That was a great pleasure to visit the country side of the South-West of France. When I was living in France, I’ve never noticed the treasure we have in Europe. Now, that I am living abroad, I realize how we have beautiful places to visit with amazing history.

La vieille pierre with its small streets and old architectures can be perfect for your Instagram account! Lots of details are incredible to shoot and a real pleasure to admire.

Even if the weather wasn’t great to visit and pretty rainy, we were lucky to be alone while visiting. With the Christmas holidays, most of the Commerces were close so the streets were empty. We had lunch in a typical Brasserie and enjoyed the famous recipes as Boudin Noir aux Pommes, Coquilles Saint-Jacques or some Aligot!

This trip gave us a lot of great time and we quickly adopted the French Lifestyle: relaxed and based on great / too much food! I can’t mention how many Baguettes, Croissants, Chocolatine and Pain aux raisins we ate!

So great to be home!

If you want to visit the South-West of France:

Regions to go if you are settle in Toulouse:

• Tarn
• Aveyron
• Haute-Garonne
• Gers
• Aude
• Pays Basque

I encourage you to rent a car and to drive around the country side. Lots of Gites (Bed and Breakfast) are available at the Winter season. The temperature are pretty warm especially if you are from the North of the US as us. Le Guide du Routard can be a great alternative to plan your visit.

Main cities who need to be seen:

• Rodez
• Albi
• Toulouse
• Biarritz
• Espelette
• Cordes-Sur-Ciel
• Carcassonne

These regions has different landscapes and amazing food for you. In only 3 hours you can explore the mountains, the country side and the sea side. This part of France is one of the most beautiful of the country.

Here some pictures from Cordes-Sur-Ciel, La Cité de Carcassonne et Le Château de Najac – they should give you some motivation to book a trip there :

Over to you, what do you like to do while visiting the country side in Europe?
#ExploreNorthern

Cécile lives in Chicago though is originally from southern France. She’s an avid traveler and is always excited by new adventures. After living in Ireland, Australia and Canada, Cécile is an advocate of having a routine but not staying comfortable for too long.