Tarn Overview
France
- Countryside
- Old towns, older hills
- Country life
- Tasting and touring
Among the deepest-green depths of rural France, life is as unhurried as a game of boules in the village square, and stress is an alien concept to all except the local geese.
For centuries the Tarn's rolling hills and fortified mediaeval towns have represented the stoutly defended heartland of Gallic culture, where the French first discovered their passion for wine, and wherethey continue to nurture their genius for foie gras and potent cheeses. As you drift down the plunging Tarn and Aveyron gorges, carved over time by the rivers that flow graciously through the region, you might ask yourself if the rocks change faster than local ways.
Typically Tarn
The mediaeval Cathar religious sect built over 40 heavily fortified villages, often on hilltops, known as bastide towns. Cordes-sur-Ciel, Najac, Penne, Castelnau-de-Montmirail and Bruniquel are typical, with winding cobbled streets, ruined castles and massive ramparts.
Local knowledge
- Taxis
- There are plenty of taxi ranks in the towns but cabs are hard to come by out in the countryside – book ahead.
- Tipping culture
- By law, service charges are added to all restaurant bills, but it’s nice to leave a few euros.
- Siesta and Fiesta
- Businesses are generally open between 9h–13h, and 15h–19h Monday to Saturday. Banks close at 16h30.
- Packing tips
- A fishing rod and an encyclopaedia of wine.
- Recommended reads
- Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry; Chocolat by Joanne Harris; Labyrinth by Kate Mosse.
- Cuisine
- Regional, or terroir, cooking, featuring local produce: lait de brebis (sheep’s-milk), Rocamadour and Roquefort cheeses, plums from Agen, wind-dried ham from Lacaune. Duck dishes and foie gras are particularly good. The region is also famous for cassoulet, a casserole of white beans, herbs, meat and vegetables. Gaillac is France’s oldest wine-making region and a treasure trove for connoisseurs.
- Currency
- Euro.
- Dialling codes
- Country code for France: 33. Toulouse, Albi 05.
- Do go/don't go
- The climate of the region is essentially Mediterranean, with warm spring and autumn months and hot summers. In May, the flowers bloom. The region can get a dusting of snow in the winter.
