• Places to visit

    Places to visit: Mazamet

    This post should have appeared last week, but an important birthday took precedence. Max has now enjoyed a week long birthday celebration! On his birthday we decided to go out for the day and picked a town called Mazamet – about an hour and a half from us. We had viewed a house near this town when we were house hunting, but given that it had a tiny garden overlooking the local cemetery, it was not for us. At the time we had another appointment so couldn’t visit Mazamet, but were curious to see what it is like. The day we visited was grey but dry. On our drive through…

  • Places to visit

    Places to Visit: Rodez

    This month, after a short break, the Places to Visit series is back! We took a day off earlier this month, to escape from DIY (not that we should be doing that but sometimes you just need a break) and work and headed out to visit Rodez, a hilltop medieval city just over an hour away from us. We drove past Rodez in 2018 on our way to view a property in the Aveyron and at the time said we must visit. So, fast forward 3 ½ years and finally we were on our way. Fortune smiled on us and the day was partly sunny, a little chilly but nothing…

  • Places to visit

    Places to visit: Castelnau de Montmiral

    This month’s place to visit is Castelnau de Montmiral, another bastide town, of which there are many in this area. We found this pretty hilltop village while we were staying at the house that we went on to buy. (Try before you buy – great idea as it gave us the chance to see if we liked it and the area! Seemingly we did – both). We are really spoilt in this area for places to visit and this one did not disappoint. Castelnau de Montmiral was built as a fortified village in 1222 by Raymond VII, count of Toulouse and overlooks the Vère valley and is surrounded by the…

  • Places to visit

    Places to visit: Najac

    Last September we visited Najac in the Aveyron for a very brief ‘honeymoon’ after our wedding – actually just an afternoon – short but delightful and with some very delicious ice-creams at the end. A pandemic doesn’t really seem the right time to head off on a post wedding holiday – one day perhaps. Our visit was on a beautiful sunny day, after the summer season, so Najac was quiet, the tourists long gone. Najac is a small medieval village surrounded by forests, in the former province of Rouergue, now in the Aveyron. The castle, built in the mid-13th century by Count Alphonse de Poitiers, towers over the village, 200m…

  • Places to visit

    Places to visit: Puycelsi

    Puycelsi is one of the many bastide (fortified) villages near Cordes sur Ciel. We visited in the winter and had a delightful wander around the old cobbled streets, along the old fortified wall, popping in and out of old archways, admiring the views from the ramparts. The village is located on a hill above the River Vere on the border between the départements of the Tarn and Tarn et Garonne, next to the beautiful Forêt de Grésigne. It has long been known as the guardian of this forest. Puycelsi’s origins date back to the 10th century with the founding of a monastery by Benedictine monks. The village was sold to…

  • Places to visit

    Places to visit: Varen

    This month we are paying a quick visit to Varen, in the Tarn et Garonne departement, not far from us. We first stopped to explore this village on our way back from St Antonin Noble Val one October day in 2019, as it looked so interesting with a towering castle and large church. We wandered through streets spotting half-timbered medieval houses and down by the river the most beautiful very grand house – all shuttered up – with an immaculate garden overlooking the river Aveyron and beautiful wrought iron railings on steps up to the imposing front door. Even the chimneys are stunning! Since then we have walked the dog…

  • Places to visit

    Places to visit: St Martin-Laguépie

    We live half way between Cordes sur Ciel and St Martin-Laguépie. As places, they couldn’t be more different. Cordes sur Ciel is a medieval hilltop bastide village (see Places to visit: Cordes sur Ciel) whereas St Martin-Laguépie is actually two villages nestled in a valley where the rivers Viaur and Aveyron meet. St Martin is on the Viaur River and in the Tarn département, Laguépie is on the Aveyron River and in the Tarn et Garonne département! The small market town has a lively market twice a week and the ruins of an old castle looking over the valley on the St Martin side. On the Laguépie side there is…

  • Places to visit

    Places to visit: Saint Antonin Noble Val

    Have you ever watched the film ‘The Hundred-Foot Journey’? If not, firstly do, it is a lovely film, but it is of relevance here as it was filmed in Saint Antonin Noble Val – this month’s place to visit. Saint Antonin Noble Val is in the Tarn et Garonne département and to the north of where we live. A 30 minute drive along the Aveyron river from St Martin Laguépie, through very pretty countryside which transforms into steep sided gorges. Entering a long tunnel, you emerge on the other side to see picture perfect Saint Antonin Nobel Val nestling by the Aveyron river. This little town has a rich history…

  • Places to visit

    Places to visit: Castres

    There are so many fabulous places to visit in this area. This month I thought I would introduce you to Castres. Once the capital of the Tarn, before Albi took on that role, it is about an hour and 15 minutes’ drive from us and north of the Black Mountains. We first visited Castres in February 2020, actually on Valentine’s Day, before pandemic days and lockdowns. The weather then was amazing, so we sat outside for lunch in the main square watching the world go by, little knowing that we would soon be in a very different situation. The only other time we have been to Castres was for a…

  • Places to visit

    Places to visit: Albi

    Albi – a brief introduction Albi is a beautiful city – a world heritage site on our doorstep and another place we discovered on our first trip here in 2018, but only to drive through then as we were on our way to see another house in Mazamet. We crossed the river Tarn, which gives the département its name and runs through the city, and spotted this stunning cathedral seemingly on a hill. I took a couple of quick photos from the moving car to remind us to visit properly one day. Albi, like Toulouse, is built in the very distinctive pink stone of the area, giving the city a…