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 3. TARN REGION
La Maison des Tournesols
Tarn region  -  Tarn cottage  -  Tarn village   
Tarn sightseeing  -  Tarn house-plans -  Tarn local region 
 
 The village of Ambres

The village of Ambres seen high on  the top of a hill - surrounded by patchwork
fields of sunflowers, maize vines and fruit - our cottage is on high almost
opposite the church - you can just see the steeple against the sky.
Left - Ambres taken from the official village web site and - Right - seen from the fields below.

The short main street of the village finishes in a roundabout surrounded by a park with stunning views.
Our cottage is just visible on the left after the Mairie, the school, and a couple of other houses.

The park just off the roundabout - a great place for a walk under shady trees
and an excellent area for children to play. Many people drive up here just to enjoy the high views.
This is the day of the very popular Vide Grenier - Empty your Attic Fair - or Trash & Treasure.

The view to the back of the village and from our cottage - looking out from its
high position over the far hills and some of the richest agricultural land of France. 
The tower in the valley is an ancient military Commanderie.

Standing near our front door looking towards the church end of the village.
Standing at our front door looking down to the park end of the village.
Ambres is a wonderfully friendly village and several of our guests have made friends here.
This photo taken out of the main bedroom window of our cottage and once again shows the
annual trash-and-treasure day -
- where everything from antique lace to spinning wheels is brought out to be sold
and everyone turns out to chat, rummage and bargain and enjoy a drink with the neighbours.
There are wonderful high and low walks from this cottage starting from near the
village cemetery shown here. Several of our guests have written up their hikes through
the tracks in the visitors book so that others can enjoy them too -
- and the most beautiful thing about this village is the wonderful vision
of fields of yellow sunflowers in all directions down the hills - les tournesols.

Ambres is a very small village but the individual houses are most attractive - 
especially now that they are all being stripped off to expose the bricks which are 
a feature of this region.  This house near the park is one of the loveliest in the village -

- and the house in the middle next to the former Post Office is the oldest house in the village 
- the former Guard House for the ancient Château d'Ambres. The Château was demolished during the 
Revolution - but rumour has it that stones in most of the houses here were pillaged from the ruins.

The beautiful Tarn countryside around our village of Ambres - green and fertile
hills covered in vines for the Gaillac wines and small picturesque villages.

The architecture in the region is very interesting because - as there is
little natural stone in the area - most houses are built in the ancient rose coloured bricks
laid in decorative patterns - and often with exposed dark beams.

Tarn region  -  Tarn cottage  -  Tarn village   
Tarn sightseeing  -  Tarn house-plans -  Tarn local region 


 
The village of Ambres
        The cottage, together with the church, school and  Mairie, is in the single main street of the village 
which finishes in a shady park and viewing lookout.  Many tourists drive up to look out over the sweeping 
panorama below.  Ambres is one of the friendliest of all our villages.  Founded in the 13C 
by warrior monks of the Cistercian order known as St Jean de Jerusalem, the village and its surroundings are 
classified. Today it is a lively and rising little village with several young families busily restoring their 
houses to expose the ancient, handmade bricks which give this region so much individual character.  
 
The Tarn programme of regional activities - fairs, fêtes and festivals during spring, summer and autumn -
as well as music and opera during winter - gives the opportunity of mixing the best of rural life with the 
cultural diversity of several larger cities, as Albi, Montauban and Toulouse are all quite close by. 
The nearest shopping is 4 kms away at the historic town of Lavaur.
 



 1. Lot - 2. Dordogne - 3 Tarn - 4 Gascony - 5 Provence - 6 Haute Provence - 7 Pyrenees
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