More than twenty years ago I visited Montpellier to visit friends who, at the time, were living in the shadow of the fabulous 18th century Aqueduc Saint-Clément. That should have been incentive enough to return to the Languedoc and explore further afield. For reasons I can’t explain, until this summer that was the only time I have ever been to this utterly beguiling region.
The Languedoc combines everything that is special about France: a deep and fascinating history, well-preserved ancient towns and villages, glorious countryside, art and culture on tap, beautiful coastlines, and extraordinary food. It isn’t off the beaten track, but away from the coast, and outside of tourist hell-spots like Carcassonne, it often felt only lightly touristed. Even in July and August.
It is also one of France’s most interesting wine regions, and produces around a third of all the wine in the whole country. Delicious local white, rosé and red wines, often made with grapes we’d never heard of before, accompanied some truly memorable meals. In one village that still preserved its medieval core, we stayed in a B&B that housed a wine shop with dozens of wines made only a few kilometres away
So rich in culture and history is the Languedoc, the challenge of visiting is decided less where to go than what to miss. It feels like you could make your plans by sticking a pin in a map and still not be disappointed by where you end up. We had more time than usual and decided to stay longer in the places we visited. It allowed us time to relax, but also to explore more slowly. It was genuinely wonderful despite the fierce temperatures.
Temperatures soared to 40C, and the months preceding our trip had also been hot and dry. If you were following news from France this summer you’ll likely have seen the country’s largest wildfire since the 1940s was raging in the centre of the Languedoc. We didn’t see it, and weren’t affected by it, but it is a strange feeling to know that only 60km away, firefighters are risking their lives to protect local communities.
Beziers, our start point, was just one of several places on this trip that surprised us by its history and culture. It’s also relaxed and has great food. The imposing cathedral towers over the River Orb below making it a visually striking place, but the real joy is to explore the atmospheric streets in the ancient centre before grabbing a table at one of its many good restaurants for a slow lunch.
We were reluctant to leave, but that reluctance was tenfold when it was time to leave again after a week by the sea in Collioure. You can swim off one of the three town beaches in the shadow of an ancient castle and a church with lighthouse attached. It’s truly wonderful. We were fortunate to have strong winds cooling the town, which meant I could do a 20km walk along the gorgeous coast to Banyuls-sur-Mer.
I’d never been to the medieval city of Carcassonne and expected it to be one of the main highlights of the trip. In truth, it looks spectacular from afar but venture inside the walls and you discover it has transformed into a tourist hellhole. Our visit to three amazing Cathar castles on the way there was more fulfilling. Still, we had fun there, but I couldn’t help feeling I should have visited 20 years ago.
We traveled through the Haut-Languedoc Regional Park to Albi making a couple of stops en route in the villages of Montolieu and Saissac, which has another Cathar castle. I now know that Albi is famous for being the birthplace of Toulouse-Lautrec (there’s a pretty good museum dedicated to his work), but Albi itself was the great surprise of the whole trip. I can’t believe I’d never heard of it before.
The days after Albi were spent in the countryside, first in the small village of Olargues which is considered one of the most beautiful in France (it’s hard to disagree), then to the Cathar town of Minerve, and finally the well-preserved medieval village of Aignes. No trip comes without some failures, and the opening hours of restaurants in the French countryside remain an utter mystery. We were lucky to eat on a couple of occasions.
It was then back to the coast and a stop in Sète, close enough to Montpellier that you can almost see it. There are beaches that stretch for a dozen kilometers just outside Sète, but the town itself is a fascinating and still very active fishing port. It was definitely time to return to Brussels, but I’d have been happy to continue our trip though this extraordinary region for far longer.
We’ll be back, Languedoc, but maybe at a time of year when it’s not so hot that you can fry an egg on the streets of one of the many medieval towns or villages scattered across the region. We really need to start taking the climate crisis much more seriously.
Even 30 years ago Carcassonne was a tourist hellhole… We did find one shop worth going into and bought some beautiful framed photos of some of the castles in the area. Other than that, by the time we finished visiting we were wondering if we could fill the moat and block all the entrances bar one to keep the hordes out and make it a lovely place to be. The photographer is still active: boutique.sioen-photo
Inside the walls it is such a disappointment. It was August and busier than usual, but it really has been steamrollered by tourism. Such a shame. Viewed from outside though, it is magnificent, as those photos show!
Beautiful.