Castelsarrasin

Castelsarrasin is a town in the Tarn-et-Garonne department of Occitanie, southern France, set along the Canal de Garonne (formerly the Canal latéral à la Garonne), which links the town to Toulouse and Bordeaux. Its marina and landscaped towpaths make for pleasant walks or cycling along the greenway, a popular stretch of the Canal des Deux Mers cycle route. The historic centre retains the Église Saint-Sauveur, a former Benedictine abbey church remodelled over the centuries, along with a handful of timber-framed houses recalling the town's medieval origins. Castelsarrasin is also known as the birthplace of the painter Marcel Lenoir, commemorated by a small municipal museum. Just a short distance from Moissac and its UNESCO-listed abbey, the town sits within the typical rural landscape of Bas-Quercy, surrounded by orchards and fields of melons and chasselas grapes. With the mild climate of the south-west and easy access to Montauban, Castelsarrasin makes a convenient, low-key base for exploring the Garonne valley, its farmland scenery and Romanesque heritage.