Albi seeing you

The skyline of Albi is dominated by its massive cathedral.

A dozen years ago, my husband and I took our first trip to France together, and since we decided to make France our home two years later, I consider that vacation to have been successful. We based ourselves in Toulouse and visited several other cities by train. The day we spent in Albi back then was one of our favorite memories, and we always intended to return. 

Albi's Sainte-Cécile Cathedral is the largest brick church in France.

Because of its vibrant colors, Sainte-Cécile Cathedral
in Albi is my favorite church.

Earlier this month, we made that happen, and our fond memories of La Cité épiscopale d'Albi certainly held up. This time, we revisit some sites that surpass our first impressions, especially the beautiful interior of Cathedral Sainte-Cécile, where we sit for a half-hour gazing at the two hectares of painted surfaces. The cathedral is France's largest brick church.

Palais de la Berbie in Albi contains the famous Toulouse-Lautrec
Museum. The artist was born in Albi in 1864.

On our previous trip to Albi we visited the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, housed in the Berbie Palace. The museum contains the world's largest collection of artwork by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, an Albi native. This time, we skip the museum and take a self-guided walking tour across the Tarn River via le Pont-Vieux. The bridge is nearly 1,000 years old and played an important part in Albi's commercial prosperity in the Middle Ages.  

A walking tour of Albi includes crossing the Tarn River
to see old Albigensian mills.

Albi's covered market hall, the Halle du Castelviel,
is a "Baltard" style pavilion built in 1903.

This bronze statue of Joan of Arc stands in Albi.

Le Parc Rochegude in Albi contains elements of French and
English gardens, as well as a garden of scents and a bird island.

The striking colombage Maison Enjalbert in Albi
was built in the 16th century.

Albi was once the capital of Gallo-Roman Albigenses and its history is steeped in religion and religious conflict. It's a beautiful city, full of red brick and colombage structures. It contains plenty of lively bars and restaurants and squares for relaxing and people-watching. For our purposes, we've chosen Albi to be our base for exploring some nearby villages in the Tarn, which is the topic of my next blog post.

We couldn't have asked for better weather than we had for our return to Albi.