France Vacation

   
The towns surrounding Sainte Sabine deserve your attention :

- ALBI (50 km), red bricks city, is best known for the fortified Sainte Cécile cathedral which reveals the Gothic architecture characteristic of the south of France and the Toulouse region. A guided tour of the cathedral (highly recommended) will allow you to see a cloister made entirely of lace, as well as the biggest Last Judgement of the Middle Ages. Close to the cathedral, the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum contains more than 300 canvases and drawings of the artist who saw the Golden Age and the wonders of Paris. A small walk in the gardens near the museum culminates in a wonderful view of the bridges over the Tarn.

- TOULOUSE (100 km), the pink city, is the second-most important university centre of France and the majestic capital of the Southwest. Here that, in the 12th century, the town consuls wrenched from the counts of Toulouse the right to run their town. The Capitole, or City Hall, was the seat of these powerful "capitouls," or consuls. The facade of the Opera rises majestically in a beautiful public square, recently restored. Saint-Sernin basilica is the most beautiful and famous Romanesque church in the south of France. The Augustinian museum displays wonderful Roman sculptures of the 12th century, and the Saint-Raymond museum displays fine archaeological collections.

- MONTAUBAN (45 km), once a fortified town, is the closest and most important shopping centre. In downtown the national square with its arches and lofty facades built with pink bricks is worth a visit. Also worth a look: the old bridge over the Tarn and the Ingres museum, where some of the best works of the painter are displayed.

- CAHORS (60 km) on the river Lot, was a flourishing town in the Middle Ages. Some of the buildings, such as Saint-Étienne cathedral and Valentré Bridge, provide remarkable proof of the art of warfare and recall the prosperous times of the town.