The Old Town
Le Vieux Bourg
Le Vieux Bourg - D.Agnoux - CC VEM
Laval-sur-Luzège

The Old Town

Fauna et flora
Heritage site and architecture
Lakes and rivers
Viewpoint
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The charming village of Laval-sur-Luzège, one of the last witnesses to the habitat of the valley bottoms, is absolutely worth discovering.
Formerly organised around the Luzège, the village of Laval-sur-Luzège has gradually given up its place as a communal centre to a village on the edge of the plateau (Le Poteau du Gay). By abandoning its historical setting, the old town has retained an authenticity whose memory is reflected in every stone.

3 points of interest

  • Site de l'Echamel
    Site de l'Echamel - CC VEM
    Fauna

    Echamel

    Viewpoint overlooking the Echamel, unsecured cliff. This remarkable 7 ha site composed of cliffs, primary moorland and wooded slopes is owned by the Conservatoire des Espaces Naturels de Nouvelle Aquitaine. These gorges are home to many species, including several birds of prey such as the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), the Red Kite (Milvus Milvus) and the rare Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus).
  • Fontaine
    Fontaine - Mairie de Laval-sur-Luzège
    Small patrimony

    Fountain and sarcophagus

    At the entrance to the village, a water trough called the "Bac de Rouby" receives the water from the fountain. Made of a single block of granite, this very particularly shaped tank is an old sarcophagus. A little higher up, a space provided by the commune will allow you to take a short break and discover the legend of the White Lady.
  • Eglise Saint-Martin
    Eglise Saint-Martin - D.Agnoux - CC VEM
    Small patrimony

    The church and its cemetery

    Nestled in its small valley on the hillside, the village of Laval-sur-Luzège was built around its church dedicated to Saint-Martin, buried in its cemetery. Dating back to the 12th or 13th century, the building opens onto a portal composed of an ornate and sculpted archway, framed by pillars formed by columns with sculpted capitals. A crutch cross tops the two-bay wall bell tower. Inside, the barrel-vaulted nave ends beyond the choir with a flat chevet. The transept opens onto two side chapels, one of which has been decorated with a dovecote.

Description

  1. From the car park (circuit presentation panel), go up by the D978. In the bend, take the street to the right and continue on the sunken path through the undergrowth, which leads to the plateau. Continue between woods and fields on the main path. Take the road to the left (on the right, the landscape opens onto the Vassejoux gorges and the bell tower in the village of Lapleau).
  2. After a ruin, follow the track to the left (old oaks with hollow trunks at the entrance of the ancient hamlet of Pranchère, only one of which has remained standing). Continue on the track, then go upwards on the D 978 on the right.
  3. Take the track on the left (an old pond or "Serbe" on the left of the road used to be used as an irrigation reservoir), then follow the road on the left.
  4. At the crossing, fork left towards L'Echamel, leave the road on the right, continue along the dead-end lane and arrive in the hamlet.
  5. Disregard the return path on the left to continue straight ahead until the last houses and then continue on the gravel path that goes ahead and down towards the gorges. It leads to a lookout (take care: no safety barriers) which overlooks the Luzège (dry moors with heather, cliffs and wooded slopes shelter remarkable fauna like the peregrine falcon and the rare booted eagle). Come back into the hamlet.
  6. Turn right onto the path that zigzags down into the forest. Cross the stream, the Lauge, go up along the Luzège, then climb up the path lined with dry stone walls that leads to Laval (along the road, a fountain flows into a basin that is none other than an old sarcophagus). Walk past the presbytery, then the church.
  7. Continue to the left on the D978 to reach the car park again.
  • Departure : The old town, Laval-sur-Luzège
  • Arrival : The old town, Laval-sur-Luzège
  • Towns crossed : Laval-sur-Luzège

Forecast

Altimetric profile

Information desks

1 rue Joseph Vialaneix, 19300 Egletons

http://www.tourisme-egletons.comaccueil@tourisme-egletons.com05 55 93 04 34

Carrefour de l’Epinette, 19550 Lapleau

http://www.cc-ventadour.fraccueil@cc-ventadour.fr05 55 27 69 26

Access and parking

4.3 km from Le Poteau du Gay, take the D978 towards Mauriac.

Parking :

On the edge of the D978 in the old town

More information

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