Cordes-sur-Ciel

Cordes-in-the-Sky

At a certain point on the road up from Albi, a cleft opens between the hillsides of the valley of the Cérou, and at that precise moment, if you don't blink, well, that has to be the best way to see Cordes for the first time.

This is important information because Cordes is one of those occasional places in the world that take the breath away from first-time visitors; one can only stare, maybe mumble 'that's incredible', but then the hillsides mask the view for the 3 or 4 remaining kilometers while the anticipation builds.

The village itself was founded in 1222 by Count Raymond VII of Toulouse as a defensive bastion ('bastide') against the interlopers of the 'Albigeois' Crusades (which is a long fascinating story that's told at the official site of the city of Albi (in French)). In the seven hundred and some-odd years since the Crusades, Cordes went through a prosperous merchant period, then fell on hard times, along with the rest of southern France. But this extraordinary mideaval village, perched on its mountaintop, is too wonderful to have stayed hidden any longer. In recent years artists and artisans have started moving back into the bastide. Today Cordes-in-the-Sky is a bustling, dynamic lieu.

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Another site about Cordes, in french, can be found on the Web.

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