Figeac was founded as a Benedictine Abbey in the 9thC. By the
12thC the monks had established the abbey as a major stopover point
on the pilgrim route to Compostela... Figeac was well on the way
to becoming a rich merchant town.
The mediaeval centre has many fine houses and the town itself represents
a remarkable view of urban civil architecture from the 9thC through
to the present day.
For make no mistake, Figeac is not a museum, nor a frozen tableau
of a town of the middle ages (like, say, Carennac).
It is a thriving and bustling "county town" full of commerce and cafés,
with the River Célé running through it.
Drive though Figeac without parking and walking and you are missing
out on a good example of 'La Vie en France'.
Check out the giant replica of the Rosetta Stone in the Place
des Éscritures, created to honour the Egyptologist and
hieroglyph expert, Figeac born Jean-François Champollian.
