Capdenac La CoquetteAn amazing city built in the 19th century

Capdenac-Gare, the city of railways

At the foot of Capdenac-Le-Haut, a superb village classified among “The Most Beautiful Villages of France”, the banks of the Lot Valley reveal to us a stunning and elegant city built in the 19th century: Capdenac-Gare. With its typical urban architecture of the industrial era and its Art Deco aesthetic, this small town in the Aveyron is by itself an exceptional synthesis of the transportation revolution. It is distinguished by the development of companies related to agribusiness and aeronautics.

Once upon a time

the station

Capdenac-Gare owes its birth to the creation of a station on the former commune of Saint-Julien-d’Empare, in 1857. Soon, it became a hub for the entire southern Massif Central, so that the small railroad hamlet was transformed into an urban center. In its early days, the station was a leading crossroads with 5 directions.

Today, this modern town, a mushroom town of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, stands out in its rural environment for its great homogeneity of construction and its architecture where the influence of the big cities can be read.

Let’s wander through the streets of this atypical city, erected in a few decades: a regular plan, wide squares, housing blocks embellished with gardens.

The must-haves

in Capdenac-Gare ?

The Art Deco train station tinged with regionalism
The former bains-douchesArt Deco with its mosaics
The halle from the late 19th century and its metal structure
The Our Lady of the Travelers church built in a neo-Gothic style with its contemporary stained glass windows by artist Marc Hénard and an atypical stained glass window depicting the train station and the railroad
The Art Deco houses and villas with pleasant gardens
The parc de Capèle with its magnificent century-old trees and rare species
The Eiffel Bridge commissioned in 1862
A replica of the Eiffel Tower with a height of 28m

Discover Capdenac-Gare

with the keys

The Keys to Capdenac-Gare discovery tour takes us on a journey of discovery of the city’s unsuspected treasures, imprinted with the legacy of the industrial revolution. Are you between 7 and 12 years old? Then follow your parents and answer the riddles of the little thumbs.

The curious black and white machine stationed next to the locomotive is a hydraulic crane. But what could it possibly be used for?

Enigma, the pebbles of the little thumb

Original tours

INSOLID VISIT

Near Capdenac, in Livinhac-Le-Bas, the Moulin de Vitrac takes us on a journey of discovery of an ancestral know-how. Located in the green valley of Cerles, this water mill, in perfect working order, is composed of two octagonal grain millstones. In the past the mill valley had 6 mills. Milling flour the old-fashioned way, that’s what you’ll discover with the owner! Contact us for visit dates.

INDUSTRIAL TOUR

On the commune of Causse et Diège, the Nutergia laboratory, specialized in the research and development of dietary supplements, opens its doors to us for a discovery of its production site through its history, its expertise and its environmental approach. A guide-lecturer takes us to discover its manufacturing methods, its eco-responsible initiatives.

RAYNAL ET ROQUELAURE

Enter the world of cooked dishes with a visit to this company.

The history of Raynal et Roquelaure is linked to the arrival of the railroad and began in 1866 at thebuffet of the station. Many travelers stopped at this restaurant, run by Théophile Raynal.

In 1876, with Ernest Roquelaure his head cook, they came up with the ingenious idea of boxing up the tasty dishes they prepared. The concept of the appertized ready meal is born!

In 1905, they open the first cannery in downtown Capdenac. The company wins awards at the universal exhibitions of 1889 and 1900. The cannery was then a symbol of modernity and food safety.

Today, the company is the leader in ready-made meals in France.