In the heart of the former Carmaux-Albi mining basin, the Musée-mine départemental is located in Cagnac-les-Mines. It offers technical and social insights into seven centuries of coal-mining history.
Those planning their own stay in Cagnac-les-Mines can specify that they would like to rent a holiday apartment as their preferred type of accommodation.
Culture and history
The Église Saint-Dalmazy is already mentioned in records from the 13th century. It may date from the late 15th or early 16th century; the frescoes also appear to date from this period. Since 9 December 1970, the church has been listed as a historic monument.
The sanctuary of the Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Drèche was built in the 14th century and was already a place of pilgrimage in 1410.
The Cité minière des Homps was built after the First World War to house foreign workers who had been recruited to strengthen the ranks of the miners. The original Cité minière des Homps comprised around one hundred adjoining homes.
A visit to the Maison du Polonais provides insights into the everyday life of the miners through period furniture and information panels about mining and the layout of the settlement.
Trails and landscape
Today, the Voie verte Chemin des Mineurs connects Albi and Cagnac-les-Mines on foot or by bicycle. The Chemin des Mineurs follows the route of a former railway line that served to transport coal and miners between Gaillaguès and the Cagnac mines from 1894 to 1950.
Lac des Homps is a natural recreational area near the settlement of the same name and the Musée-Mine départemental. On the shore, visitors can fish, stroll, run and have a picnic in peaceful, pleasant surroundings.
Visits and discovery
The Balade en sol mineur hiking route begins at the Musée-mine départemental and takes visitors to the Homps miners’ settlement. Using information panels, it conveys insights into the everyday lives of miners and their families in Cagnac-les-Mines.
The Cité minière des Homps offers guided tours by prior reservation. Individual visitors can enter the Maison du Polonais by prior reservation to collect the key.
In Cagnac-les-Mines, visitors descend in a lift cage and can walk through 300 metres of reconstructed galleries from a former coal mine.
In the area surrounding Cagnac-les-Mines, Cap Découverte was established as a leisure, cultural, economic and tourism zone through a redevelopment project involving six municipalities in the mining basin, including Cagnac-les-Mines.
Other destinations: Cadalen, Saint-Jean-de-Marcel, Cordes-Sur-Ciel, Castelnau-De-Brassac, Viterbe, Aiguelèze, Garrevaques, Palleville.
