Tourist Regions Of Tarn

Albi Castres Bastides Tarn Valley 

In the space of a few kilometres, you can go from one world to another: the Tarn has a wealth of micro-regions, each one different, and all ready to share with you the colour and atmosphere of the “South West France”.

Albi

Visitors to the city can enjoy the Cathedral of Saint Cecilia, the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, the charm of the old quarters, the unforgettable vista of the Tarn flowing at the foot of the Palais de la Berbie, and the public gardens and parks. The city’s history is built into superb monuments that embody its former glory, from Romanesque art to Renaissance architecture. Whatever your taste in such matters, Albi has exactly what you want.

Castres
One of the most endearing aspects of Castres is provided by the houses lining the banks of the Agout. There are plenty of other delights to discover : doorways, half-timbered buildings, old lanes and especially the Bishops’ Palace gardens and the Goya Museum, which brings together the largest collection of Spanish painting outside the Louvre. These pieces of architecture help to create the atmosphere of the town and are a reminder of its eventful past – and let’s not forget Jean Jaures and the National Centre dedicated to him.

The Bastides Country

Beyond the river plains and the varied hill slopes where woodland and mixed farming give pride of place to vineyards, the bastides of the Tarn don their loveliest colours : pale yellow of the morning, wreathed in mist, and the flame of sunset which suffuses the limestone with Tuscan ochre and the bricks with red and mauve fire.

The Tarn Valley

In this river country, beneath clement skies and with a distinctly Mediterranean feel to the vegetation, exploring the villages and their history is an unfailing source of surprise and delight. However, the most precious gift this valley offers will always be its colours, its atmosphere, and its quality of life which combine in perfect harmony.

Ségala-Viaur

The Segala plateau, with its hedges bordering the pastures where Segala veal is raised in the traditional manner, is divided by three deeply-gouged valleys : to the north, the Viaur, once the frontier between the Rouergue and the Albigeois area, a wild treasure-house of history and legend ; to the south the Tarn, flowing quietly through the Friendship valley before describing the famous meander at Ambialet ; in the centre the Cerou, which flows past Cordes after having crossed the Carmaux mining area.

The Montagne Noire

The Montagne Noire (the Black Mountain) is both a watershed and a cultural divide : to the west lies Aquitaine, to the east, the Midi. It is border country, composed of oak and beech woods and lakes, which should be explored on foot or MBK, up hill and down dale.

Sidobre – Monts de Lacaune

Deep in the highlands on the edge of the Central Massif, the Sidobre is a place of contrasts, where rough, massive blocks of granite dominate unspoiled scenery, and where the landscape is an expression of the collective memory of its people. In the Monts de Lacaune, small firms open their doors to visitors : producers of salted and cured meats, slate and granite quarries, spinning mills, dairies and spring water bottling plants are all on show.

The Pays de Cocagne

In this hilly area, watered by the Agout and the Dadou, cultivated fields alternate with copses of oaks. The plains and fertile soils of the Lauragais give a golden glow to the hills of the Tarn. This is a smiling country, where everything is found in abundance : the bright yellow of fields of sunflowers, the warmth of brick, the chequered hues of cultivated fields, colours galore, light, the generosity of the land itself, and the friendliness of its people…This kaleidoscope of sensations awaits you in the Pays de Cocagne, the land of Pastel (a blue dyestuff obtained from woad).