Bastide de Réalmont

Réalmont

Halfway between Albi and Castres, Réalmont, the "royal mount", is a bastide founded in 1272 under Philip III the Bold by Guillaume de Cohardon. The king had the forests of the Réalmontais cleared, lands confiscated from Bernard de Boissezon, dispossessed by the Inquisition for heresy, in order to gather there the defenders of the Catholic faith and of royal power. The old bastide forms today's town centre: an arcaded square encircles the church of Notre-Dame-du-Taur, the covered arcades rest on wooden pillars dating from the creation of the town, jettied houses line picturesque streets and the boulevards trace the line of the vanished ramparts. The Fréjaire fountain, of the Louis XIV period, is a reminder that the town, taken and laid waste by the prince of Condé in June 1628, also has its Protestant temple.

Getting there : Free access to the town and to the arcaded square; Centre Tarn tourist office. No market times are documented in the texts.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound