Albi (Tarn)

Albi (Tarn) mini guide

Albi is a vibrant and exciting town which is built of red brick extracted from the Tarn river. With the warm, ochre and orange hues, it glows crimson in the setting sun, you could be in Tuscany. You are in fact in the capital of the Tarn department. Albi is not a place for vast crowds, so it is a perfect venue for a relaxing and stimulating short break or a day out. It is compact and easy to explore on foot, with plenty of historical sites, restaurants and lively cafés.

Albi is also the home of Toulouse-Lautrec who was born here in 1864.  The Musee Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is good enough reason alone to come to Albi, housing famous canvases by the artist himself and other works by Matisse, Dufy and Yves Brayer. The terraced gardens of the Palais de la Berbie are also worth a detour and overlook the river Tarn.  A river cruise of the Tarn will enable you to glimpse at the beauty of Albi from a different angle.

Among the sights of the town not to be missed is the Sainte Cécile cathedral, claimed to be the world's largest brick construction. This church is a masterpiece of the Southern Gothic style. It is characterized by a strong contrast between its austere, defensive exterior and its sumptuous interior decoration

The Old Bridge (Pont-Vieux) was originally built in stone, then clad with brick, it rests on 8 arches and is 151m long . Constructed in 1035 , it opened Albi up to the outside world, and imposed itself as the obvious Tarn river crossing not only for local people but also those travelling between Le Puy and Toulouse, or Italy and Spain. In the 14th century, it was fortified, reinforced with a drawbridge and houses were built on the piers. Until the end of the 18th century, commercial river traffic flourished along the Tarn, carrying wine from Gaillac, hemp from Canavière, pastel, saffron, glass from Grésigne and pottery from Montans. This helped to make the city wealthy.

As the two World Wars did not cause massive damage to the city, Albi has conserved its rich architectural heritage which encapsulates the various brilliant periods of its history.

A great deal of improvement and restoration work has been done, to embellish the old quarters and to give them a new look, in which brick reigns supreme. As of the year 2000, major works were undertaken to open Albi up to the 21st century. The Amalric Médiathèque, the redevelopment of the Place du Vigan, an urban focal point and of the Place de la Cathédrale, historic heart of the city, where the work was finished in 2006.

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Guide point	Details
Department:	South West France > Midi Pyrenees > Tarn >
Location:	Albi is 76 kilometres north-east of Toulouse
Public Transport:	By Road Routes to Albi from: Toulouse: 79 km expressway RN 88, Autoroute A68 Montpellier: 200 km A9/RN112 Bordeaux: 260 km A62/RN13 Paris: 690 km A10/A71-75-N88 By Railway Gare Albi-ville, Place stalingrad Albi Madeleine By Air Albi Le Sequestre Toulouse Blagnac Apt - (72 km / 44 miles from Albi)
Tourist information website:	http://www.albi-tourisme.com/us
Tourist information contact email:	communication@mairie-albi.fr
Tourist information switch board number:	+ 33 (0)5 63 49 48 80
Tourist information address:	Albi Office de tourisme, Place Ste-Cecile, Albi, 81000.
Quick links to accommodation:	Accommodation near Albi (Tarn) - Hotels in Albi (Tarn) Show accommodation in Tarn - Self catering in Tarn - Bed and Breakfast in Tarn properties with pools in Tarn -