Tarn Activities

Worth getting out of bed for

Highlights the best Tarn has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.

Viewpoint

Hilltop Cordes-sur-Ciel is the finest of the region’s fortified bastide towns. There are sweeping views from the ramparts across the surrounding countryside.

Arts and culture

Visit the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec in Albi, home town of the absinthe-soaked artist. The museum is housed in the old archbishop’s palace next to the cathedral and contains a range of the artist’s work, including the cabaret posters that made him so famous.

Something for nothing

Sir Norman Foster’s awe-inspiring bridge over the Tarn gorge at Millau is an engineering marvel, higher than the Eiffel Tower. Crossing it feels more like flying than driving. Nearby in Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, it’s possible to visit the labyrinthine Roquefort cheese caves where the pungent cheese is left to ‘ripen’. Take a jacket; the caves never get warmer than eight degrees (www.roquefort-societe.com).

Shopping

Many local villages have excellent food markets, such as the wonderful Sunday market in the mediaeval village of St-Antonin in the Aveyron gorge. Cordes-sur-Ciel is a warren of artists’ studios and craftsmen’s workshops. Gaillac is the centre of the local wine industry, and the place to pick up a case or two.

Daytripper

The confident city of Toulouse is both a historic city of grandiose squares, leafy boulevards and sleepy barge-lined canals, and the centre of the European Space Programme, which you can explore at the sprawling Cité de l’Espace (www.cite-espace.com).

Activities

The Aveyron gorge has spectacular scenery and excellent canoeing and rafting. St-Antonin is a good starting point but some stretches are challenging, so check conditions in advance (www.variation82.eu). There’s also canoeing on the upper reaches of the Tarn. Horse riding is popular; contact Les Juliannes Riding Centre in Paulinet (www.lesjuliannes.com). Take the opportunity to indulge in wine tasting in the Gaillac area (www.vins-gaillac.com).