Puycelsi * All PYRENEES · France, Spain, Andorra

Puycelsi (Puycelsi, in Occitan: Puègcèlsi), known during the Revolution as Puycelcy-la-Montagne, is a commune located in the Tarn department, in the Occitania region (foothills of the Massif Central, France).

Historically and culturally, the town is in Gaillac, a country that owes its repute to the quality of its wines.

Exposed to an altered oceanic climate, it is drained by the Vère, the Tescounet, the Rô stream, the Montouyre and various other small rivers.

The commune has a remarkable natural heritage: three Natura 2000 sites (the Grésigne Forest, the Aveyron Gorges, Fnearby Causses, the Vère Valley, the Grésigne Forest and surrounding areas) and four zones with natural sites of ecological, fauna and flora interest.

Puycelsi is a rural commune that had 456 inhabitants as of 2021, after having experienced a population peak of 2,206 inhabitants in 1846. Its inhabitants are called Puycelsiens or Puycelsiennes.

The village is a member of the association, The Most Beautiful Villages of France.

Main attractions

14th century ramparts. The Irissou gate has a double defense system. It is located near the prison tower.
Notre-Dame Church of Laval.

Sainte-Catherine Church of Sainte-Catherine.
Saint-Jacques de Lacapelle Church.

Saint-Maurice Church of Puycelsi.
Chapel of Saint-Roch de Puycelsi 1703.

Chapel of Saint-Julien-le-Vieux in Puycelsi.
Castle of the captains-governors 15th century.

Saint-James Chapel, annex of the Templar Commandery of Vaour de Puycelsi.

Numerous houses from the 15th and 16th centuries including the town hall.
Saint-Corneille de Puycels church from the 14th and 15th centuries in southern Gothic style with a single nave, with an altarpiece from 1689, restored in 1985 and other listed furniture (15th century pietà, wooden Christ phylactery, etc.). The building was listed as a historic monument in 2018.

At the foot of the village, regional orchard-conservatory created by the Tarn department in 1986 to contribute to the preservation of 800 traditional and endangered species of fruit trees (apple trees, pear trees, plum trees and cherry trees).

From the village (altitude: 299 meters), the Heritage Trail, laid out in 1987, is made up of several loops from the Audoulou valley to the Montoulieu massif in the Grésigne forest (altitude 498 meters).
To the west of the village, below the scree of the Rouzet cliff, Mousterian site excavated during the years 1975-1987 under the direction of André Tavoso.