Cordes-sur-Ciel

Cordes-sur-Ciel lies high above the banks of the Cérou river. So in 1993, when tourism got more important. So in 1993, it got the surname "sur-Ciel".

The village was founded as a bastide in 1222 by Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse, a strong opponent of the infamous Simon de Montfort during the Albigensian Crusade. It was built, to protect the scattered population of the area from conflict.

By the 1229 Treaty of Paris, Raymond conceded defeat to Louis IX of France. When in 1241, Jeanne, the Countess of Toulouse, married the brother of Louis IX Cordes became a part of France in 1271 without having been militarily conquered.

During the "golden age", when Cordes was a centre of the leather and wool trade, the merchants could afford houses with Gothic facades. The facades are populated by little monkeys.