Every year in October, more than 20,000 visitors come to take a bite of rustic France at the annual Mourjou Chestnut Festival.In the heart of the Lot Valley, between the Lot and the Aveyron, go and discover Mourjou (Cantal) and the chestnut that nourished people of the area for ages.
Symbol of the Chtaigneraie cantalienne (chestnut trees protected area), the chestnut tree was suffering since the 1950s from modernisation. In 1990, a group of young inhabitants from Mourjou decided to create a “Chestnut festival” to revive traditions and promote the area. It was a success from the start and now attracts more than 20.000 visitors during one week-end.
Half of the 400 inhabitants of Mourjou take part in the organisation of this festival which welcome over 80 stallholders from all over the world for food testing, conferences, technical demonstrations, exhibitions, hiking, storytelling, music and dance.
2 tons of chestnuts are grilled and 5,000 litres of cider are drunk over the weekend in a festive atmosphere.
Take the chestnut discovery trip with the visit of the chestnut museum and its traditional architecture like a “secadou” (a traditional farm in which chestnut was dried), a backer’s oven or a village shop from the 1950s, orenjoy a gastronomic experience with a 5-course meal all cooked with chestnut at the Auberge de Mourjou; delicious, especially the chestnut ice-cream!
