Venir à Albi (Come to Albi)

où est Albi?? Where is Albi ?

Bienvenue in France ! Never heard about Albi before ?Here you have to check out what's interesting in Albi ,visiting Albi just like rewind the past and live with many arsitecture old buildings that make you life like an Italian about 50 years ago !

Visit This Beautiful City ARROUND

The Saints Pietro and Paolo Church preserves a sculpture in its interior, depicting the Madonna with child by Bottone (1574) and a painting of the Madonna with Child beetween Saints Girolamo and Sebastiano.

The Santa Maria delle Grazie or dell'Oliveto Church dominates the area, though sadly in a state of abandonment.
The ruins of the Pèsaca Abbey is worth a visit. It dates back to the X century and is the work of Basilian monks.
For its geographic position, Albi is an ideal base to enjoy naturalistic excursions to the Sila National Park.

Main Sights that is really breathtaking

Albi was built around the original cathedral and episcopal group buildings. The historic are covers 63 hectares Red Brick and tiles are the main feature of most the edficies.Along with Toulouse and Montauban, Albi is one of main cities built in languedoc-style red brick.

Albi Cathredal is a fortres in Cathar Country

The Gothic Cathédrale Ste-Cécile of Albi, built in the 13th century in the heart of Cathar country, is the largest brick building in the world. Perched high on a hill, it looks more like a fortress than a cathedral - and that's no accident.

(Fortified with ramparts and parapets, construction on Ste-Cecile Cathedral began in 1282 by the lord-bishop of Albi. It was built as a defensive fortress and statement of strength after the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229), waged by the Catholic Church against the Cathars and the count of Toulouse. Construction on the cathedral was not fully completed until 1480. 

Notable exterior features of Albi's Cathedral include the rich portal of Dominique de Florence (c.1392), the 78-meter-tall dungeon tower (finished in 1492)), and the baldaquin of the entryway (1515-1540).

Based on its sober, fortress-like exterior, one might reasonably expect the interior of Ste-Cecile to to be correspondingly austere, plain, and practical. Yet Ste-Cecile Cathedral is filled with religious art, including glorious frescoes, paintings and sculptures. The contrast between the sober simplicity of Ste-Cecile's exterior and the sumptuous decoration and detail inside is one of the most remarkable features. 

The huge (16.4m x 15.6m) mural of The Last Judgment, painted between 1474 and 1484 by unknown Flemish artists, is one of the the most important works of art of the later Middle Ages. Paradise is represented by angels, apostles, and believers. Earth, represented by a frenetic gesturing of the Infidels, occupies but a small part in the whole. In the lower portion, hell is depicted as a series of views of the Mortal Sins. An astonishing collection of demons, imps, and supplicants, à la Hieronymus Bosch, are also present.

Also exceptional is the 16th-century rood screen with its unique polychromatic statues from the Old and New Testaments. The statuary of Sainte Cécile is considered to be the most important ensemble French sculpture from the Middle Ages. The naturalness of the colors and postures of the statuary has been universally admired for centuries.

The vast ensemble consists of 33 characters from the Old Testament; 15 statues representing the Church (12 apostles, the Virgin, Jean the Baptist, and St. Paul); and 72 statues of angels, Charlemagne, and the Emperor Constantine, dominating the two entry doors. 

The frescoes on the cathedral's arched ceiling form the largest (97 meters long by 28 meters wide) work of Italian Renaissance painting to be found anywhere in France. Louis II d'Amboise commissioned the confection of the arched ceiling of Sainte Cécile to a team of Italian painters brought in from Modena and Bologna. The work was carried out between 1509 and 1512.

The arches of the Cathedral are conceived as a backdrop of immense blue sky on which several motifs are developped: arabesques, candelabras, and pastoral scenes. From Adam and Eve to the Annunciation, all the characters of the Old and New Testaments are represented. Two sections are dedicated to Sainte Cécile, patronne Saint of the Cathedral.

Finally, the class

ical French organ, built by Christophe Moucherel in 1736 is considered one of the three finest in France.

Opposite the north side of the cathedral is the Palais de la Berbie (Archbishop's Palace), another fortified structure dating from the late 13th century.

Albi's Shopping

Albi is an up-and-coming city with plenty to offer visitors by way of culture and cuisine.

The city centre has escaped the ravages of the Hundred Year’s war and is still much as it was in the middle Ages. It is a warren of narrow cobbled streets and alleyways lined with gabled houses and half-timbered shops with ancient signs outside, like the pharmacy on Rue Timbal. The city had a face-lift thanks to a major urban renovation programme

However, those looking for a bit of retail therapy may find the narrow gridded streets of of Albi confusing and daunting, so here is a little guide to some of the best boutiques and stores.

One thing to note - almost a

ll of Albi shops and boutiques are closed on Sundays, Monday mornings and between 12 and 2pm. You will just have to visit the restraunts.

Get Closer with Albi in their night life

Albi is just not beautiful in the morning,but in the night you can also many in the alleys,streets and everywhere delight with Albi's night life that won't make you close your eyes even in only one seconds.Albi also offers you to visit and enjoy your trip in Albi's night life.

If you really interest in what Al

bi can brings you to their nightlife you can visit their club include with 

Cabaret Ô Toulouse,club autrium,Le Manda and many more !

Albi, France, has only a limited amount of nightlife and entertainment to chose from. tripwolf helps you find the best nightlife and entertainment in Albi. Below we listed the best party nightlife, gay nightlife, dancing and nightclubs, both for under 21 & 18 and over, according to tripwolf's travel community.Or you also can go to de la croix-Blanche theater.

Well that's not all,there are so many places,entertainments,restaurants,cafes,or shopping centre in Albi that i can't mention all of it.but you've gotta trust me to visit this place,i've been there once,and even when i got there it was a heavy raining in Albi,but still for me Albi has a great city view at all.Albi also has a good stucture of buildings,scenery,museums,cathedral,etc. So,enjoy your trip !