Cordes-sur-Ciel is a town of about 800 people (2018) in Tarn. Cordes-sur-Ciel is a fortified town which was built in 1222 by Raimond VII, the Count of Toulouse. The town attracts tourists interested in heritage destinations. Since September 2021, it has been listed among The Most Beautiful Villages of France (Les Plus Beaux Villages de France).

Understand

Cordes-sur-Ciel was renamed from Cordes in 1993 to indicate its height above the clouds in the valley. It is a small village in Tarn, in Occitanie region of France. It was established in 1222. The village lies high above the left bank of the Cérou, which flows westward through the middle of the commune.

The town's population has declined from a peak of 2,925 in 1851 to 828 in 2018.

Visitor information

• 1 Office de Tourisme du Pays Cordais au Pays de Vaour, 42 Grand Rue Raimond VII, ☏ +33 5 63 56 00 52. (updated Mar 2021)
• Mairie de Cordes-sur-Ciel (local government). (updated Mar 2021)

Get in

By plane

• The nearest airport is Toulouse, 85 km away.

By train

• 1 Cordes-Vindrac station (5 km west of the town centre). Regional express trains (TER) between Toulouse and Capdenac or Figeac stop there six times a day. The journey time from Toulouse is around an hour. Five times a day there is a bus line 707 from the train station to the town centre (10 minutes), otherwise take a taxi. (updated Mar 2021)

By bus

• Tarnbus route 707 runs from Albi and from Cordes-Vindrac.

By road

The Départementale D600 route leads directly from Albi to Cordes-sur-Ciel. There is also the Départementale D 922 route which comes from the south of Gaillac and leads via Laguépie to Villefranche-de-Rouergue.

From Toulouse you can take the A68 motorway to junction 9/Gaillac. From there you first follow the signs to Gaillac, later Cordes is also signposted. For the 80 km you need just over 1 hour.

See

• 1 Jardin des Paradis. May, June, September and October from F-Su 14:00 - 18:00; July and August: Sa 14:00 - 19:00, Su-F 11:00 - 19:00. The 3000-m² garden was created in 1997 by Eric Ossart and Arnaud Maurières with Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. There is an unusual blend of contemporary, oriental, and medieval styles, organized as three terraces. Features include a rectangular pond serving as water garden, and a vegetable garden with chard, leeks, mallow, peppers, pumpkins, and tomatoes. Adults €5. (updated Mar 2021)
• 2 Musée Les Arts du Sucre et du Chocolat (Sugar and Chocolate museum), 33 Grand Rue Raimond VII. The museum has hundreds of pieces of art made of sugar. (updated Mar 2021)

• 3 Église Saint-Michel de Cordes-sur-Ciel. Southern Gothic-style church, dating largely from the 13th century, despite alterations in the 15th century. The bell tower dates from the 14th century. The interior retains Renaissance-inspired frescoes made by the painter Gayral from 1841 to 1844. (updated Mar 2021)
• 4 Maison du Grand Veneur, 65 Grand Rue Raimond-VII. Large sandstone building with a three-storey facade. It is one of the most sculpted facades in the village. It is now the town hall. (updated Mar 2021)
• The Charles Portal History and Architecture Museum is at the Porte des Ormeaux, a medieval building classified as a historic monument, typical of the military construction of Cordes. Cordese architecture is explained there. Historical documents are presented (hawks carved ancient door of the town hall of the 16th century, locks ...), films dealing with the mysterious well of the hall (113 m deep), "mysteries of water" of the city, Cordaise embroidery, weaving as well as slideshows on the "Ferrat book", the Saint Michel church. Are exhibited collections of Cordes and its region from prehistoric times to the 20th century: very beautiful Gallo-Roman, Merovingian and medieval pieces, facsimiles of the town's history archives, grain measurements, and an imposing 19th century embroidery machine. From the terrace, very beautiful views on the west of Cordes and on the old streets.
• The Maison du Grand Fauconnier (also listed as a Historic Monument) houses the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, offering a unique encounter between historical architectural heritage and artistic creation. Turning styles and various movements, the museum's collections offer a journey through art in 20th century. You can admire the works of Yves Brayer (1907-1990), a leading figurative painters of the 20th century. There are works by Picasso, Miró, Léger, Klee, Magnelli, Prévert, Arman, Appel, Kijno, Fromanger, and Christo.
• Moulin de Cajarc is an amazing place, peaceful where you can dreaming and relaxing. If you want be stay calm, it's for you!
• In the middle of the city, you can find Cave Saint-Michel where you have a large choice of wine. There is very affordable price and the people who work in, are good advice.

Buy

The city is known for its medium-sized outdoor market.

In Corde-sur-Ciel, you can buy specially biscuits of the city; les croquants de cordes in "la boutique gourmande" (06.34.41.01.00) or ceramic objects and soap factory in Louise Emoi. There are amazing memories.

Go next

Around the village, you can explore other cities

• Albi where there is the largest brick cathedral (Sainte-Cécile) in Europe. Albi is 30 minutes by car from Cordes
• Gaillac (30min) is a beautiful city because it is a city mode of brick and medieval. There is many wineyards. You can do large rides.
• Ambialet (50 min) is beautiful because the village contains a lot of points of view, chapels. You can explore and look the peninsula of the city.