Millau is a commune in the Aveyrondepartment in the French Occitanie region in southern France. It is 70 kilometres (43 mi) from the Aveyron prefecture headquarters in Rodez. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Tarn and Dourbie. It is surrounded by the landscapes of Gorges du Tarn, Causse du Larzac and Causse Noir. It is part of the former province of Rouergue where they also communicate through a form of Occitan language: the Rouergat dialect. Its inhabitants are called Millavois and Millavoises. The territory of the municipality is part of the Regional Natural Park of Grands Causses.

Sights

• The glove museum
• The Jardin botanique des Causses, a botanical garden
• The Place du Maréchal Foch, a square with 12th century arcades, one of which carries the inscription Gara qué faras or Watch what you are doing
• Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Espinasse. This church allegedly once possessed a part of the Crown of Thorns, making it an important pilgrimage centre in the Middle Ages. The church was destroyed in 1582 but rebuilt in the 17th century. The frescoes from 1939 are by Jean Bernard, the stained-glass windows from 1984 by Claude Baillon.
• The Passage du Pozous is a 13th-century fortified gateway
• The Belfry, a 12th-century square tower topped by an octagonal 17th-century tower on the place Emma Calvé
• Millau is the main centre in France for paragliding
• Micropolis; the city of insects, is at nearby Saint-Léons
• The medieval walled Knights Templar town of La Couvertoirade is nearby
• The nearby caves for Roquefort cheese production

Historical buildings

There are 11 listed buildings are historical monuments in the town of Millau :

• The archaeological site Graufesenque, two kilometers from Millau, is a remnant of the Gallo -Roman city of Condatomagus which was a major center of ceramic production in the Gallo- Roman era.
• Notre- Dame de l’ Espinasse built in the twelfth century . It takes its name from a relic of the crown of thorns once kept in his treasure. Destroyed in the sixteenth century, it was rebuilt a century later through taking a toll on the river Tarn . Its bell tower is Toulouse style .
• Belfry of Millau is composed of two parts corresponding to two different eras. The square tower was built in the twelfth century on the site of the original castle of the Counts of Millau. He assured the safety of the fortifications in the southwest corner. At the beginning of the seventeenth century the consuls of Millau did build above the octagonal tower. The square tower was used as a prison from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century and especially during the revolutionary period. The building was burned by lightning July 29, 1811. After climbing the 210 steps, it has a 360 ° view.
• Washhouse of the Ayrolle. The roof dates from the eighteenth century.
• Old Mill and Old Bridge (on the Tarn).
• Hotel Sambucy de Sorgues also called Sambucy castle and its gardens. Built between 1672 and 1674 Jacques Duchesne, advisor to the king, especially master of waters and forests of Rouergue and receiver of the election of Millau. After his marriage it becomes the home of Mark Antony Sambucy, capitoul of Toulouse in 1745.
• Hotel Sambucy de Miers, acquired in the seventeenth century by Antoine de Sambucy
• The Halls (1899): metal construction of the Belle Epoque.
• La rue Droit: Roman road.
• The hotel Pégayrolles built in 1738, which now houses the museum. The Millau Museum has a rich collection of pottery called Samian from the Gallo-Roman as well as collections of tannery and glove on the history of the glove time.
• The Church of the Sacred Heart (the largest church in the city) dated nineteenth century, neo-Byzantine style. The church has a carillon of 21 bells.

Events

• In 2004, a fire started on the slope of the Causse Rouge because of a spark originating from a welder; some trees were destroyed in the fire.
• The speed limit on the bridge was reduced from 130 kilometres per hour (81 mph) to 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) because tourists were slowing down to take photos. Soon after the bridge opened to traffic, cars were stopping on the hard shoulder so that travelers could view the landscape and the bridge.
• A postage stamp was designed by Sarah Lazarevic to commemorate the opening of the Viaduct.
• The Chinese transport minister at the time visited the bridge on the first anniversary of its opening. The commission was impressed by the technical prowess of the bridge’s immense construction, but also by the legal and financial assembly of the Viaduct. However, according to the minister, he did not envisage building a counterpart in People’s Republic of China.
• The cabinet of the governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, who envisaged the construction of a bridge in San Francisco Bay, asked the council of the town hall of Millau about the popularity of the construction of the viaduct.
• This bridge was featured in a scene of the 2007 film Mr. Bean’s Holiday.
• The hosts of the British motoring show Top Gear featured the bridge during Series 7, when they took a Ford GT, Pagani Zonda, and Ferrari F430 Spyder on a road trip across France to see the newly completed bridge.
• Richard Hammond, one of the above hosts on Top Gear, explored the engineering aspects in the construction of the Millau Viaduct in Series 2 of Richard Hammond’s Engineering Connections.
• The bridge was featured in Series 2 of World’s Greatest Bridges.