Visit Albi – a metropolis of historical past and tradition | EUROtoday
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Visit Albi any time of yr and uncover a metropolis whose vibrant colours dazzle in any climate. Gillian Thornton explores The Red City within the Tarn.
Wherever you journey on this planet, some views simply stick in your thoughts eternally. To discover one unforgettable panorama is a reminiscence to treasure, however to discover a succession of wow-moments in the identical city is a uncommon deal with.
Albi is the most important city of the Tarn division in south-west France and a feast for the eyes whichever method you have a look at it. I’ve by no means forgotten my first view of Albi’s monumental hilltop cathedral, largest brick cathedral on this planet. From the surface, Sainte-Cecile resembles a towering fortress, constructed within the early 13th century as a blatant present of Roman Catholic supremacy following a Papal campaign to supress the Cathar motion.
Welcomed by the ruling Counts of Toulouse and by many native folks, particularly round Albi, the Cathar doctrine strongly opposed many Catholic practices. So Albi’s new cathedral sends an unequivocal message to anybody reckless sufficient to sympathize with heretic ideology. Look at our church after which determine who’s boss…
So once I make a return to Albi this summer season, I’m humbled to seek out that the affect of this imposing exterior continues to be each bit as highly effective. And not simply the surface. Sainte-Cécile can also be the most important cathedral in Europe with a very painted inside.
Visit Albi – what to see and do
Step by means of the ornate 16th century facet porch and behind that darkish façade, the partitions, ceiling and roof arches are coated in biblical scenes painted in good rainbow shades. Created within the 16th century by Renaissance artists from Italy, they cowl earlier painted scenes of which fragments are nonetheless seen. Entry to the nave is free however anticipate a small cost to enter the Choir.
In truth in every single place you look, Albi shimmers with shade, the tones of the native clay incomes it the nickname of La Ville Rouge, a counterpart to the pink bricks of Toulouse, La Ville Rose, capital of the Occitanie area. Around one hour from Toulouse by automotive – and simply accessible by quick prepare – Albi’s inhabitants right now numbers round 50,000 and while town boasts a vigorous retail and restaurant scene, it’s the wealthy historical past that pulls most guests to this pleasant metropolis.
I begin my go to within the Cité Episcopale, strategically positioned on the highest level of the city above the Tarn river and listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. First cease for many guests is the cathedral however Albi’s bishops lived in grand type subsequent door within the Palais de la Berbie. Today this turreted, crimson brick constructing is residence to a singular museum devoted to town’s most well-known son – artist, illustrator and printmaker Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Born in Albi in 1864 right into a rich household, Henri’s mobility and way of life have been compromised by a bone situation that gave him brief legs. But Henri confirmed a expertise for portray from a younger age and I linger over his vibrant research of horses and his experiments with completely different genres of portray executed earlier than he moved to Paris and developed his signature type. Here Henri painted on a regular basis scenes of prostitutes and, throughout his final decade, his well-known promoting posters for cabarets and music halls.
Ironically, Parisian museums thought of Henri too provocative to just accept a present of his work from his mom after his loss of life in 1901, aged simply 36. His hometown, nonetheless, was delighted with the donation for his or her modest museum that has since grown into certainly one of France’s main artwork collections. And behind the Berbie Palace is one other of Albi’s knockout views, a high-level panorama over the formal planting of the Bishop’s Garden – categorised Remarkable Garden – and throughout the Tarn.
Head around the hovering cathedral tower to soak up the village ambiance and half-timbered homes of the Castelviel or Old Castle district. The chateau is lengthy gone, however Albi’s newest addition – and one thing of a customer attraction – is the brand new fashionable footbridge that runs alongside and beneath the rail bridge to supply a 3rd route throughout the Tarn.
The close by Pont Vieux highway bridge reopened in June after main restoration and is the oldest bridge in France nonetheless carrying automobiles. Look a technique for views as much as Sainte-Cécile; the opposite method in direction of the crimson brick arches of the lofty Pont du 22 Août 1944 and the previous flourmill, now transformed into places of work, properties and a pleasant resort.
From the riverside home windows of the Hotel Mercure Albi Bastides, the crimson and russet shades of the brick bridges and Cité Episcopal change with the climate and time of day. And what nicer strategy to wind down than with dinner at an alfresco desk within the resort restaurant, La Vermicellerie, named in honor of the alphabet-shaped vermicelli manufactured right here within the 19th century.
The resort and adjoining highway bridge function on Albi’s Blue Circuit, certainly one of three interconnecting strolling routes detailed on a free map from the Tourist Office. Go Blue for views of the Episcopal complicated; Gold for city homes and metropolis growth; and Gold for the Old Quarter that features not simply the Cathedral but additionally Toulouse-Lautrec’s birthplace and the gorgeous, flower-filled cloister of Saint-Salvi.
And there are different methods to discover the wealthy historical past of La Ville Rouge. Hop aboard Le Petit Train outdoors Sainte-Cécile for a 40-minute journey with commentary, or do as I did and take a personal tour with Le Tacot Cathare (letacotcathare.fr) and let your English-speaking driver Marc Fanals reveal a few of Albi’s hidden gems.
Tacot could be the French phrase for an ‘previous banger’ however certified tour information Marc has nothing however affection for Griotte, his traditional red-and-white Citroën 2CV that may drive down slim streets impassable to bigger automobiles, together with town’s narrowest thoroughfare at simply 1 meter 40 huge. Only 5.5 million of those iconic automobiles have been made between 1948 and 1990, however 2,000 beloved bangers nonetheless flow into on the roads of France. And Griotte? Marc purchased his 2CV with a crimson ‘morello cherry‘ cherry sticker already in place and the identify simply caught!
But not all the pieces in Albi is crimson. After a scrumptious ‘bistronomic’ lunch at La Forge du Vieil Albi, I got down to uncover town’s inexperienced facet on a brief cruise by gabarre or flat-bottomed boat with Albi Croisieres. Starting from a mooring on the Echapée Verte, the Green Escape path that hugs the riverbank beneath the cathedral complicated, we glide away from city between tree-lined banks, looking ahead to waterfowl, then flip again to cross beneath the brand new foot bridge and the Pont Vieux so far as the weir earlier than the second highway bridge. Longer choices embody 90-minute picnic cruises and nature cruises.
Before I go away, there’s simply time to find some extra vibrant native colours at Les Poteries d’Albi, a thriving artisanal enterprise round ten minutes’ stroll from the resort. Founded in 1891 as a brick manufacturing facility, this famend pottery has been in the identical household for seven generations, and now produces beautiful pots and vases for indoor and out of doors décor, all hand-made and enamelled in vibrant colours.
With 127 sizes and styles to select from and 54 tempting shade combos, what do I select to brighten my own residence? A tough selection however ultimately, I am going for a glowing shade of reddish-brown. The good memento from Tarn’s beautiful Ville Rouge.
Useful web sites: albi-tourisme.fr/en; tourism-tarn.com/uk
By Gillian Thornton, one of many UK’s main journey writers and an everyday author for The Good Life France Magazine and web site.
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