Maisons sur l'Agout

The Maisons sur l'Agout are the signature view of Castres: a single row of crooked, brightly painted half-timbered houses standing directly on the river, their wooden balconies overhanging the water and their reflections doubling the view on a calm afternoon. They were built between the 13th and 17th centuries for the dyers, tanners, and weavers who needed the river to run their trades.

The best vantage point is from the Pont Neuf, looking north along the row, especially in the late afternoon when the western light catches the painted facades. Some of the ground-floor rooms are now restaurants and bars; an evening drink with a table over the water is one of the simple pleasures of Castres.

things to do sight
A story
The houses were built directly over the river to give the dyers, tanners, and weavers easy access to running water for their trades. The lower workrooms opened onto the Agout with timber platforms, the upper floors served as living quarters. By the 17th century Castres was a major centre of the southern French wool and silk trades — and the polluted river downstream paid the price.