Ambivalent about Albi
 

Hi,

We are planning a visit of from two to three weeks in the Lot for next spring/summer. We've spent a good amount of time in the Dordogne, so are planning to base in the north of the Lot and just dip into the Dordogne for day trips. The rest of our time will be spent in the Lot, with quick trips into the southern Correze and maybe parts of the Aveyron (Belcastel, Villefranche de Rouergue, Najac).

I was also thinking of taking a few days and heading south to Albi and maybe even Toulouse, but an article in the Times made me question whether Albi is too much reduced from what it was to be appealing. I love Toulouse-Lautrec and have always wanted to visit the museum, but the article made it sound like Albi is practically deserted downtown, and boarded up as merchants decamp to a mall on the outskirts, leaving the center of the town quite depressed (in more ways than one)

.https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/w...ns-fading.html

So my question is: is a trip to Albi going to be too sad, or is the article overstating its case?

Thanks.

Are you driving? If so, Albi and Toulouse would be a nice alternative after the rurality of the Lot. The brick cathedral of Albi is perhaps one of the wonders of the world.

If you are using public transportation, you might not consider it to be worth the effort.

Are you going to see a regional French town perhaps down at its heels or the TL museum and stunning cathedral?

And I would think as in any tourist town cafes and some shops still there.

I didn't think of it as a major decision, I just went for a day trip. I wouldn't go just for that museum. But I've seen many museums/galleries with his works and others, as well as special exhibitions of his works in some.

I don't remember things being deserted, this was just a few years ago but don't care about "shopping" and buying more "stuff" which I don't want nor need. Now if everything were boarded up, sure that would be grim, but it wasn't that bad. That article talks about groceries and butcher shops being closed. Sure, that might create a bleak street if half the stores were closed but doesn't affect you in any way (butcher and grocery shops) since you wouldn't be shopping in them.

It's just a day trip, if you are making it into a major expedition and stay, and omitting Toulouse in preference for Albi, no, I wouldn't do that.

We spent a few days in Albi in late June 2016 and didn't experience a deserted downtown or boarded up stores, but yes, things have changed over the years. The area around the Toulouse-Lautrec museum and the Sainte-Cecile Cathedral were quite busy day and night, as was the area around Le Couvert des Halles (marchecouvert-albi.com). We even found a real (Pays) Basque bar near the cathedral.

For lunch you can try La Table du Sommelier (www.latabledusommelier.com) on the northside of the river, over the bridge. Excellent!

https://www.google.com/search?q=albi...w=1745&bih=864

Does Albi look boarded up?

One of the most beautiful towns in France IME!

We spent 2 days & 1 night in Albi in late June of 2015. Loved it. It had been "spruced up" since we were there last in around 2003. There is a new les Halles indoor market, and the streets were newly surfaced. The storefronts all looked nice and I really didn't see many closed storefronts.

But there were not many people around - except for the day-trippers. I read the same NYT article when it first appeared. I think there are not many people really living in the old section of town anymore. As the article stated, there is a huge shopping center outside of Albi and perhaps that's where the locals go. We had dinner reservations at what looked like a very nice Michelin 1 star restaurant in the Old Town. When we arrived in Albi, our hotel had notices everywhere indicating that the restaurant had recently closed and the chef had moved elsewhere - outside of the old town. We dashed around trying to find a replacement restaurant - but couldn't find anything we liked. We finally settles on a "nice looking" place on the main square next to the traffic street that skirts the old town. After dinner, we wandered through old town and there were very few people (if any) wandering through town after dinner like they do in most cities in France. The apparent living spaces above the shops were "dark" also. The next morning, we walked over to the Les Halles market at around 9:000 - expecting it to be mobbed. It wasn't. There were only about 6 people in the market. We ordered a roasted chicken from a vendor, and he told us to return at 10:30 to pick up the roasted chicken. When we returned - there were still very few people in Les Halles.

I think the article was lamenting the fact that there is only one school in old Albi, and many of the shops there seemed to be flailing and perhaps Albi is now for the tourist, & not for the people of Albi

However, Albi is beautiful. If you have my Languedoc itinerary, read more about Albi. I describe some places to go to get great views of this city,

Stu Dudley

Thanks to everyone who responded.

Yes, we'll have a car. The tentative plan is to fly to Paris, stay a day or two to get over the jet lag, then take the train to Brive and pick up a car.

There are two reasons we're flying to Paris--first, because it's Paris, and second, because as far as I can tell there are no nonstop flights from New York to either Bordeaux or Toulouse (not surprising), and the one thing we refuse in our advanced state of decrepitude to do is to fly in stages.

For the return, as far as I can tell there is no direct train from Toulouse to Paris--or did I miss something? So from Toulouse we could train to Bordeaux, stay for a day since we've never been there, then pick up the TGV to Paris and home the next day. Or, if we skip Toulouse/Albi, we could just go back to Brive and catch the train.

Christina, we're not interested in shopping either. But we do like to visit places that have some street life, some activity, and my concern is that Albi will lack that. I've seen many, many works by T-L, too, but the idea of visiting this museum has been in the back of my mind for a long time.

I looked at the pictures, PalenQ, and they seem to be distance shots that convey how beautiful Albi is without really showing what its street life is like. But I'm convinced we'd find the town very appealing.

Robert seems the most encouraging; Stu sort of echoes my own concerns. So I guess we'll have to thrash this out and see how it fits into the larger plan!

Thank you all for your help.

So from Toulouse we could train to Bordeaux, stay for a day since we've never been there, then pick up the TGV to Paris and home the next day. Or, if we skip Toulouse/Albi, we could just go back to Brive and catch the train.>

If not familiar with French trains booking TGV tickets way ahead of time can save tons of money - www.voyages-sncf.com but those are train-specific and cannot be changed nor I think refunded but if sure of times and you don't miss the train huge savings await. Check www.seat61.com for sage info on booking your own TGVs online and for general info on French trains www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. Toulose to Bordeaux not sure about discounts being much but check.

IME, Albi rolled up the carpets during its siesta, but OMG, I wouldn’t skip it because of that! Saint Cecilia is one of the most magnificent cathedrals I’ve had the pleasure to see, and the Musée Toulouse Lautrec should be a delight to anyone who has an interest in that artist’s work! I enjoyed a delightful meal at le Close Sainte Cecile, which still gets solid reviews.

There were some few photos of images of Albi I posted above that showed a still vibrant town in some shots:

Hot & Chilli | food and travel blog: France: a stylish break in Albi
Hot & Chilli1200 × 800Search by image
A charming and fairytale-like village located between two valleys, the epitome of medieval charm. A remarkable collection of medieval town houses and ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=albi...1WBwlcR8gXygM:

But some like that in the New York Times that showed a starkly bleak Albi (was it during siesta):

https://www.google.com/search?q=albi...BdWQm7G2D21rM:

Anyway Albi is always dear in my heart because my son was conceived there in the Camping Municipal on a long ago bicycle trip!

Oops -NYTimes article and bleak pictures:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/w...ns-fading.html

We stayed just outside Albi last year and did enjoy the region. We did not think Albi rundown or shut up. We only visited for a day and the centre , which is where you will be spending your time , was busy. The cathedral is stunning and the Toulouse Lautrec museum lovely. We also saw his birthplace in the city, and during our stay in the Lot et Garonne earlier in our trip we chanced on his grave in the small village of Verdelais. So full circle!!!
There are also a host of lovely villages to see in the area as well, so you could easily spend a few days there. If you click on my name you will see my trip report. Scroll down to weeks 7&8 and you can see what we did in our stay in this area.
Bon voyage.

I would visit Albi again just to see the splendid cathedral and the Lautrec museum/bishop's garden.

We did a quick trip to Albi a few years ago and wish we had had more time there. We loved the Toulouse-Lautrec museum and found the cathedral to be well worth seeing. We have been to more European churches and cathedrals than we could possibly count and after a while, many tend to blur. However, the cathedral in Albi was a delightful surprise.

Here are a few images of what to expect if you decide to visit Albi: https://www.flickr.com/photos/iberia...57684780319591

There are 10 direct trains a day from Toulouse to Paris, and it is one of the rare cities where you can choose between two different arrival stations -- Montparnasse (TGV) or Austerlitz (slower). There are also another half dozen trains with a connection in Montpellier that go to Gare de Lyon.

Thank you, kerouac; I don't know how I missed that.There's a 4 hr 19 min train that would be perfect for us and save us having to stop in Bordeaux.

If anybody's interested, Julia Frey's rather long bio of T-L is a wonderful read--what an incredibly sad life.

Thanks to everyone who responded. You've helped me firm up our itinerary: Paris--Brive--Lot--Toulouse--Paris. We'll visit Albi and Cordes-sur-Ciel as a day trip from Toulouse before heading north.

Kerouac, can you get Delta/AF to fly nonstop to Bordeaux? That would be even better.

Oh and PalenQ, I quite understand your attachment to Albi. I won't ask for details!

How near will you be to Figeac, a great little town? My favorite drive is of course along the Lot, east from Cahors.

A bit further afield but a beautiful area and somewhat ignored by tourists is tiny Najac in the Aveyron. I had one of the best lunches ever at the Hôtel l'Oustal del Barry, just across from the public car park. The restaurant terrace has incredible views. I prefer it to Cordes but easy to do both in one day.

The Lautrec museum has been completely renovated since I was there, everyone says a vast improvement. The cathedral is a bit cold and formidable, interesting because it's different.

Toulouse finally finished its renovation work in the town center, turning the main shopping street into pedestrian only and I believe completely banning traffic through the place capitole, way over due. I used to live an hour out of Toulouse, let me know if I can help with any questions.