Live a playful and mysterious experience in front of a shivering rock in the Sidobre or in the Lacaune Mountains. Visit Castres, the small Venise, by sailing on the Agout River while following its colored houses of craftsmen. Appreciate the flavours of an authentic soil around a tray of cooked meats while tasting a wine of Gaillac. Be wondered at the bottom of the cathedral Sainte Cécile in Albi or in the picturesque narrow streets of the medieval village of Cordes-sur-Ciel.
Compose your program and go to the discovery of the Tarn!
The Sidobre is a granite massif, made up of natural sites and rocks sculptured by time and erosion. Unique in Europe, this landscape stretches over a hundred square kilometers between Brassac and Castres. Unusual gigantic stony balls dare to flout gravity and tell their mysterious legends throughout a stroll by the heart of the forest.
Must-see : Peyro Clabado, Roc de l’Oie, Saut de la Truite, …
Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Episcopal City of Albi reflects the power and the culmination of a medieval architectural and urban ensemble built after the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar heretics. In a unique southern French Gothic style, the fortified Sainte Cecile Cathedral, the largest brick-built building of the world, dominates the city. The omnipresent brick of Albi colors the city with pink, orange or red nuances and gives Albi a unique atmosphere.
Must-see : the Sainte Cecile Cathedral, Palais de la Berbie, Saint Salvi Cloister and its church
Four of the Most Beautiful Villages of France, rich of heritage and history have taken up residence by the heart of the Tarn. These cities and villages managed to preserve the authenticity and the beauty of remarkable sites and share the same passion and ambition: make the exceptional quality of their heritage known and recognized.
Must-see : Castelnau-de-Montmiral, Puycelsi, Lautrec, Monestiés
The Tarn is full of artistic and cultural resources thanks to its men and history that can be discovered through its major world-class museums. This magnificent heritage allows young and old arousing their curiosity, stimulating their creativity and opening up new horizons.
Must-see : Toulouse-Lautrec Museum (Albi), Goya Museum (Castres), House of Wood and Toy (Hautpoul)…
The Tarn gastronomy is authentic, tasty, spicy, generous, colourful, audacious… It can alternately be gastronome, familial, complex or delightfully simple. The gastronomic reputation of the Tarn is overcoming the boundaries of its territory by associating the originality and the quality of the soil products without ever losing the local identity, traditions and know-how.
Must-see : Lacaune cook meats, Casse Museau of Brassac, farmers’ markets…
Home town of Jean Jaurès, Castres is one of the high places of the Tarn. Its quays and its colored houses all along the Agout River give the characteristic atmosphere of the Spanish culture that can be found in the works of Goya and Velazquez who took up residence there. The other emblem of the city is its rugby team, the Castres Olympique, who regularly arouses the passions of the sports enthusiasts of the south west.
Must-see : boat ride on the Agout river, colored houses, the Jean Jaures place...
Perched on its rocky spur, skimming the clouds, Cordes sur Ciel is a medieval treasure full of legends. Its narrow cobbled streets, its halls, its ramparts and the sculptured facades of the old houses of the 13th century rich traders are the magnificence of gothic architecture. Cordes sur Ciel has been elected “Favourite Village of the French” in 2014.
Must-see : Workshops and galleries of the craftsmen, the House of the Grand Veneur or the Grand Ecuyer facades, the Renaissance Fair of the Big Falconer…
City of pleasures and discoveries, located in a loop of the Tarn River, Gaillac gave its name to its surrounding vineyard. The Wines of Gaillac have got quite a reputation and the visual and gustatory discoveries are varied. The native and traditional vines of the Gaillac vineyard are enriched by a complementary grape variety to produce a multifaceted wine: Dry White, Pearl, Soft White, Methode Ancestrale, Rosé, Red and Nouveau.
Must-see : the 7 wines of Gaillac, the House of Wines, visit the properties, cellars and wine storehouses…
An invitation to travel that awakes your five senses and allows discovering fascinating atmospheres to delight young and old. Five gardens of the Tarn got the label “remarkable gardens”, emphasizing exceptional green spaces thanks to botanical species, built and standing compositions and the management and the preservation of the environment.
Must-see : the Bishop Garden (Castres), the Berbie Garden and the Rochegude Park (Albi), Garden of the Martels (Giroussens), Garden of the Paradis (Cordes-sur-Ciel)
The Occitan culture has forged, since the 10th century, the history and the society of the Tarn. Literary language of the whole Europe during the 12th century, the Occitan, or Langue d’Oc, is the most spoken regional language of France. The Tarn is filled with treasures whose richness is intimately linked to the Occitan history and culture. So “benvenguts e bon viatge dins lo Tarn!”
Must-see : Traditional music and instruments, Occitan dances, Langue d’Oc…
Brassac and surroundings