Our Blog - Olargues, France

Olargues is a fortified hilltop village, clinging to a rocky outcrop with the old keep of the medieval castle transformed into a bell tower at the top. Olargues has the distinction of being placed on a bedrock forming a hill; it is almost surrounded by water from the Jaur. The village is one of the "Plus Beau Villages". We entered through the Porte Neuve, or New Gate, which was one of the main entrances to the village. The other gate was found at the Pont du Diable (you'll see this one soon).

It is very much a medieval village, as you can tell from this picture, one of the main streets running up the hillside from the Porte Neuve.

We peeked inside a doorway to see "L’escalier de la commanderie", a picturesque public staircase is under 14th century arches. The stairs go up to a museum and access to the church next door.

The Espace du Vicomte is the site of an old house which may have been the residence of the Lord of Olargues. There isn't much left, but there are still some of the mullion windows visible in the wall.

The Pont du Diable, which was the other entrance to the village, was constructed in the 12th century and is actually the 3rd bridge built. The first two, built by French engineers, were washed away by floods. This one, which was built by the Italians, has remained. Then you can see the village going up the slope of the hill, from the bridge.

Up at the top of the hill is "La Tour Clocher", or the Clock Tower. The Lords of Olargues built a hill-top castle in the 11th century along with the Church of Saint-Laurent in the 12th century. The castle and the church was basically destroyed in the 17th century, with only the bell tower remaining. It was originally the castle keep, but was transformed into the church bell tower in the 15th century. It was rather hot and we decided not to try to climb up for a closer look.