Castres: unexpected Goya in the heart of the French Tarn

Birthplace of socialist leader Jean Jaurès, Castres holds a surprising collection of paintings by Francisco Goya far away from Spain.

The center, which holds unexpected works of Goya, is visited comfortably on foot.

The Goya Museum, the only French museum entirely dedicated to Spanish art, houses original paintings by the master Francisco Goya donated by a local collector.

Just steps away, the houses on the Agout River, former homes of medieval dyers and tanners, remain the most photographed image of Castres' entire historic center.

Continuing, one visits the Jean Jaurès Museum, dedicated to the celebrated French socialist leader born in the city, assassinated on the eve of World War I.

As evening approaches, the Bishop's Garden, designed in the French style, animates evening strolls along the river.

The Goya Museum in Castres, founded through the donation of a local painter art collector in the nineteenth century, remains France's only museum specifically dedicated to Spanish art, with works spanning from Goya to El Greco.

Jean Jaurès, born in Castres in 1859, was assassinated in 1914 on the eve of World War I for his pacifist positions, becoming a symbol of French socialism still studied in schools today.