France Midi-Pyrenees

Toulouse is a city in southwestern France. It lies on the banks of the River Garonne. A city with unique architecture made of pinkish terracotta bricks, which earned it the nickname la Ville Rose ("the Pink City"), Toulouse counts two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Canal du Midi (designated in 1996 and shared with other cities), and the Basilica of St. Sernin, the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe. Its world-renowned university is one of the oldest in Europe (founded in 1229) and, with more than 103,000 students, is the fourth-largest university campus of France.

Rocamadour is a commune in south-western France. Rocamadour has attracted visitors for its setting in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogne, and especially for its historical monuments and its sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which for centuries has attracted pilgrims from every country. Rocamadour was a dependency of the abbey of Tulle to the north in the Bas Limousin. The buildings of Rocamadour (from roca, cliff, and sant Amador) rise in stages up the side of a cliff on the right bank of the Alzou, which here runs between rocky walls 120 meters (390 ft) in height. Flights of steps ascend from the lower town to the churches, a group of massive buildings half-way up the cliff.

Lourdes is a commune in south-western France. It is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes said to have occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous. At that time, the most prominent feature of the town was the fortified castle that rises up from a rocky escarpment at its center. Today Lourdes hosts around six million visitors every year from all corners of the world. This constant stream of pilgrims and tourists transformed quiet Lourdes into the second most important center of tourism in France, second only to Paris, and the third most important site of international Catholic pilgrimage after Rome and the Holy Land.

Albi is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department. It is located on the River Tarn. It was the seat of the Archbishop of Albi and is the seat of the Diocese of Albi. The episcopal city, situated in the center of the actual city, around the cathedral, was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2010. Albi was built around the original cathedral and episcopal group of buildings, red brick and tiles are the main feature of most of the edifices. Albi is one of the main cities built in Languedoc-style red brick. Among the buildings of the town is the Sainte Cecile cathedral, a masterpiece of the Southern Gothic style, built between the 13th and 15th centuries.

Cahors is the capital of the Lot department in south-western France.

Its site is dramatic, being contained on three sides within a U-shaped bend in the River Lot known as the presqu'île. Today Cahors is perhaps best known as the centre of the famous AOC 'black' wine known since the Middle Ages and exported via Bordeaux, long before that region had developed its own viniculture industry.

Conques is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France, in the Midi-Pyrenees region. The village is located at the confluence of the Dourdou de Conques and Ouche rivers. It is built on a hillside and has classic narrow Medieval streets. As a result, large vehicles (such as buses) cannot enter the historic town center but must park outside. The St. Foy abbey-church was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1998. Its Romanesque architecture, albeit somewhat updated in places, is displayed in periodic self-guided tour opportunities, especially of the upper level, some of which occur at night with live music and appropriately-adjusted light levels.

Cordes-sur-Ciel is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. The fortified town was built in 1222 by Raimon VII, the Count of Toulouse. The town has attracted tourists interested in heritage destinations. In 1993 it adopted the new name of Cordes-sur-Ciel to reflect the town's site on a hill above the clouds that frequently collect in the river valley.

Saint-Cirq-Lapopie is a commune in south-western France. It is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association .Its position, originally selected for defense, perched on a steep cliff 100 m above the river has helped make the town one of the most popular tourist destinations in the department, and the entire town is almost a museum. After it was "discovered" by the Post-Impressionist Henri Martin, it became popular with other artists, it is the home of the writer André Breton.