Ideally situated, in the centre of South West France, for the mountains, lakes or the sea, the Tarn has something for everyone and is a wonderful place to buy property, whether to live full-time, or to spend weekends or holidays.

The Tarn has a most agreeable climate, breathtaking scenery, a rich heritage of culture and history and offers everything for either an active or a peaceful weekend/holiday, or change of lifestyle. For a real taste of the Tarn, the world-famous Gaillac wine region and some of the best gastronomic delights in France are right on your doorstep. For the property buyer, the Tarn offers some of the most reasonable prices in France, from a weekend village house to your very own chateau.

Day trips to the Mediterranean coast at Montpellier, Sete, Béziers, Narbonne and Perpignan are easily possible. In winter, skiers can leave the Tarn for the Pyrenees in the morning, have a full day on the slopes and be home in time for an “apero” and dinner. A visit to Andorra, with its wide selection of top brand, duty-free consumer goods is also possible in a single day.


Travel Information
Toulouse Blagnac airport to the west, Béziers and Carcassonne airports to the south and Rodez airport to the north east, make the Tarn easily accessible from the UK and Ireland by air via Ryanair, easyJet, BMI, Flybe and British Airways.  Internally Castres-Mazamet airport in the south of the Tarn offers regular links to Paris, Orly and Lyon.

Motorway links are excellent - for Paris and the north of France (A20 and A75), Bordeaux and the west (A62 and A10), northern Spain (A64), and the Mediterranean coast and southern Spain (A61 and A9). High speed TGV rail links to all parts of France and Spain are available through nearby Toulouse and Montauban.

Climate
The Tarn has a unique topography (mountains, valleys and plains) making the climate relatively mild in the winter and, although cold at night, daytime temperatures of up to +12 degrees Celsius are common (however temperatures of +20 degrees C have been recorded in and around Castres). Summer months boast a warm +30 degrees C with wall-to-wall sunshine and glorious blue skies.



Towns and Cities in the Tarn
Albi is the main city of the Tarn. A visit to the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum (with over 1,000 works by the Albi-born artist) and St Cecilia Cathedral are a must, after which visitors can enjoy the relaxing charm of its old quarter. Castres houses the famous Goya Museum containing works by the renowned Spanish master and is the gateway to the nearby Parc Naturel Regional du Haut-Languedoc and the Montagne Noire. To the north, Gaillac is the centre of the world-famous Appellation Gaillac vineyards, and is within easy reach of Bastides of the Tarn such as Cordes sur Ciel and Lautrec.



Gastronomy
The Tarn is famous for its variety of culinary delights. Produce is varied and of the highest quality, with local specialities including cheeses, lamb, pork, rainbow trout, duck, goose, confit, foie gras, venison, cured hand-made sausages, terrines and pâtés, honey - the list goes on. Markets take place in almost every town and village throughout the region and are great fun to visit and soak up French life.

As in all parts of South West France, eating out in the Tarn is taken very seriously. Many restaurants offer delicious plats du jour from just €8, or you can spend upwards of €75 per person on a multi-course, gastronomic experience in award-winning establishments. The choice is wide and varied, the food always excellent and good value and to accompany your meal, the world-famous Gaillac wine region in the Tarn offers a multitude of reds, whites and rosés.

For wine lovers, the Commission Interprofessionnelle des Vins de Gaillac in Gaillac is open all  year round. Here you can obtain advice on the whole range of Gaillac wines - and taste them of course. In fact most Chateaux, Domaines and Mas wine producers in the region also offer visits, tastings and sale of their products direct to the public.



Activities, Sports and Leisure
For the active person, the Tarn is a department of sports and leisure activities. The world-famous Tour de France cycle race visited the Tarn in July 2007 and there are many bike trails through the glorious countryside.  Water sports abound on the many natural and artificial lakes, rivers and natural watercourses of the Tarn. If you like fishing, there are numerous opportunities for coarse and river/lake fishing throughout the region. For golfers, there are courses in Albi, Castres, Fiac and Gaillac.   Rugby is a major sport with local clubs Castres Olympique and Sporting Club Albigeois.



Property in the Tarn
For more than a year, property prices in the Tarn have generally held their value. This is being maintained by continuing improvements in infrastructure such as the recently opened A68 autoroute. This motorway has brought with it many people who work in Toulouse but want to live in a more rural area, thus leading to greater demand in the north of the region.  Gaillac and Lisle sur Tarn are two towns which have shown growth as a result of this move out of the city.  



The Tarn continues to offer good value for money in terms of property prices, especially compared to neighbouring departments and other regions in France. As you would expect there is a wide range of properties available - medieval chateaux, maisons de maîtres, farmhouses,  villas with swimming pools and smaller village houses, ideal for weekend or holiday visits, or even an interesting renovation project.