Albi
I’ve just come back from an amazing trip to Albi in south-west France. We stayed in a really nice little hotel called La Tour Sainte-Cécile about 200m from the cathedral. We were really lucky and got upgraded from a single room to a suite and the owner (a very nice man called Bertrand) went out of his way to make us feel at home.
Albi is a truly amazing city with many fabulous buildings, but the highlight is the cathedral which was built by the Cathars starting in 1282 and ending over 100 years later. Originally the building had just a single nave but in the late 15th century, after the persecution of the Cathars was ended, an elaborate rood screen, choir and chancel was added, along with a massive and elaborate porch at the south entrance. Either side of the arch into the tower is a large mural depicting the Last Judgement dating from about 1500. The rest of walls and ceiling were painted just a few years later by artists from the Emilia region of Italy with the most elaborate series of frescoes.
You can see a lot more photos of Albi, some of the local bastide towns and the Millau viaduct on my Flickr account.
