Former capital of the Rouergue , [ 3 ] the city is seat of the Diocese of Rodez and Vabres. The territory of Rodez is packed with geological diversity. The city was built on a conical isolated terrain, locally called Le Piton , and gradually spread to the surrounding slopes. It is located in a seismicity level 2 zone which is a low level. The Aveyron crosses the commune and is important for fishing. Green spaces are proposed for the Layoule [ fr ] Quarter, and the Auterne [ fr ] stream.
Rodez's climate, a supra-Mediterranean level, is a Mediterranean climate Csb , and is colder compared to other cities in the south of France. Winters are sharp and summers often very hot and sunny. During winter, Rodez has occasional snowfall due to its low altitude of metres 1, ft in contrast to other towns in the north of the department closer to the higher Aubrac plateau. In , with nearly 2, hours or days of sunshine per year, Rodez was ranked 2,th of French cities in terms of sunshine, significantly above the national average.
On average, Rodez experiences The record high temperature was On 28 January , Rodez experienced an important snow episode. A metre of powdery snow accumulated, crippling the Let Piton economy for several days. Its location on RN 88 [ fr ] , the Toulouse- Lyon axis, is essential to its economic and tourist development and plays a vital role for Rodez, as it is a connection to regional cities such as Toulouse, Albi and Castres , with which it is developing collaborations.
As of , the Aveyron department continues to improve its regional connectivity. The Rodez ring road, which surrounds the agglomeration of Grand Rodez [ fr ] is gradually being converted to a dual carriageway urban boulevard and improving Rodez as a strategic location. Future plans call for the entire ring road to be a dual carriageway as part of the plan. Three grade separated roundabouts are planned as part of the dualing urban boulevard project: Moutiers, La Gineste and Saint-Marc.
A major bypass is also proposed but without a specific deadline. In , the Rodez-Aveyron Airport expanded its terminal and introduction of new international scheduled destinations.
