The town of Revel is a 14th century bastide town in the Haute-Garonne department of southern France, about 20 kilometres to the north of Castelnaudary. Revel is also a stop on the pilgrim route from Arles to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle in Spain.
Exploring Revel
While the outskirts of Revel are perhaps rather uninspiring, be sure to venture into the town centre because it contains one of the most impressive medieval market halls to be found in France, home to the local Saturday market for more more than 600 years.
The central square in Revel has a good number of arcaded buildings around the edge, some of them now containing cafes.
The very substantial market hall has a large amount of impressive carpentry work and some ancient measuring containers, and is built around a stone building that now houses Revel Tourist Office. This building extends above the roof of the market hall and has a large balcony area and then a decorative round clocktower.
Bastide towns usually have these characteristics, and also a church very near the centre, so I was surprised that I couldn't at first see the church. In fact, in Revel the church is slightly outside the town centre.
Although the current Church of Notre Dame was built in the neo-Roman style towards the end of the 19th century (to replace earlier versions, including major reconstructions in 1736 and 1830, each of which increased the size of the church) it has some interesting characteristics that make a visit worthwhile.
In particular the church facade includes inset statues of Christ and the 12 apostles, and statues representing the Saints Luke (a bull); Saint Mark (a lion); and further up Saint Matthew (an angel) and Saint John (an eagle).The choice of byzantine style domes for the top of the two main towers is noteworthy if rather incongruous with the overall design of the exterior, and a third, older tower can be seen towards the rear of the church.
Inside the church the frescoes in the dome above the apse were added in 1957 and while clearly in a fairly recent style, are also interesting, and represent the saints either side of the virgin and child.
Parts of the original town ramparts can also be seen towards the edges of Revel centre.
To visit nearby
A few kilometres outside Revel the Saint-Férreol Lake is a very popular leisure destination, with lake beaches, swimming and boating activities and also several cafes in an attractive setting surrounded by trees.
Revel is well placed to explore the numerous small villages in the surrounding countryside, with our favourites in the immediate vicinity including Sorèze, Saissac, the 'copper town' of Durfort and the castle and village at La Pomarède.
There are also lots of small villages to the north-east, each of which may only have one or two individual sites of particular interest but taken as an ensemble they make for a very pleasant day or two exploring.
Your tour might include Puéchoursy, Montgey, Nogaret, Saint Julia de Gras Capou, Montégut Lauragais; Roumens and Saint Félix-Lauragais and also, time permitting, Le Falga, Roumens, Poudis, Blan and Palleville, Arfons and Saint-Amancet among others...none of these are more than about 20 kilometres from Revel.
You can find more travel ideas in the Haute-Garonne guide and the Midi-Pyrenees guide.
Photos of Revel
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Map of Revel and places nearby
Visit near Revel with France This Way reviews
Soreze
The abbey-school and numerous ancient colombage houses are among the interesting finds in the village of Soreze
Soreze guide
La Pomarede
Very tiny so don't travel for ages to get here but if you are passing the village of La Pomarede it is a lovely place for a stroll and a picnic
La Pomarede guide
Castelnaudary
Slightly away from tourist routes, Castelnaudary has a pleasant canal port and is the town where cassoulet was invented
Castelnaudary guide
Saissac
In Saissac the highlights include the views from the top of the village and the castle at the bottom of the village
Saissac guide
Montolieu
Built on the edge of a deep ravine, Montolieu is well known as a centre for historic books and book production
Montolieu guide
Castres
While not an important tourist destination, Castres has a pleasant town centre and an interesting Goya Museum to visit
Castres guide... or see ALL recommended places to visit in Haute-Garonne
Tourist classifications for Revel
Revel is classified as a recommended detour town (plus beau detour)
Address: Revel, Toulouse, Midi-Pyrenees, 31250, France || GPS coordinates: latitude 43.459, longitude 2.0047
Plan your visit to Revel, Haute-Garonne
Sightseeing & tourist attractions to visit nearby
- Jardin et parc du château de Loubens: remarkable garden (22 km)
- Jardin de l'Évêché: remarkable garden (25 km)
- Gouffre de Cabrespine: site of natural beauty (38 km)
- Jardin des Martels: remarkable garden (38 km)
- Carcassonne: heritage site (40 km)
- Parc aux Bambous: remarkable garden (40 km)
- Carcassonne City: grand site of france (40 km)
- Cité de Carcassonne: site of natural beauty (40 km)
- Rabastens église Notre-Dame-du-Bourg (monuments on French pilgrim routes): heritage site (46 km)
- Jardin Royal de Toulouse: remarkable garden (47 km)
- Limoux: recommended detour (48 km)
- Jardin japonais de Toulouse: remarkable garden (48 km)
Market days in Revel, France
Regular market(s) are held in Revel each Saturday. (Markets are held in the morning unless stated.)
The French version of this page is at Revel (Francais)