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Medieval Toulouse & Languedoc - Art & architecture in south-west France
7
days
from
A$5,770
Book today with a deposit from
A$866
1st - 7th April 2027
Tour highlights
- Trace the full arc from Romanesque to Gothic in a single region – Roman Toulouse, the cloister at Moissac, the brick cathedral at Albi.
- Every medieval building art is on display – architecture, sculpture, painting, stained glass, woodwork and precious metalwork.
- Landscapes as varied as the architecture – limestone cliffs, river valleys, orchard country.
- One hotel for the week, in the heart of Toulouse.
Toulouse was Roman before it was medieval, and we shall seek out the rich remains of Late Antique Toulouse before exploring what came after: the Romanesque flowering of Saint-Sernin, on the pilgrim road to Santiago, and of the domed cathedral at Cahors; the cloister at Moissac, the earliest historiated cloister to survive from Romanesque Europe; and the painted church of Saint-Lizier in the Pyrenean foothills. Then the Gothic transformation – the soaring brick fortress-cathedral at Albi, the collision of early and late Gothic in Toulouse’s own cathedral, the Dominican Jacobins built between 1244 and 1292, and the Rayonnant presbytery at Carcassonne. Sculpture runs through both centuries and both styles: from Moissac’s capitals to the Passion cycle at Monestiès and the circle of the Cabestany Master at Rieux-Minervois – the area does not want for masterpieces. Few weeks anywhere trace so complete an arc, in stone, from Rome to late Gothic.
The landscape shifts with the architecture: the arid limestone hills of the Minervois, the vineyards of Quercy, and the broad, fertile Garonne valley. This was never a unified medieval polity – French royal authority was not securely established here until the 13th century – and the upland counties around Cahors kept a culture distinct from the valley towns even after that. It is this very fragmentation that has left so rich and varied a legacy across a single region. Equally impressive is the landscape through which we pass: the limestone cliffs and tumbling watercourses of the valleys of the Tarn and Lot, and the lush orchards and vineyards to the east of Toulouse.
Itinerary
Fly at c. 2.00pm (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Toulouse. Coach transfer to the hotel in Toulouse, arriving in time for dinner.
A day devoted to Toulouse, starting with Saint-Sernin, one of the principal monuments of Romanesque architecture in Europe, boasting two significant sculpted portals and acting as a major pilgrimage church in its own right as well as a stage on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Then to the Musée Saint-Raymond, housed in a former medieval hospital and home to much the best collection of Roman sculpture in south-western France. Afternoon walking tour of Toulouse, taking in the Capitole, Musée du Vieux Toulouse and river quays.
The warmth of its brick and the drama of its situation above the river Tarn make Albi one of the outstanding towns of southern France. Visit the cathedral, a stupendous Gothic aisleless church, its huge vaults forming a crown 100 feet above the pavement. The afternoon will take us north, initially to Lescure d’Albigeois, home to a superb late 11th-century monastic church, and eventually to Monestiès, whose tiny chapel of St-Jacques houses one of the greatest sculptural cycles of Christ’s Passion from the late Middle Ages.
Morning spent within that marvellous assemblage of cloister, tower and church which is most of what now survives of the Benedictine abbey of Moissac. Most astonishingly the capitals of the cloister - the earliest historiated cloister to survive in Romanesque Europe - have come down to us complete. The afternoon will then unfold in Cahors, cathedral to the fore, where we shall meet the one southern French Romanesque form we have not hitherto encountered – the aisleless domed church – and in a building which is arguably the most majestic of them all.
A leisurely day in Toulouse, starting with the cathedral – its bizarre juxtaposition of an aisleless early 13th-century nave and unfinished later Gothic choir creating a memorable if disturbing silhouette. Then on to the Jacobins, a Dominican church built between 1244 and 1292 hard up against the former ‘Saracen wall’. The Jacobins is regarded as one of the most architecturally accomplished mendicant churches in Europe, combining slender columnar supports, low lateral chapels and an apse vault akin to half the Westminster chapter house. The afternoon is free for independent exploration.
Carcassonne is a major medieval walled city, famously restored by Viollet-le-Duc and glorying in a remarkable network of intra-mural passages in addition to the castle and cathedral of St-Nazaire. This last is amongst the most significant churches of Mediterranean France – a curious amalgam of 11th-century nave and 13th-century presbytery, its eastern parts having been described as ‘the first and last stylistically pure Parisian Rayonnant work in the south’. Continue in the afternoon to Notre-Dame at Rieux-Minervois, a real virtuoso piece, whose seven-sided nave incorporates sculpture from the circle of the Cabestany Master.
Visit the early Romanesque painted church of Saint-Lizier, set in the foothills of the Pyrenees, complete with an exquisite cloister. Break for lunch in nearby Saint-Girons, before driving up to Toulouse Blagnac airport. The return flight to London Heathrow arrives at c. 6.20pm.
Expert speaker
Dr Han Tame
Han’s research focuses on the intersection of sculpture and theology in the early Middle Ages. Their PhD was a study of fear and its function in Romanesque French sculpture, and they are currently developing their research on the sculpture at the abbey of Moissac, near Toulouse. They are also interested in the development of Last Judgment iconography from the ninth to twelfth centuries. Han has taught at the University of Kent and the Courtauld Institute of Art, and is currently working as lecturer in Latin and Manuscript Studies in the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Kent.
More tours led by Dr Han Tame
Practicalities
Price, per person. Two sharing: A$6,190 or A$5,770 without flights. Single occupancy: A$6,770 or A$6,350 without flights.
Accommodation as described below; travel by private coach; breakfasts and 4 dinners with wine or beer, soft drinks, water and coffee; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.
Grand Hotel de l’Opéra, Toulouse: a central 4-star hotel in a converted 17th-century convent, set back from the Place du Capitole. Single occupancy rooms are doubles for sole use.
Quite a lot of walking and standing around is involved, particularly in the town centres, sometimes on rough or cobbled terrain. The tour is not suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking and stairclimbing. There are some long days and coach journeys.
Typically between 10 and 24 participants.
Before booking, please refer to Smartraveller to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting. As a British company we follow the advice of the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
Dates & prices
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2027
Date
Speaker
Price
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