The combined territories
of Languedoc and Roussillon include
five départements: Aude, Gard,
Hérault, Lozère
and Pyrénées-Oriental. The area has
been French since the 13th century and the name languedoc comes
from langue d’oc or language in which ‘yes’ is
oc (as opposed to langue d’oïl the language in which
‘yes’ is oui). This ancient language is still heard
throughout the south of France, on both sides of the Rhône.
The Mediterranean coast between Perpignan, the
ancient capital of the Kings of Mallorca, and Montpellier
now has one of the most modern holiday complexes in Europe, including
the resorts of La Grande Motte, Port Leucate
and Port Bacarès.
Montpellier itself is the city that surveys show most French
people themselves would most like to live in. With its grand civic
spaces, cutting-edge architecture and state-of-the-art tram system,
the city also offers a vision into the future of urban living. Other
attractions include some excellent museums, galleries and a string
of fine, good value restaurants. More wine is produced in Languedoc-Roussillon
than any other place in the world. The vineyards, started during
the Roman era and producing red, white and rosé wine, begin
in the Narbonne area, run past Béziers,
the wine marketing centre for the region, and on to Montpellier.
Once an important seaport which imported spices (its name derives
from ‘the Mount of Spice Merchants’), the city is an
important intellectual and university centre with 5 fine museums,
impressive 17th and 18th century architecture and a superb summer
music festival. There is a great variety of other attractions in
this warm southland. The Roman ruins are often magnificent, the
Maison Carré, Diana’s Temple
and the Roman Arena in Nîmes,
the Rome of the Gauls, are among some of the finest
examples of Greco-Roman architecture to be found today. The 2000-year-old
Pont de Gard is one of humanity’s greatest
architectural accomplishments and certainly merits a special trip.
There is the medieval city of Aigues-Mortes which
would still be recognisable to St Louis and his
crusaders, for it was from here they left for the east. The crenellated
walled city of Carcassonne and towers of Uzès
are unmissable.
On the coast, Sete is Mediterranean France’s
largest fishing port and boasts an attractive town, complete with
beaches, canals and bountiful restaurants and cafes. Nearby, Agde
is a smaller fishing port whose main attraction is Le Cap
d’Agde, with its wide expanse of unspoiled beaches
and large nudist colony.
The Canal du Midi, ideal for cruise holidays, is
a tranquil waterway and largely abandoned by commerce, and connects
the Mediterranean with the Atlantic. It runs through the sleepy
village of Castelnaudary, famous for its cassoulet,
past the citadel of Carcassonne and on through
Montpellier. |
