioned above are a little frenetic for your liking, you may wish to try out some of the more cultural activities or discover some of the region's architecture, history or traditions. A variety of interesting museums, exhibitions and parks are available to visit.
There are many such activities listed on the Aveyron Tourism website, under the culture and discovery pages. Please have a good look - there is much to see, and don't forget that the site is also a useful source of information on events that you may be interested in and that Aveyron is only one department that is within easy reach of the house.
