Cap'Découvert
1,600 acres of fun! Cap'Découverte is the only site of its kind in
Europe. It makes use of a disused open-pit mine that's been converted into
a massive leisure centre near Carmaux. It features a spectacular amphitheatre
which is 1,300 meters in diameter and 230 meters deep.
Sports include water sports, dry ski slope, swimming, cycling, and mountain
sport.
www.capdecouverte.com
Albi
– the home of Toulouse-Lautrec
Albi is the county town of the Tarn. It, unusually for the area, has predominantly
brick built buildings as opposed to stone. Why not visit the St. Cécile
Cathedral – with one of France's most richly painted and ornamented
churches.
Spend time looking round the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, a museum/gallery including
the work of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as other collections. A pedestrianised
shopping area with an array of shops, cafes and restaurants, meandering streets
and mysterious passages.
There are two golf courses here, one on the edge of the river and the other
nestling in the hills.
Gaillac
Vinyards
Vines have been cultivated in the area since Roman times in around 125BC,
and by the end of the first century AD, the Gaillac vineyard was well established.
www.vins-gaillac.com/
Roquefort
The legend of Roquefort
Once upon a time, there was a young shepherd who caught sight of a beautiful
maiden. He decided to follow her, leaving his lunch of sheep's milk curd and
bread behind in a cave. When he returned, he found the bread was mouldy, and
there were blue veins running through the sheep's milk curd. Desperately hungry,
he ate it anyway, and found it to be delicious!
www.roquefort-societe.com
The Tarn
Bridge & Millau
The bridge over the Tarn Gorge, also known as The Viaduct of Millau
(the tallest bridge in the world), is one of the most remarkable constructions
of the beginning of this century. The highest point of this multi-span cable-stayed
viaduct reaches 340 meters.
Millau is at the heart of a region with a unique environment. The town is
a departure point for all types of tourist activities. It’s impossible
not to find something to suit you. Within a radius of a few dozen kilometres,
you can take part in all sorts of activities. You can enjoy nature, history,
culture, gastronomy, open air sporting activities (rafting, canoeing, paragliding,
rambling, mountain biking etc.) to your heart’s content.
www.ot-millau.fr / www.leviaducdemillau.com
The City
of Space
Toulouse is the European centre for Space related activity with 10,000 jobs
directly related to the space sector.
The Cité de l'Espace , opened in 1997, is a scientific educational
park with interactive acitivities for all the family.
www.cite-espace.com
Carcassonne
A little further afield is the medieval town of Carcassonne. With its 3km
of battlements (consisting of 52 towers and 2 rings of town walls), it is
a fascinating home to 120 inhabitants and many skilled craftsmen.
Rodez
Rodez, county town of the Aveyron, is an active and prosperous provincial
town with a charmingly renovated centre.
Built on high ground above the Aveyron River. The old town, dominated by the
massive red-sandstone Cathédrale Notre-Dame, is visible for kilometres
around. No matter from what direction you approach, you'll find yourself in
the place d'Armes. The Gothic cathedral, was started in 1277 and took three
hundred years to complete. Towering over the square is the cathedral's 87-metre
belfry, decorated with pinnacles, balustrades and statuary almost as fantastical
as that of Strasbourg cathedral. In place Foch, just south of the cathedral,
the Baroque chapel of the old lycée is worth a look for its amazing
painted ceiling.
There are plenty of traditional streets with a good variety of traditional
shops and restaurants, perfect for browsing or sitting in a café watching
the world go by.
Toulouse
Toulouse, with its beautiful historic centre, is one of the most vibrant and
metropolitan provincial cities in France. The Saint-Etienne cathedral is a
miscellany of styles and it is considered to be the most elegant building
in Toulouse. In the square outside is the oldest fountain in Toulouse, Le
Griffoul (1546).
In Toulouse, museums are free on every 1st Sunday of the month:
Abattoirs Museum Modern and contemporary art
Augustins Museum Paintings and sculptures from the early Christian era up to present times
Paul Dupuy Museum Applied arts from the Middle Ages to nowadays
Georges Labit Museum Egyptian antiquities and arts from Asia
Saint-Raymond Museum Archaeology of the antiquity and the Middle Ages.
Vieux Toulouse Museum Artistic and historical features from Toulouse's past
Bemberg Foundation Renaissance painting and the modern French school
Gallery of the Château d'Eau Photography exhibition gallery
The Natural History Museum Life sciences and Mankind
...and a selection of pictures showing the area
The bastides such as Cordes, Realmont, Castelnau de Montmiral, and Lisle
sur Tarn are wonderful places to wander around. Villages of light and shade,
some of the Most Beautiful Villages in France.
County town of the Tarn, Albi has two major monuments which are famous world-wide
: the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum and the Cathedral of Saint Cecilia.
Get a "high" on the Tarn Bridge - the tallest bridge in the world.
Enjoy a sense of well-being and relaxation beside the many unspoilt lakes
and pools.
You can taste the atmosphere of these colourful local markets
All year round, golfers can play to their hearts' content on six superb golf
courses, all of which provide marvellous panoramic views. A large number of
visitors have already been surprised and delighted by the high standard of
the Tarn's golf courses, devised by expert course designers.
A dense network of footpaths and bridle paths enables you to explore the wealth
of fascinating places on foot, on horseback or on a bike
Throughout the year is an abundance of festivals : music, theatre, dance,
historical pageants, fun exhibitions or shows for big and small alike - there's
something for everyone.…
