Places to visit

Places to visit: Cordes sur Ciel

A new series – snapshots of some of the gorgeous places nearby. On the third Wednesday of each month I will feature a town, city or village in our area. There are so many wonderful places to visit not far from us – this, like so many areas, is a stunning part of France. We are quite spoilt for choice. It has to be said that over the last year, we have not really been out and about that much, so we still have lots of places to explore.

The first place I want to introduce you to is Cordes sur Ciel, our local town for shops and the market. Cordes sur Ciel literally means strings in the sky, but the origin of the name is slightly different. Originally just called Cordes, which is thought to have come from a word meaning rocky heights, it was renamed Cordes sur Ciel in 1993 in recognition of the fact it is often above the clouds.

When we first came to South West France to look at houses to buy, we stayed in Cordes having discovered it quite by accident online. There were magical pictures of the top of the bastide village above the cloud line. We couldn’t resist and we were not disappointed by our first view of this pretty place, even though it was a very grey day. Quite breathtaking!

We treated ourselves to a lovely B&B, Maison Bakéa, quite high up in the village and on the last morning were thrilled to see we were above the clouds. We were sold on the area at that moment I think, although we had already seen what was to become our house the day before, and liked it.

Cordes sur Ciel is a medieval bastide village – or hilltop fortified village and one of the ‘Grands Sites Occitanie’. You reach the top on foot by following the winding cobbled streets – a steep climb but worth it for the architecture, the views and the interesting artisan shops along the way and plenty of places to sit for a coffee or a glass of local Gaillac wine. It is also home to a number of art galleries, our favourite is Galerie d’Art La Barbacane, which opened around the time we moved here. There are quite a few restaurants to choose from, at the top and the bottom but more on places to eat and shop in a later post.

The history of Cordes spans 800 years. It was built between 1222 and 1229 with the aim of offering shelter to the scattered populations of the area. In the 14th century the Market Hall was built and it became a thriving trading place. This resulted in the construction of some amazing houses for wealthy traders, many of which remain today.

It is now very popular with tourists and a great centre for creative artisans. A beautiful, interesting place to visit, lots of alleyways and hidden corners and great exercise walking up to the top, and in the summer months so many flowers everywhere!

5 Comments

  • Rebekah Bernstein

    I would love to climb those cobbled streets (and enjoy some wine at the top!) – it looks like such a beautiful town. I am longing to escape Twyford and experience new surroundings

    • Ali

      One of these days we will have a glass of rosé up there! It has been such a long time for everyone but we will just have to be patient!

  • Teresa

    We are really looking forward to coming back Alison and spending a bit more time whenever that is – not too far away I hope xx

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