Museums in the Tarn and in Toulouse

Gaillac and surroundings

At about 15 km from our bed and breakfast, you'll find museums and collections devoted to culture and nature of the Tarn.

In Gaillac you have a nice "Musée des beaux Arts", situated in a beautiful park. The former "Abbaye de Saint-Michel" hosts the Gaillac wine museum", its vineyards and the ancient crafts linked to that industry. Further their is a small but rich natural history museum , with treasures of the local Grésigne Forest, 3500 ha of wood, a preserved NATURA 2000 area.
In the old bastide of Puycelsi the Midi-Pyrenéées Region has a rich collection of old varieties of fruits and vines in the "Verger Conservatoire"
In Lisle-sur-Tarn, the oldest classical bastide is a small local heritage museum, worth a visit because it's your only opportunity to visit a big house in this bastide. The "Musée d'art du Chocolat" is an initiative two craftsmen, a chocolatier and a sculptor: beautiful, and a fun for kids; chocolate tasting included, but hands of the statues!
In Bruniquel you can visit the 2 castles, and the Maison Payrol, the home of a rich merchant in pastel
Near the small wine village of Andillac, you can visit the Chateau du Cayla, a romantic manor, formerly home to Maurice de Guérin and his siter Eugénie, both writers
In the bastide Cordes-sur-Ciel, the "Charles Portal" museum is focusing local heritage. whereas the "Yves Brayer" museum is devoted to this modern artist. And of course, the entire bastide of Cordes could be reguarded as an open-air museum.

Further in the Tarn

Between 25 and 40 km from our Bed and Breakfast, you will discover some of the most important cultural heritage of the Tarn

Most important of course is the city of Albi, known because of the Cathar heresy and the albigensian crusade against the people declared heretics by the pope. Now Albi is UNESCO world heritage: a well preserved episcopal city, an immense cathedral, beautifully decorated, the oldest bridge of France, and the Toulouse-Lautrec museum.
In the nearby Saint-Juery, the "Musée du Saut du Tarn" demonstrates the use of the water as source of power through the centuries, both in metal industry and one of the oldest hydro-electric station. In Carmaux is a Coal Mine museum, in the Maison de la Céramique in Giroussens you will find modern ceramic and pottery, in Graulhet the "Musée du cuir"" shows the development of tannery and leather work trought the centuries. These witnesses of old industries and crafts are very interesting, and well documented, however, the signs are only in french.
In Castres you will find an important and the Jean Jaurès" museum, devoted to the socialist journalist and politician, murdered upon the outbreak of the first Word War because of his pacifisme.

Toulouse, capital of Midi-Pyrénées.

We at B & b Artichaud, we love Toulouse, the city, its museums, its cultural events that shine over the borders, let alone for its common heritage and its mutual influence with its neighbour Catalonia and Spain in general. A small overview:

Lovers of contemporary art will go straigth to Les Abattoirs, museum built in the cities old slaugtherhouse
If you like photography, check the current exhibition in theGalerie du Chateau d'Eau (water tower)
Family with kids? Don't miss the Muzéum or Musée d'Histoire Naturelle, a splendid modernised nature museum; nice for adults too!
Kids will enjoy the Cité de l'Espace, dedicated to astronomy and space travel, however, nearly no translation
The classical museum is the Musée des Augustins, in a former cloister
A beautifull example of a palace of the rich pastel merchants is the "Hôtel d'Assézat" from the Fondation Bemberg
And of course, lots of monuments and churches to visit: the St Etienne cathedral, the St Sévérin basilique, les Jacobins...

For planning your stay, our events calendar migth be handy. We hope you will stay in our quiet and comfortable B & B, we will be able to tell you more about our beautiful region.