Walking along the Tarn Valley in France

Discover the beautiful landscape of the Tarn Valley, which is Mediterranean in character.

Start your trip in the wonderful small city of Albi which nestles on the River Tarn's banks. You won't miss its magnificent cathedral whose fortifications are testimony to more turbulent times: the crusades and later the Wars of Religion. As you walk eastwards from Albi through the Tarn Valley, you'll pass villages of mellow stone-work, take in varied landscapes, and walk up wooded hills that reveals the countryside which is more southern in character, with cork oaks and cypress trees. Unspoiled and full of cultural interest, the Tarn is a wonderfully rewarding region. You'll walk along the river through woodland and farmland as well as the occasional hamlet such as Villeneuve.

Staying the night in comfortable hotels, you will be introduced to the distinctive, rich cuisine of the region, and its excellent wines, such as the flinty Gaillac whites.

Accommodation:

Hotel Chiffre, Albi This family-run hotel is centrally located, just five minutes' walk from the main sights.

Hotel du Pont, Ambialet Located by the bridge into the village, with gardens leading down to the water's edge, this friendly, comfortable hotel has been run by the same family for over two centuries. There is an outdoor pool as well as a pleasant terrace overlooking the river.

Hostellerie des Lauriers, Villeneuve A small inn converted from a handsome 18th-century stone building, with an indoor pool and a terrace overlooking the river.

Relays du Chasteau, Brousse-le-Château This simple inn has been run by the same family for several generations and its restaurant is popular with the locals.

Traveller Reviews of This Trip

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. The scenery was spectacular and the weather glorious after our miserable summer! The walks were a good length given the terrain and we hired bikes one day as a change. There were a couple of places in the walking notes that were rather ambiguous and took a little working out but overall they were very good. We didn't get lost once, or even take a wrong turn. There were more steeps hills than we expected and less walking in the valley bottom. We would definitely holiday with Inntravel again. Miss C Carder-Geddes, York, 06/09/2011

Ambialet was a beautiful place. We were lucky enough to be there for the Wednesday morning market which enabled us to buy a complete picnic of bread, cheese, meat, tomatoes etc and wine from the local produce and we were still there on the Thursday night to watch the 'son et lumière' which was spectacular even if all in French. The Hotel du Pont was very good and in a perfect setting. Mrs Ogden, Lincolnshire, 25/07/2011

We must say we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday and felt it was very good value for money. Ms R, North Yorkshire, 13/09/2008

For more reviews of this trip, see: Reviews of Walking along the Tarn Valley in France