Deep, flavorful Cahors red wines are perfect matches for the region's rich and savory foods, and of course from this corner of France comes the fiery Armagnac brandy. Toulouse's most famous landmark is the multi-towered Romanesque Basilica of St. Serinin, a Benedictine abbey built in the 11th century to shelter pilgrims along the pilgrim route to Spain. Another superb sanctuary is the Dominican Church of the Jacobins, which provides the setting for the annual Piano Festival during the second and third weeks in September. Travelers can walk to their hearts' content here, no stroll more lovely than along the old quais bordering the Garonne or around the Place du Capitole, the vast plaza bordered by the 18th century Town Hall, smart cafes and specialty food vendors. The route of the Gaillac vineyards, producing unusual wines such as the sweet whites that often accompany foie gras, runs an hour's drive northeast to Albi, a glowing redbrick city whose massive St. Cecile cathedral is a 13th century masterpiece of French fortress church architecture.
Lavish interiors feature an ornate choir and a famous fresco depicting the Last Judgment.
Right next door in the Palace de la Berbie is the Henri de Toulouse Lautrec museum, housing the world's largest collection of his work. Toulouse's native son would have enjoyed the joke that the museum is full of paintings of his famous brothel scenes in Paris, shown off so well in this former Episcopal palace. Albi itself is a pleasure to the eye, with its 11th century bridge over the River Tarn and lovely old houses with multi-colored shutters. Albi is surrounded by bastides such as Puycelsi and Bruniuel, not exactly household names but all built on dramatic mountain outcroppings and all on the northward loop to Cordes. Perhaps the most impressive and well-preserved bastide of all, 13th century Cordes sits hilltop, and along main street, dozens of its restored medieval mansions house shops crammed with art galleries carfts and food specialties.