FRANCE A LA CARTE
CITIES
of ART -
TOULOUSE - ALBI - CASTRES
This
tour is available from April to October for groups of 4 to 6
guests only.
Dates, prices and conditions on request
BOOKING ENQUIRIES
Other
escorted tours in France:
a
Tale of Pink Cities
Carcassonne
and Catharism
Romanesque
Art
Biarritz & Basque
Country
Dordogne
Discovery
Bordeaux
Wine Tour
Carcassonne & Catalonia
French
Food and Wine
Airbus
and Foster's viaduct
Cave
Paintings in France |
Cities of Art in the
French Midi
Carcassonne - Albi - Castres - Toulouse
5 days / 4 nights
Day 1: Toulouse
Arrival at Toulouse airport. Welcome and transfer to your hotel.
Time at leisure.
Overnight in Toulouse (3* Hotel)
 _ 
Day 2: Toulouse /Carcassonne / Sorèze
Visit of the fortified citadel of Carcassonne which dominates
the old town. It's a town within a town,
a maze of narrow cobbled streets within severe ramparts of thick
walls and turreted towers, but
bustling with life and colour. Traffic-free, you will be able
to look around at your leisure. At the centre of the Citadel
lies the Chateau Comtal, a fearsome castle where the lords
of Carcassonne lived and ruled. Through the vineyards of Cabardès,
route to Revel, in the lea of the Montagne Noire (40 minutes).
Settle into your room in the 3* hotel in Sorèze and
take a look around the tiny mediaeval village before a champagne
welcome
and gourmet dinner of regional specialities.
Overnight in Sorèze
3*
hotel in Sorèze
At the heart of the village of Sorèze, in a 6-hectare
estate, the
Abbey School forms an architectural complex testifying to 12
centuries of history. This hotel is located in the south of the
Tarn within the boundaries of the Haut Languedoc
Nature Park, 5 minutes from Saint-Ferréol Lake
and 60 minutes from Toulouse, Albi and Carcassonne.
Rooms :
52 rooms set in the old cells of the Dominican Monks with
views over the Abbey School estate, the cloisters, the
majestic Cour des Rouges, or the narrow streets of the village
of Sorèze.
- En-suite bathroom and toilets - telephone - minibar
- satellite TV - modem connection - lift - car park
The Les Collets Rouges restaurant is located in the old
refectories and overlooks the majestic Cour des Rouges:
it serves quality dishes based on fresh local produce. (Closed
Tuesdays)
The "Gaillac" bar is open in season from 3pm. In summer,
meals are also served on the terrace, in the shade of two hundred
year-old plane trees.
Day 3 : Sorèze / Albi / Castres / Sorèze
Depart through the Gaillac vineyards to Albi, magnificent pink-bricked
town on the banks of the Tarn.
Admire the fortified cathedral of Ste Cécile (with its
extraordinarily graphic mural of man's descent into hell - see
below) before touring the Toulouse-Lautrec museum in the old
Bishop's Palace.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec left Albi in 1883 to live in Montmartre
in Paris. Many of the most famous of his works were painted
during this period; the portraits and scenes from café-concerts,
cabarets,
and brothels. The renowned Salon de
la Rue des Moulins and the equally famous portraits of
actors and actrices of the times include those of Jeanne Granier,
Berthe Bady, Romain Coolus, etc.
are on display at the Museum. The artist is also known
for his lithographs and the 31 cabaret posters that made
him famous during his lifetime.
• Lunch where you will in one of the many restaurants in Albi.
After lunch a thirty-minute run through the Tarn countryside brings
you to Castres - the Midi's best-kept secret. This unpretentious
weaver's town over-looking the river Agout abounds with
interesting corners and sights. Above all it houses a museum devoted to the
works of Goya among which:
Self-portrait with glasses, c. 1800, The portrait of
Francisco del Mazo, 1815-1820, The Phillipine Junta,
1815
Return to Soreze (25 km).
Dinner & Overnight in Sorèze.
Day 4: Sorèze /Revel – Lac de Saint Ferreol / Sorèze
• Guided tour of the Abbey's buildings and estate.
Visit to Revel, mediaeval bastide founded in 1342 by Philippe VI de Valois
at the foot of the Black Mountain. With its octagonal shape and geometric
design Revel is the perfect example of a Bastide and is nearly unique in France.
In
the centre of the central square, surrounded by fine town-houses and half-timbered
arcades, lies the XIVth century market hall – an impressive structure
of beams and tiles topped by a belltower.
The Saturday morning market which is held in the hall and under the surrounding
arcades is one of the finest in southern France. Since the XIXth century
joiners, carpenters, sculptors and woodworkers of all sorts have made Revel
the capital
of hand-made furniture in France. See the exhibition space « Revel
Art et Meuble»
• The lake of Saint-Ferréol:
The lake was created in the XVIIth century by Pierre Paul Riquet
as
the key element in his life's work – the Canal
du Midi. By an ingenious system of irrigation channels
Riquet insured that rainwater running off the Black
Mountain would first fill the lake at St Férréol
before being diverted into the Canal at its highest
point – the watershed
between Atlantic and Mediterranean basins. In this way
the canal, even in the warmest of summers, was provided
with enough water to ensure the continuation of shipping
activities. Today the lake still serves its original
purpose while providing a delightful site for locals
and tourists alike to enjoy its watersports,
fishing and 80 hectare park. Dinner & Overnight in Sorèze.
Day 5: Sorèze / Toulouse
Return to Toulouse after breakfast.
2 hours walking tour “Discovering Toulouse”: this
tour offers a comprehensive overview of the main sites
and monuments. During the tour, you will be able to admire the
Capitole city hall
and Saint-Sernin basilica, as well as many churches
and private mansions, and appreciate wonderful
views along the Garonne River. Transfer to airport.
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