The Apartment
A medieval street runs from Najac’s main square along a ridge to the castle. About half way to the castle is the apartment, the top two floors of the former guardhouse for the castle, with the unique architectural feature of a hanging bread oven (le four à pain suspendu).

A steep staircase leads from the street door to the completely open plan first floor with over 50m² of comfortable space. There is a log-burning stove and additional electric heating, an old tile floor with rugs, armchairs, an antique daybed, and occasional tables in the living area, a CD/tape music player with a selection of music, a TV with the free English satellite channels (also for watching videos and DVDs), with a selection of film videos and DVDs, a small library of paperback novels and tourist literature with maps.

The corner kitchen sits behind a high breakfast bar where all the necessary kitchen equipment is shelved. There is a gas/electric cooker, a fridge and a microwave. The ancient bread oven serves as a cool wine store.

In the dining area there is a pine dining table with four chairs. A balustrade allows the door to be opened in summer (to let the breeze cool the room).

The bedroom (with one King size double bed) is open on one side down to the living area below, and has sliding glass doors on the other side leading to the south facing roof garden.

The roof garden (20m²) is not overlooked, perched high above the valley below, and is a great place to rest or dine in private. There are a table and chairs, deck chairs and a parasol.

The sliding glass doors to the bedroom give you the feeling of sleeping ‘under the stars’ but if for sleeping you prefer a blackout there are light-proof rolling shutters. There are a chest of drawers, a dressing table and bedside tables and lights.

The bathroom, which has a comfortable bath, is next to the bedroom. All linen and towels are provided. There is a washing machine, iron and ironing board.

Baby equipment available. The apartment is OK for baby, but not for a toddler.

The Area
Najac has been popular with French holidaymakers for many years and is also well-placed for the growing number of English househunters looking for old farmhouses to renovate or smaller holiday homes. The village, however, rarely seems crowded and is peaceful at night.

There are many different activities available for visitors, such as sight-seeing, walking, cycling, horse-riding, swimming, fishing and canoeing and information is available on all of these (before or during your visit). You could, of course, simply lounge in the cafes and bars. In the village you will find three restaurants, a creperie, a pizza house, two bars, a boulangerie, a grocery, a papershop, a bookshop, and a few tourist shops (in the summer).

The village is in the north-east corner of the Aveyron close to the borders with Tarn and Tarn et Garonne, and a little further away, the Lot. Najac itself has a rich history. The castle, sometimes called La Forteresse Royale, was built in 1253 on the site of an older fort, and is considered a masterpiece of 13thC military architecture. It was never taken in battle and is only ’ruined’ because after the French Revolution the locals were able to take the stones from its walls for a few francs per bag. The practice was stopped after a few fatalities and the castle shrank no further, keeping its jagged profile.

Najac’s history encompasses ’la première occupation anglaise’ (in the Middle Ages). Other highlights were the campaign against the heretic Cathars (the Albigensian Crusade), the Hundred Years’ War, the imprisonment in the castle of the Templars, the Wars of Religion, La Révolte des Croquants (Peasants’ Revolt) and the Plague.

If you want to explore a little further afield, the picturesque medieval town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue with its bustling Thursday market is about 25 minutes away by car. Also nearby is the hilltop town of Cordes-sur-Ciel, Sauveterre-de-Rouergue, St Antonin-Noble-Val (where Charlotte Gray was filmed), Albi (with its remarkable cathedral and Toulouse-Lautrec museum), Cahors and half a dozen other plus beaux villages de France.

In the neighbourhood are many other chateaux, abbeys, archaeological sites, gorges, hidden wooded valleys and vineyards.