We had got a little behind in our schedule, so to catch up (and rest our legs and bottoms) we took the train to Montauban. An hour north of Toulouse, the city of Montauban in the Tarn-et-Garonne Department, with its graceful brick architecture was clear evidence we had quickly moved to different region from Pau. Almost everything is made from this red material, lending the city a lovely pink glow.
We crossed the beautiful medieval Pont Vieux bridge on our bikes coming into town and we crossed it back again for our gourmet French lunch at the Le Ventadour restaurant.
Montauban Cathedral clashes with the rest of Montauban as its facade is made from white stone instead of red brick. For a lot of the 16th century and up to 1629 Montauban had been protestant.The Huguenots had destroyed the old medieval cathedral in 1560 and this Classical replacement wasn’t started until the late 17th century. Unfortunately it was closed today. The square in front is being redone but will be a great space when finished.
Cafes, bars and restaurants are tucked under the arches, and their tables spread out onto the square. We went for happy hour. We are very pleased with our decision.
This is a panoramic photo of the square. The town took the brave decision to ban vehicles from the square. The stonework was redone with fountains that can be turned off and on, all the buildings have been sandblasted and it reopened three months ago. The cafes, bars and restaurants were all full last night, with lots of kids running around in the open square. What a success story.
1 year ago