Tarn-et-Garonne

Tarn-et-Garonne is a department in the Occitanie region of France. Located in the heart of southwestern France , it takes its name from the river, the Garonne, and its tributary, the Tarn.

Cities

  • 🌍 Moissac — with its famous Saint Pierre Abbey, a jewel of Romanesque art, as well as its medieval town centre. This city is also known for its grape, the Chasselas
  • 🌍 Montauban — it is a city of art and history, and birthplace of the painter Ingres and the sculptor Bourdelle
  • 🌍 Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val — has a preserved largely medieval core which has many listed buildings, and its extensive Sunday market draws many visitors and locals

Understand

The department is mostly rural with fertile agricultural land in the broad river valley, but there are hilly areas to the south, east and north. The most populous community is Montauban, with 61,000 people in 2019.

Climate

The course of the seasons is sometimes irregular in Tarn-et-Garonne. Mild, rainy winters experience frost better than snow. In the spring, showers can be frequent and abundant. The summers are hot and dry, the autumn mild. In November, beautiful sunny days contrast with the cooling of the air.

Get in

The two main roads in the department are the A62 motorway or the Deux Mers motorway, which connects it to Agen and Bordeaux to the northwest and to Toulouse and the Mediterranean to the southeast, and the A20 motorway, which connects it in Cahors, Limoges and Vierzon , towards Île-de-France. A section of the A20 acts as the ring road of Montauban, while the A62 only approaches a dozen kilometers from the prefecture of Tarn-et-Garonne. From its crossroads with the A20, the A62 motorway is one of the main accesses to the Toulouse conurbation.

Toulouse-Blagnac airport is 5 km south of Montauban. 

Montauban has a TGV station, Montauban ville Bourbon.  You can reach Montauban from Paris by TGV in 4 hr 45 min.

Get around

The Lot is served by the liO regional road transport network, which operates 8 regular lines in the department.

See

Cultural sites
  • Canal bridge at Moissac. Two waterways meet here: the Garonne Lateral Canal crosses the River Tarn on a 350-metre-long, 19th-century bridge
  • Beaulieu Abbey
  • contemporary art centerein Ginals
  • The castles in Bruniquel
  • the castle of Bioule,
  • The payrol house, äys heritage museum in Bruniquel
  •  The Marcel Lenoir Museum in Montricoux
  • The Museum of Old St Antonin and the walnut oil mill,
  • Queen Margot's castle
  • The castle of St Martin Laguepie
  • The Chateau de Labro in Parisot
  • The museum of old Auvillar (earthenware, ...)
  • The Calbet museum in Grisolles (old costumes, brooms, etc.)
  • The museum of popular arts and traditions and applied arts in Moissac

Religious sites
  • Abbey of Saint Pierre de Moissac
  • The Collegiate Church of St Martin in Montpezat de Quercy
  • The churches: Notre Dame de Saux, St Pierre de Varen, Caylus and Christ de Zadkine

Other
  • Le Petit Paris, the capital in miniature
  • Bruniquel prehistoric camp

Do
  • The Aveyron gorges in the region of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val attract many tourists with their landscapes and activities (canoeing, hiking, etc.) 
  • The Causses du Quercy (with an example of Karst when visiting the Bosc cave)
  • The hills of Quercy
  • Sensitive natural areas (various wetlands)

Drink

The Tarn-et-Garonne boasts six Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) and the less stringent Vin de Pays (IGP):

  • Fronton (AOC)
  • Saint Sardos (AOC)
  • Lavilledieu (IGP)
  • Brulhois (AOC)
  • Local wines from the slopes and terraces of Montauban
  • Coteaux-du-Quercy (AOC)

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