Arrondissement d’Albi

This morning we took a food tour of Albi. We met our guide Nastia at the Cathedral. The tour took us through the old and newer parts of Albi and we also learnt a bit about the history of Albi and the surrounding area.

Architecturally, Albi is a wonderful city as there is so much to see. Most of Albi’s buildings are made from brick, including the Cathedral Sainte-Cécile, which is the largest brick cathedral in the world. It was built after the Albigensian crusades to crush the heretic Cathars, and intended to intimidate the locals and express the power of the Bishops.

Our first food stop was for pastries (an Apple filled one and a Kouign-annan from Brittany) and coffee at Maison Janin, an Artisan Boulanger, who is originally from Brittany where my mother, Mimi, hails from. Next we visited a wonderful store, Delices Lamarque, full of local and vintage products from the surrounding area. We sampled a vegetable paste (carrot, celery, tomatoes & spices) on slices of baguette as well as pork and herb terrine, washed down with a local Gaillac dry white wine.

We then made our way to Cloître Saint-Salvy, a little haven hidden away in the centre of town. From there we made our way to the Covered Market where we sampled cheese with Thierry and wine from Domaine Carcenac with Ettiene. We sampled five delicious cheeses and two wines. I tried a dry white - Blanc Sec Gaillac and a full bodied red.

We then headed to Le Quai Choiseul - Cuisine De Terroir restaurant, which is run by brothers Hervey and Julian, for a traditional lunch of Aligot and Toulouse sausage, also washed down with a glass of red.

After lunch, Nastia finished the tour by taking us to the oldest part of the city to see some lovely old houses and narrow streets that were full of character. It was a fabulous tour and a great way to get an introduction to the beautiful city of Albi. The tour was also memorable because of Nastia’s knowledge, enthusiasm and fun personality.Read more