Andillac
A beautifully renovated white stone village, Andillac nestles in amongst vineyards that stretch as far as the eye can see, making it an ideal place to enjoy some lovely walks and hikes.
Andillac and its romantic ideals
Andillac is not only known for its wine-growing, but also for its Cayla chateau-museum, where romantic poet Maurice de Guérin (1810-1839) and his sister Eugénie were born.
In the middle of the village you’ll discover a fabulous little square surrounded by perfectly restored white stone houses. At the foot of the church you’ll find one of the very first wall gardens, also known as vertical gardens. The idea was devised and developed by the well-known botanist and researcher Patrick Blanc, and this wall garden has been there since 1997. A very pretty pigeon loft overlooks the village.
The Cayla chateau and museum
Just outside the village sits the Cayla chateau and museum, housed in a small manor house that’s typical of the Languedoc region. It was here that the writers and romantic poets Maurice and Eugénie de Guérin were born. Maurice de Guérin is known for poems and prose that George Sand introduced to the world back in 1840 in the ‘Revue des Deux Mondes’ magazine. Eugénie, meanwhile, is famous for her letters and diary entries, which brilliantly reflected life in the Tarn in the 19th century.
Bursting with history, the house and its gardens are also surrounded by gardens that are classified as a site of special interest. Everything here bears intimate witness to the landscape that inspired both the lives and the works of these two writers.
In the gardens you can follow a ‘poet’s pathway’, ambling along while soaking up Cayla’s uniquely calm and peaceful atmosphere. The Cayla chateau and museum is part of a Federation of Writers’ Houses And Literary Heritage, and often houses temporary exhibitions, workshops, conferences and lectures.
The Saint-Médard Church
As far back as the 12th century there was already a church dedicated to Saint Médard in Andillac. But the medieval building eventually became too small and too run-down to be fit for purpose. At the end of the 19th century, the works of Maurice and Eugénie Guérin had been recognised by the ‘Académie Française’ and their burgeoning reputations brought admirers from every corner of France to visit their home at the Cayla chateau, and to gather at their tomb by the church. The structure that you can still see today dates from 1872 and was financed by gifts from both the de Guérin family and Andillac locals.
