Monuments to visit Midi-Toulousain

It is at the time of the foundation of the city around 1074 that a fortification seems to have been built which was replaced by the castle, a more important building ensuring a better protection of the 3 000 inhabitants. The date of construction is between 1268 and 1285. The creation of La Cuisine, a design centre, has made it possible to enhance its value. Today's castle is the result of many transformations, destructions and metamorphoses that have followed the thread of history

From the port of Moissac, take the right bank towpath along the canal to the Cacor bridge-canal, where the Garonne canal forks and crosses the Tarn on the 15 arches of a majestic structure made of Quercy stone and Toulouse brick, a symbolic link between Quercy and Gascony. It was also used after the flood of 1930 for the railroad. At that time, barges and locomotives crossed the bridge. Nowadays, cyclists and walkers cross the water skiers below on the Tarn. A bridge to cross absolutely during your stay.

The site on which the pretty village of Montmaurin extends today has been inhabited since prehistoric times. It has a unique archaeological heritage, thanks in particular to the presence of the remains of two Gallo-Roman villas, known as Lassalles and Hillière, excavated between 1949 and 1970. Since 2020, a new museum highlights these ancient treasures through a well-organized tour. A good introduction before the discovery of the site.

Built in the first century AD, the villa Lassalles would have developed until around 350 before being redesigned. It is one of the largest and most luxurious villas known in France: its buildings covered an area of nineteen hectares! It had no less than two hundred rooms closed by bay windows, decorated with marble or mosaics, and enjoyed a very modern comfort since it benefited from a heating system by the ground (the famous hypocaust!) and from running water. Excavations have brought to light the remains of the vestibule, the temple, the nymphaeum, several courtyards and many living rooms.

The villa of Hillière is, as for it, organized around a powerful source, with the closest of Save. It adjoins the chapel of Notre-Dame de la Hillière where the restored mosaics are exhibited. The museum, established in the heart of the village, exhibits the collected objects and offers various documents allowing to trace the history of the place.