Walking Holidays in Tarn Valley from Albi to Millau

More pictures, description and general tourist information about Tarn Valley.

Between Albi, the pink city - with a beautiful old brick-built centre, the Toulouse-Lautrec museum and a stonebrick Cathedral - and Millau, in the center of Parc des Grands Causses, you will be walking alongside the Tarn river in a steep sided valley. Down in the valleybetween two hilly plateaux which rise up to 700m height, you'll get the feeling of being up in the mountains. The river flows swiftly to the West through the valley, also called "La Vallée de l'Amitiée, a very friendly place to stay and hike. There are some very old castles like Brousse-le-Chateau, Coupiac, St. Izaire andpicturesque villages like Ambialet, St. Rome-de-Tarn, Montjaux and Le Minier. For centuries life and local trade has centered around these places.
From Millau, a pleasant small Mediterranean alike city, also the gateway to the better known canyons of the Gorges du Tarn and a centre for activity holidays, you'll start the Tarn Valley walk under the viaduct from where you will be heading further downstream. From the second half of June the chirring sound of cicades will go all along with you as if in Provence. The old medieval villages and towns of the Gorges des Raspes du Tarn on your way will add to your feeling connected with ancient times.

PARC NATUREL REGIONAL DES GRANDS CAUSSES
Home base of La Ligne Verte.

If you want the charms of France and avoid touristy bustle this region will assure you'll get it; it has been designated a National Park and its riches are protected.
Here you'll find breathing space for taking your time far away from hustle and bustle of modern day living while savouring the French cuisine and way of life. Aveyron and Tarn give you a traditional welcome, amid beautiful scenery, dramatic landscapes and picturesque villages. A land of stone, a land of water: gorges, valleys, lakes, rivers all bathed in sunlight under a radiant blue sky: the land would seem to have been created for out-door pursuits and relaxation.

Close to Millau, in center of Parc des Grands Causses, worlds highest (343m) viaduct now connects the Lévézou plateau and the Causse du Larzac, as part of highway A71 from Clermont Ferrand to Montpellier.

See the Millau viaduct against the Grands Causses scenery

Getting there: all details

La Vallée du Tarn (French page)

10 Walks in the Parc Naturel des Grands Causses in the departments Aveyron, Lozère, Gard and Tarn in South of France with stays in family-run hotels and in charming Chambres d'hotes.
Walking holidays on footpaths in a hilly and mountainous region of South-France with a great geological diversity of landscapes; centered around Millau in Sud-Aveyron and all along the (Gorges and the Valley of the) Tarn, between Cevennes Mountains in the East and Albi in the West of Tarn basin.