Writer: Helena Bergström
Visiting La Romieu in France! We were looking for a campsite with a washing machine and were surprised by a charming village with a pilgrimage route, Unesco heritage and a medieval legend about cats. What's more, the campsite turned out to be a real gem!
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La Romieu in France - a stage on the Way of St James
La Romieu has a history closely linked to the pilgrimage route The Way of St James (Santiago de Compostela). In 1602, two monks from Rome founded a monastery and a hospital here, and the emerging village became a staging post on the route.
La Romieu is located in the south of France, between the cities of Bordeaux and Toulouse.
To La Romieu - by chance
The fact that we ended up in La Romieu was more or less a coincidence. We were travelling from Bordeaux to the Gorges du Tarn with our motorhome and needed to make stops on the way. In particular, we needed to wash clothes, so we looked for a campsite with a washing machine.
Campsites Le Camp de Florence
Campsites Florence Camp, located in the centre of La Romieu, has a washing machine, so we stayed here. But the campsite turned out to offer much more than that! The campsite is fantastically green and pretty, with a large lovely swimming pool, a popular restaurant, a small shop with French delicacies and friendly English-speaking staff.
Our site was green, well maintained and in a quiet and nice location. We really enjoyed our days at this campsite. Moreover, we thought the price was good. In May we paid around 21 euro/day.
La Romieu - a charming little town
La Romieu is an incredibly charming little village of fine historic stone houses, adorned with painted shutters and clinging vegetation. The village is not large, but you'll find a small central square, a tourist office and a small number of restaurants and cafés, and a few small shops.
"The City of Cats" - a medieval cat legend
La Romieu is nicknamed the "village of cats", which comes from a medieval legend.
In the 14th century, there was a difficult period of poor harvests, which led to famine in La Romieu. The inhabitants tried to survive by eating all the animals available, and even cats got in the way. The young peasant girl Angeline loved cats and managed to save two of her charges by hiding them away.
Eventually, the weather improved and the villagers finally had good harvests again. But it wasn't just the people who enjoyed the crops, but also the rats. And now there were no cats to chase the little rodents!
Now Angeline revealed her secret to the other villagers and offered them kittens. Thanks to Angeline's cats, La Romieu was saved from another famine! In honour of the legend, the village is now full of beautiful stone cats.
Church of Saint-Pierre de La Romieu
Saint-Pierre de La Romieu is a complex consisting of a monastery, a church, two towers and the remains of an old palace.
A monastery was founded here as early as the 14th century and the buildings are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as a stop on the Way of St James to Santiago de Compostela.
To visit the church and monastery, you need to buy an entrance ticket, and you can choose whether you want an audio guide or information in text. The visit is introduced with a short film, and you can then walk around on your own.
The church is filled with historical decorations and artefacts.
You can also go up the octagonal tower, where you can reach various viewpoints.
The Gardens of Coursiana
Although La Romieu is such a small village, there is actually another attraction, in the form of the botanical garden The Gardens of Coursiana. We did not visit this garden, and if you want to do so, you have to pay the entrance fee - either separately or as a combination ticket together with the church.
More to see and do near La Romieu
All in all, we can highly recommend visiting La Romieu - a little gem indeed!
So, what is there to see and do near La Romieu? We don't have many tips in the immediate vicinity, but at 2-3 hours by car we can recommend a visit to the wine town Bordeaux, the charming little town Saint-Émilion, the cave Padirac Abyss, pilgrimage site Rocamadour and the historic site Chateau de Beynac.
Have you been to La Romieu?
Have you been to this part of France? Maybe you've even visited La Romieu, or a place nearby?
Facts about La Romieu
- Country: France
- Region: Occitan
- Arrondissement: Condom
- Department: Gers
- Location: La Romieu is located in the south of France, between the cities of Bordeaux and Toulouse.
- Residents: More than 500 people
You might also like:
Visiting Rocamadour in France - a sacred pilgrimage site
Visiting Chateau de Beynac in France - a historic gem
Things to do in Saint-Émilion, France - our top 9 tips
Visiting the Dune du Pilat in France - Europe's largest sand dune
Visiting Colmar - a picturesque dream in France
Things to do in Bordeaux - 14 tips for France's wine city
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bmlarstravellingblog says:
Let's face it, after your tour of the south of France we have added several POIs to our map and La Romieu is definitely one of them, looks like a real little gem!
01 June 2025 - 17:08
BP says:
What a cosy little village. Sometimes you have to be lucky, or if it was skill;-)
Even the legend of the cats was a bit cosy and charming.
01 June 2025 - 20:02
Marika says:
Oh how cosy! And I just love the legend with cats.
02 June 2025 - 9:37
Monnah says:
Imagine what places there are strewn across the face of the earth! I love cats and especially liked the legend, but am also fascinated by your beautiful pictures. I realise I suck at geography and need to get my hands on at least Europe again. Thanks for the inspiration and congratulations on finding this gem in the search for a washing machine!
03 June 2025 - 11:46