{"id":780,"date":"2024-10-16T01:38:57","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T17:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php\/2025\/03\/07\/how-to-do-a-long-weekend-in-frances-tarn-region\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T09:56:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T01:56:01","slug":"how-to-do-a-long-weekend-in-frances-tarn-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/?p=780","title":{"rendered":"How to do a long weekend in France’s Tarn region"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tom Stainer, Digital Editor at Lonely Planet, recently returned from a trip to the Tarn region of France. Here’s how to make the most of this beautiful, under-the-radar region east of Toulouse, where rolling rural landscapes are punctuated with atmospheric medieval towns.<\/p>\n

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Albi is dominated by the enormous Cath\u00e9drale Ste-C\u00e9cile, which sits above the River Tarn \u00a9 Natashilo \/ Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Where to stay in the Tarn<\/h2>\n

I based myself in Albi, a gorgeous red-brick town bisected by the River Tarn, and stayed in the Mercure Cit\u00e9 Episcopale H\u00f4tel, which occupies a prime spot on the banks of the river overlooking the enormous Cath\u00e9drale Ste-C\u00e9cile. Rooms are comfortable with lovely views, and the hotel restaurant serves fabulous regional cuisine which you can enjoy on the riverside terrace.<\/p>\n

Cath\u00e9drale Ste-C\u00e9cile, Albi’s landmark sight<\/h2>\n

Cath\u00e9drale Ste-C\u00e9cile is a truly world-class attraction and one of the largest brick buildings in the world. From the outside it looks like a huge pink Gothic castle, but the sumptuous decor inside is even better. I loved soaking up the fantastic 16th-century paintings and frescoes on display, all suffused with the cathedral’s calming blue-grey light.<\/p>\n

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Tom loving life in the Tarn region of France \u00a9 Mark Muir<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Culture fix at the Mus\u00e9e Toulouse-Lautrec<\/h2>\n

Don’t miss the Mus\u00e9e Toulouse-Lautrec, which is replete with artwork by Albi\u2019s most famous son. Over 1000 paintings, lithographs, drawings and posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec are housed here in the Palais de la Berbie, an imposing fortress built in the 13th century. My favourite pieces were the depictions of the Parisian underworld for which he was so famous. The poster collection is a standout too (Toulouse-Lautrec was a brilliant cartoonist and caricaturist).<\/p>\n

Where to eat in Albi<\/h2>\n

This neck of the woods has tons of great restaurants. I didn\u2019t have a single bad meal, but my favourite was at La Table du Sommelier on the northern side of the River Tarn. It\u2019s hard to beat sitting on the huge outdoor terrace on a warm summer\u2019s night, sampling delicious modern French fare and the restaurant\u2019s impressive array of wines.<\/p>\n

The Mappa Mundi, a piece of history<\/h2>\n

We made a trip to the Pierre-Amalric library in Albi to see the town\u2019s Unesco-listed Mappa Mundi, which dates from the 8th century and is one of the oldest surviving maps of the world. The map is incredibly delicate and can\u2019t ever be exposed to natural light, so it was wonderful to get to see its aged medieval parchment. In summer you can book to come and see the map or there is an exhibition and facsimile on display in Cath\u00e9drale Ste-C\u00e9cile.<\/p>\n

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Brightly painted tanneries lining the Agout river in Castres \u00a9 Tarn Tourist Board<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Day trip to Castres<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Be sure to visit the town of Castres, an hour’s drive away, and make a beeline for the quai des Jacobins. Here you can see bridges spanning the Ago\u00fbt river and bright painted old tanneries huddled at the water’s edge. This waterway was once a textiles thoroughfare, with these timber buildings used as workshops and cloth or leather hung out to dry in attics. While in town I also stopped in at the Mus\u00e9e Goya, a repository for Spanish art, and the fascinating Centre National et Mus\u00e9e Jean Jaur\u00e8s, which tells the story of the founder of French Socialism.<\/p>\n

Tom travelled to the Tarn with support from the Tarn Tourist Board. Lonely Planet contributors do not accept freebies in exchange for positive coverage.<\/em><\/p>\n

France – Book<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tom Stainer, Digital Edit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-france-travel-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=780"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1010,"href":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780\/revisions\/1010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gagner-des-cadeaux.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}