Walking Tours in france

Tarn and Aveyron - Medieval Bastides

In the Langue d’oc dialect a Bastide is a new town, and so were the Albigensian Bastides in the thirteenth century. Here the heretic Cathars built the splendid fortifications and castles that are a major attraction of this beautiful part of France. This is a walking holidays that explores some of the best of these bastides and the picturesque countryside in between.

This tour is different from our other hotel treks in that part of the accommodation is in Chambres d’Hotes, the French equivalent of bed and breakfast. Whilst on the circular walking route each night’s stop is unique, adding immeasurably to the experience. You really can enjoy a sense of being part of the family rather than a hotel guest and if our past client feedback is anything to go by you will enjoy the warm hospitality.

The start and end point of this tour, through the departments of Tarn and Aveyron, is Cordes sur Ciel, the first and most important of the bastides founded in 1222 by Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse. It is an impressive construction; a jumble of buildings and fortifications perched on the hilltop. Cordes features along with four other settlements on our route (Puycelci, Castelnau de Montmiral and Bruniquel) in a list of the most beautiful villages in France. The route itself winds between these bastides or fortified towns that sprung up during the Wars of Religion. They are situated in spectacular settings on rocky promontories and are rich in history. Penne was inhabited by Romans and Celts and looks now much as it did in the middle ages, still dominated by the C12th castle. Monks of Aurillac Abbey founded Puycelci over a millennium ago. Every stop has a tangle of narrow medieval streets to wander and sweeping views from the rocky hilltops or ancient walls.

A network of well waymarked footpaths links the historic and often sleepy villages passing through the splendid scenery of the Tarn. It is a sparsely populated area of rolling hills full of variety: the Aveyron gorge provides more dramatic scenery, the forest of Gresigne provides welcome shade in the summer months and the vineyards of Gaillac produce some quite palatable wines. The walking is well within the capability of any reasonably active person and is ideal for first time walkers or those wanting a more gentle route with places of character along the way.

At the end of your walk an optional extra night or two can be spent in the beautiful town of Albi on the banks of the Tarn. This was home to Toulouse Lautrec and now hosts the biggest collection of his work in the former bishops’ palace. Albi also has a magnificent and most imposing red-brick cathedral.

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