Albi

Albi rises above the Tarn, its great brick cathedral and the bishops' Palais de la Berbie dominating the river. Sainte-Cécile is a striking monument of southern Gothic architecture, with massive walls enclosing a richly decorated interior. Around the episcopal quarter, merchants and craftsmen built the streets and houses of the medieval city.

Construction of the cathedral began in 1282 and continued for more than two centuries. Its bell tower was completed in 1480; paintings, a choir screen and sculptures enriched the church in the later Middle Ages and Renaissance, making its interior as remarkable as its imposing exterior. In the same period the trade in woad, used to produce blue dye, brought wealth to the wider region between Albi, Toulouse and Carcassonne.