Cordes-sur-Ciel

Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse, founded Cordes in 1222 as a bastide, a planned new town. It is regarded as the first bastide in south-west France. The town stands high above the left bank of the Cérou, at about 280 m. Since 1993 it has been called Cordes-sur-Ciel ("above the sky"), an allusion to the clouds that often gather in the valley.

Because the inhabitants stayed within the 13th-century walls, numerous Gothic buildings from the 13th and 14th centuries survived the Wars of Religion of the late 16th century. In 1436 Rodrigo de Villandrando plundered the town during the Hundred Years' War. Cordes is one of the "Plus Beaux Villages de France" and has just under 900 inhabitants.

Worth seeing are the largely Gothic church of Saint-Michel, the Maison du Grand Veneur with one of the most richly sculpted façades in the town, the Musée Charles-Portal in the medieval Porte des Ormeaux, and the Jardin des Paradis. Craftspeople work in the narrow lanes. Go up to the ramparts early, before the crowds arrive; a guidebook calls the town especially spectacular at sunrise. From Albi it is about 30 minutes by car on the D600. Allow one to two hours for a walk around.