I am moving into my Albi apartment soon. Son and girlfriend will stay with me for one week just before Xmas. Other than the obvious (Cathedrale St. Cécile and Toulouse Lautrec Museum, St. Salvi Cloister, the hilltop town of Cordes) what do you recommend for in town or out of town day trip itineraries? We will be driving in a car so no problem. Any beautiful nature walks? Vistas? Special restaurants? Artist studios? Wine/cheese caves? Cool events? Music? I am excited to explore.
Posted by
Washington DC
28096 posts
Toulouse is lovely, but it's easy to visit by train, so it might not be your top priority during the period when you have a car. I'd focus on the places for which having the car will be a benefit.
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
I'd go along with most of the advice, except for this:
I'd skip the Gaillacs near Albi
15-20 years ago (when I stayed in the area), I would have agreed. There was a lot of mediocre wine. But things have changed, and there are many good Gaillac producers. Not as good as nearby Cahors, but if you enjoy wine, it would be worth visiting some Gaillac producers.
As to the Roquefort caves, they're pretty interesting, but I consider the cheese subpar. They've done a good job of marketing, and also keeping competition down by strict geographic restrictions on where the cheese must be aged.
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
Andrew, I wish I had known about that Roquefort producer when we were there. Frankly, I didn't know there were any artisan Roquefort producers. The ones we went to were interesting to visit, but the cheeses were all industrial. I preferred the nearby Bleu de Causse to those.
As to Gaillac, Fer Servadou is also widely grown in other parts of the Aveyron, especially in Marcillac and Entraygues, and also in some other parts of the southwest. Like many French grapes, it has many names, depending on where it's grown. It is indeed Braucol in Gaillac, Mansois in Marcillac, and Fer Servadou elsewhere.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12314 posts
I like history. My favorites in the area:
To the north Cordes sur Ciel (wasn't too crowded in June but I guess can be sometimes) and Najac. Cordes may be the most perfect medieval town anywhere. Najac has a nice town and a nice medieval chateau. I was really pleased with the place.
Further north, my favorites are Conques - a great town overlooking the Dourdou river with a famous Romanesque church. It's similar to Rocamadour but nicer in every way. Other favorites in the Lot river area are Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and Pech Merle caves.
To the south my favorites were Carcassonne, Narbonne, and Chateau Foix. I didn't go to Carcassonne during the day but enjoyed walking around after sunset.
Still further north, in the Dordogne area, I really liked Sarlat-la-Caneda, Le Roque Gageac and Domme, as well as two castles, Beynac and Castelnaud. Domme is on a relatively flat hilltop. From the edge of town, the view is incredible.
For wine? In the summer my favorite rose is from the Languedoc-Rousillon region.