Midi-Pyrénées

Rolling green countryside holding fortified towns and villages, the Midi-Pyrénées is the largest and most sparsely populated region of France has an air of the past in its daily life and the many farmers markets add to the atmosphere.

The Midi-Pyrénées region holds much more than this however, where ancient château and historic buildings abound, and the landscape can change from the plains to dramatic gorges and climb up to the ski resorts of the Pyrénées, the largest being the Barèges-La Mongie resorts, with Plateau de Beille noted for its cross-country runs.

On the banks of the river Garonne, Toulouse, the capital of the Midi-Pyrénées, is known as 'la ville rose', its older buildings being built from rose-red brick. Among many attractions of this city are its unusual Cathedral and its Saint-Sernin Basilica.

Cahors is a captivating old town with its picturesque Valentré Bridge, its cobbled medieval streets and enclosed gardens.

In excess of 4 million people visit Lourdes each year, the majority pilgrims to the Grosse Massabielle where Bernadette Soubirous experienced her visions of the Virgin Mary in 1858.

An ideal way to see the beauties of this region is to take a boating holiday on the river Lot, starting from Douelle some 23km from Cahors.

Main tourist offices

Albi   Cahors   Montauban   Rodez   Saint Gaudens   Tarbes   Toulouse

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