Monestiés (in Occitan Monestièr) is a commune in the Tarn department, in the Occitania region (Massif Central, France).
Historically and culturally, the commune lies in the Ségala, an area stretching across the departments of Tarn and Aveyron, and made up of long schistose plateaux broken up by narrow valleys.
Exposed to an altered oceanic climate, it is drained by the Cérou, Céret, Candour and Zère rivers, as well as several other small streams. The commune has a remarkable natural heritage, with a areas of ecological, faunistic and floristic interest.
Monestiés is a rural commune, with a population of 1,376 as of 2021. It is in the Carmaux conurbation and part of the Albi catchment area. Its inhabitants are known as Monestiesains or Monestiesaines.
It is a member of the The Most Beautiful Villages of France association.
Main attractions
- Croix de Salvetat: Christianised menhir, listed as a historic monument since 4 June 1981.
- The village is surrounded by the lices – promenades occupying the site of the ditches and old ramparts – and the houses are packed around the church of Saint-Pierre, in a loop of the river, a stop on the pilgrimage way (Camino de Santiago) to Santiago de Compostela.
- The church of Saint-Pierre de Monestiés was built in 1550. It belongs to the group of southern Gothic buildings, with its five-sided chevet, three bays and five side chapels between the buttresses. It was built on the remains of a Romanesque church that was destroyed during the Wars of Religion. Flanked by a turret, the bell tower stands 20 metres high and houses a bell cast in 1599. The bell tower and choir were listed as historic monuments in 1979. The church (excluding the listed parts) was listed as a historic monument in 1979.
- The Bajén-Vega Museum: this former stately home, now home to the Tourist Office, houses the works of a Spanish couple of painters who fled Francoism.
- Church of Saint-Hippolyte de Monestiés. The building was listed as a historic monument in 1927.
- Saint-Jacques de Camalières church.
- Chapel at Canitrot.
- Chapel of Sainte-Cécile-de-Sabin in La Goussaudié.
- Chapel of Saint-Jacques de Monestiés. This former hospital chapel houses a sculpted stone tomb made for the bishops of Albi in the 15th century, as well as the furniture (choir stalls) that adorned the chapel of the château de Combefa.
- Château de Saint-Hippolyte.
How to get to?
From Paris: 7 hr 1 min (665 km) via A20
From Toulouse: 1 hr 19 min (101 km) via A68
From Andorra: 3 hr 49 min (280 km) via A68
From Barcelona: 5 hr 4 min (491 km) via A61
From Madrid: 8 hr 51 min (904 km) via A-1 and A64
From Monaco: 6 hr 12 min (571 km) via A8
From Moscow: 36 hr (3,410 km) via E30/M1
From Belgrade: 19 hr 31 min (1,884 km) via E70
From Istanbul: 29 hr (2,824 km) via E70
From Bern: 7 hr 52 min (773 km) via A75
Main information
Area: 26,83 km2
Population: 1 376
Coordinates: 44°04′19″N 2°05′52″E
Language: French
Currency: Euro
Visa: Schengen
Time: Central European UTC +1
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