@ Gillian Thornton The

@ Gillian Thornton The Perched Villages of the “Tuscan” Tarn Step back through the centuries in the medieval villages of the Tarn. Gillian Thornton heads to La Toscane Occitane. One of the things we all want on holiday is clear weather, but put Cordes-sur-Ciel on your itinerary and you cannot help but hope for cloud. Well, the right sort of cloud at any rate. Perched on a hilltop in the rolling countryside of the Tarn department, ‘Cordes-above-the-sky’ appears to float above the clouds when early morning mist lingers in the Cérou valley below. Classified amongst the Most Beautiful Villages in France, Cordes-sur-Ciel is just half an hour’s drive from my base in the UNESCO-listed city of Albi. Not driving? Then enjoy a private tour from Albi in a classic 2CV with Le Tacot Cathare. Alternatively, take a day trip by train from Toulouse along the ‘Bastides and Most Beautiful Villages’ line to Cordes-Vindrac, where you can pick up a bus or taxi for the last 5km. With transport of my own, I park on the lower slopes of the hill outside Le Jardin des Paradis, open from May to September and classified as a Jardin Remarquable for its dense planting of exotic species, its lily ponds, and varied summer programme of concerts and exhibitions. Then I set off on foot to wind up through the lower tiers of properties once occupied by Cordes’ working classes. 36 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 37