Tarn

Visit Tarn

The Tarn is a quiet and peaceful department and very much a 'transition' between the Mediterranean region to the south-east and the greener, if cooler, regions of south-west France. There is much to enjoy among the towns and villages, set in the steep forested valleys and rolling fields of the region, with highlights including the historical town of Albi and the hilltop village of Cordes-sur-Ciel.

Selected places to visit in Tarn

Tarn sights and places to visit

The Tarn region falls to the east of Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) and to the north of Carcassonne (Aude). The region is quiet and peaceful, and has several highlights for visitors.

The transition from east to west is most notable in the architecture of the Tarn which changes from the red-brick of the Toulousian region to the white stone of the Carcassonne region as you head towards the south-east.

North Tarn

To the north of the Tarn department be sure to fit in a visit to Cordes (now officially renamed as Cordes-sur-Ciel), a very popular, well-preserved medieval town.

Cordes is just one of a series of bastide towns found in the central-northern Tarn, which also includes Castelnau-de-Montmiral and Puycelsi (both classified as 'most beautiful villages'), Labastide-de-Lévis, Lisle-sur-Tarn and Rabastens - each of these villages has its own particular charm.

Penne is another pretty village in the north-west, poised above the Aveyron gorges and with the (not much left) ruins of a chateau.

Slightly east, visit the hilltop priory at Ambialet.

Central and southern Tarn

Towards the centre of the Tarn visit Gaillac, a typical red-brick town of the Tarn region, perhaps best known for the renowned vineyards that surround the town.

See also Albi - above all for its impressive cathedral and medieval centre. The attractive setting for the 'peninsula village' of Ambialet and its hilltop priory are to the east of Albi.

The nearby villages at Carmaux and Monestiès should also be on your schedule.

Passing unto southern Tarn south via the bastide town of Réalmont take a detour a little way west to Graulhet, with its historical centre and old bridge, then continue towards the southern end of the region and Castres.

The south-eastern part of the Tarn falls within the Regional Natural Park of the Haut-Languedoc. Lacaune, quiet town in this hilly region is best known for having the largest prehistoric carved menhir in Europe while the rock strewn scenery of the Sidobre features a curious landscape of balancing boulders and forests.

Lautrec in the south-west is yet another 'beautiful village' to visit - in the region famous for its pink garlic and saffron!

See a list of all Tarn communes

Page in French? See Tarn (Francais)