Albi and its history

Parking is available at the cathedral car park on Boulevard Général Sibille (387 free spaces, 115 paid spaces, 9 free motorhome spaces).

(S/E) From the car park, walk up towards the cathedral, which is clearly visible. Walk past the building on your right via Place Sainte-Cécile, then turn left to reach the Tourist Office on the corner of Rue de la Temporalité. Continue straight on across Place de l’Archevêché until you reach the end of the building.

Turn right, crossing at the pedestrian crossing to head into Rue d’Engueysse. Walk down this street to the end and turn left into Rue de la Grande Côte. Cross Quai Choiseul at the pedestrian crossing to find yourself overlooking the River Tarn.

(1) Head right for 10 metres and turn left to cross the Tarn via the Pont Vieux (stunning views on both sides). At the end of the bridge, turn right into Rue Porta. Pass two streets on your left, then turn right into Rue de la Visitation, which joins Boulevard de Strasbourg.

Turn right and cross the Tarn again via the Pont du 22 Août 1944 (marked as Pont Neuf on some maps). At the end of the bridge, pass the Esplanade des Partisans on your right and take the next street on the right (Rue Émile Grand). Continue along this street until you reach the Marché Couvert (now a supermarket).

(2) Look out for the entrance to the underground car park on the right-hand side of the building and turn right up the stairs leading to Place Henri de Gorsse. At No. 30 is the Hôtel de Gorsse. Continue along Impasse du Boutge (not marked on the map) until you reach Rue de la Souque.

Turn left and head towards Place Saint-Julien, opposite a second entrance to the Marché Couvert. Walk alongside the market on your right along Rue Saint-Julien and head towards the third entrance on your left.
Cross Rue des Foissants and continue straight ahead into Rue des Catherinettes (not shown on the map).

At the end, turn right into Rue Sainte-Claire, then left into Rue Mariès.

(3) At the fork in the road in front of the Tarn Prefecture, turn right into Rue Timbal and note the Hôtel Reynès at No. 14. Turn round and turn left into Rue des Pénitents until you reach the junction with Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville.

Turn left, walking alongside the building, and continue along the street until you reach Place du Vigan. Turn right into Rue du Docteur Laurent Camboulives, keeping the square and then the Jardin National on your left. Almost at the end of the garden, turn right into Rue de la Porte Neuve and follow it straight on until you reach Place du Palais.

Cross the square, continuing in the same direction and keeping the courthouse on your left. Carry on straight ahead along Rue Roquelaure. Pass the next two streets on your left and take the third (Rue de l’Oulmet) until you reach Rue Sainte-Cécile.

Turn right onto this street and walk 10 metres, then turn right up the steps of the Passage de la Prévôté, which lead into the Cloître Saint-Salvy (open daily from 7 am to 8 pm).

(4) Turn right under the arcades and, at the end, turn left up the few steps; do not go back down the stairs opposite which lead back out onto the street. After passing through a covered passageway, you’ll emerge onto the Place du Cloître Saint-Salvy. Cross the square and head towards Rue Mariès.

Turn left to arrive in front of the forecourt of the Saint-Salvy Collegiate Church.

(5) At the end of the street, turn left into Rue Sainte-Cécile. Stay on this street, which becomes Rue de Verdusse. Turn right into Rue Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The street curves to the right and, at no. 14 on the left, you can see the painter’s birthplace. Just after that, at no. 12, is the house of the navigator Lapérouse.

Continue to the end of the street and turn left into Rue du Puech Bérenguier. The street continues as Rue des Prêtres, which curves to the right. At No. 1 is the Résidence le Castelnau, with two very beautiful courtyards.

Cut across the cul-de-sac and Rue de la White Cross, then turn left into Rue Caminade. At the end, turn right to reach the rear of the cathedral on Place de la Trébaille.

Leave Rue du Castelviel on your left and Rue de la Maîtrise on your right as you walk past a pond which leads to a viewpoint overlooking the Tarn. Turn round and turn left onto Rue de la Maîtrise, which runs alongside the cathedral.
Pass through Place Monseigneur Mignot, then complete the circuit round the building by heading back down Rue de la Temporalité.

(6) Turn left into the courtyard of the Plais de la Berbie, which houses the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum. Go down a few steps and follow the signs to the left leading to the garden. You’ll arrive at an esplanade offering a bird’s-eye view of the French-style garden. You can go down a few more steps and stroll along the promenade, but not into the garden itself, which is closed to the public.

Return to the palace entrance and take a short detour to the left into the Cour d’Honneur. Leave the palace and return to the cathedral esplanade (Tourist Office on your left).

Carry on straight ahead, walk round the cathedral and turn right to reach the forecourt.

(7) Step inside Sainte-Cécile Cathedral and take in the sights. You can visit the choir (unique in the world) with an audio guide for €5.

Leave the cathedral and turn right to head back down towards the car park (S/E).

This route is a compilation of the routes offered by the Tourist Office, complete with a description!

The banks of the Tarn have been a hub of commercial activity since the 11th century: Port Vielh, the Pont-Vieux and the Place de la Pile bear witness to this boom. Until the end of the 18th century, the Tarn was the scene of a thriving river trade: Gaillac wine, hemp from Canavière, woad, saffron, glass from Grésigne and pottery from Montans passed through here and were transported on gabarres.

(2) The Marché Couvert: a colourful hub of the city, it also serves as a testament to Albi’s commercial heritage.

The Hôtel de Gorsse: This vast residence is situated in the Combes district, on the banks of the Tarn. Nestled between a courtyard and a garden, it is flanked by Rue de la Buade and Rue de la Souque and opens onto Place Henri-de-Gorsse through a grand gateway.

The Hôtel Reynès is one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in Albi. It was built on the initiative of the Reynès family, Albi’s fourth-wealthiest family, who had made their fortune through the pastel trade. This building reflects the characteristics of private mansions of the same period: half-timbering was abandoned in favour of brick and stone. All the decoration is concentrated on the main façade facing the street and in the inner medieval courtyard.

Albi Town Hall: It was in 1728 that the town acquired this building to serve as the seat of the consuls and the venue for the sessions of the Estates of Albi. The entrance portal, in the Louis XIII style, is surmounted by the town’s coat of arms, illustrating the motto: ‘stat baculus vigilatque, leo turresque tuetur’, meaning ‘the cross stands erect, the lion watches over and protects the towers’. This motto can also be found in the great hall known as the Hall of the Albigensian Estates, which was decorated in 1742 with a painting depicting the 42 coats of arms of the towns in the diocese. A large fresco (painted by Joséphine Baudouin between 1934 and 1937) traces the history and life of the town, from the Crusades to the Carmaux mines.

(4) The Saint-Salvi Cloister, rebuilt in 1270 by Vidal Malvezi, was damaged during the French Revolution. Wings of the gallery were sold as national property. Only the southern wing remains.

(5) The Saint-Salvi Collegiate Church is dedicated to the man who held the town’s first episcopal see between 474 and 584. It bears witness to numerous alterations, resulting in a composite architectural style that combines Romanesque and Gothic elements, as well as stone and brick. It ranks as one of the largest Romanesque churches in the Albigeois region.

(6) The Palais de la Berbie, a former episcopal palace, was built from the 13th century onwards, prior to the construction of the Palais des Papes in Avignon. It is one of the oldest castles in France and one of the best preserved. Providing an exceptional setting for the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum—one of the major attractions of the Episcopal City—the palace is also much appreciated for its French-style gardens and its remarkable views over the River Tarn or, from a low angle, of the neighbouring cathedral.

St Cecilia’s Cathedral: construction began in 1282, and it is the largest brick cathedral in the world: 113 metres long and 35 metres wide. It takes visitors by surprise, who often compare it to a veritable ‘fortified castle’.