Parc de la Châtaigneraie

A châtaigneraie is a chestnut grove, and parks of that name usually keep a stand of mature chestnut trees, which give deep summer shade, spiky green husks in early autumn and a carpet of leaves in November. A city park of this kind is a place for a stroll, a picnic or a quiet read, rather than a formal garden with fountains and statues. Entry to municipal parks like this is normally free, and visitors should check locally for any seasonal opening hours.

Montauban is a good town in which to find a green pause. It lies on the river Tarn in the south-west of France, north of Toulouse, and it is built almost entirely of the warm pink brick that is characteristic of the region, which glows orange at sunset. The town was founded in 1144 as a bastide, a planned new town, by the count of Toulouse, and its centre is the Place Nationale, a beautiful arcaded square with double rows of arches on all four sides, lined with café terraces and shops. It was rebuilt after a fire in the seventeenth century, and the pink brick arcades are among the most picturesque in the south.

The town has two important links with art. The painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was born in Montauban in 1780, and the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle in 1861, and the museum that bears both their names, the Musée Ingres Bourdelle, is installed in the former bishop's palace beside the river. The cathedral holds a large painting by Ingres, The Vow of Louis XIII, which is one of the town's treasures. The Collégiale Saint-Jacques is another notable church, and the old brick bridge over the Tarn, the Pont Vieux, dates from the fourteenth century and gives a classic view of the town.

Montauban also has a Protestant heritage, since it was a stronghold of the Huguenots during the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century religious wars, and a Protestant faculty of theology still operates in the town. The mixture of traditions is part of its character.

A walk through the park, followed by a stroll along the river and a coffee under the arcades of the Place Nationale, makes a gentle half-day. The park suits families, joggers, walkers and anyone seeking shade. Visitors should note that precise features and hours are uncertain, so ask at the tourist office for guidance before going.