The Cathar country, activities and centres of interest

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Fireworks in the city of Carcassonne

THE CATHAR COUNTRY

Activities and centres of interest

     Inside the domain and around, open-air enthusiasts will find paths for long walks or bicycle rides on the 500 km² of the Malepère. The fauna and the flora you will meet on your way won the Malepère
    Walk on the Malepère
    Walk on the Malepère
    its Natura 2000 designation and the recognition as a zone of faunal and floral interest. Thus the Malepère obtained the european «Environmental Quality» certificate.

     A Youth and Sports approved equestrian center will offer you rides in the Malepère, whether you are a confirmed rider or not. Riding in the nature is a pleasant new way to discover the paths of the Malepère.

     Ideally situated between the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees, the Cathar country offers its visitors many touristic activities,
    Beneath the vaults of the City
    Beneath the vaults of the City
    in particular a rich historical heritage where the Medieval City of Carcassonne occupies a first plan. Listed as World Heritage by UNESCO, the medieval city is a remarkable testimony to the military architecture of Middle Ages and is one of the most visited monuments in France. Every year during the month of July, the city of Carcassonne is the site of prestigious events.

     Many other castles Cathar open to visitors: Lastours, Saissac, Peyrepertuse, Queribus, Arques, Puylaurens Puivert, Aguilar, Termes, Fanjeaux, Villerouge Termenès... fortresses for some once considered impregnable, and whose ruins still rip roaring skies and landscapes as tormented as the history that has sculpted.

    Landscape of the Cathar country
    Landscape of the Cathar country                   

     The Aude offers also to the visitor many abbeys: Fontfroide, Villelongue, Lagrasse, Saint Papoul, Saint Hilaire, Saint Polycarp, Caunes-Minervois: famous names where guides of historic monuments will revive for you some great moments of the Christianity.

    Roman bridge near Bugarach
    Roman bridge near Bugarach
     The Aude is also the Canal du Midi, he also declared a World Heritage by UNESCO. The masterpiece of Pierre Paul Riquet stretches its romantic charms on the 250 km linking Toulouse to the Mediterranean. You can rent a boat for the day or make biking along its fresh banks.

     The upper Valley of the Aude will not fail to attract fans of water sports, but also pique the curiosity of fans of historical mysteries. Leading experts say that these places still keep the treasure of the Temple of Jerusalem, reduced by the Visigoths after the sack of Rome in the year 410.
    Catechism dating from 1654
    Catechism dating from 1654
    For others, the mystery is a esoteric secret about Jesus of Nazareth, secrecy would have been discovered in Palestine by the early Knights Templar. Others see it as some dark operations to Cathars and the famous surrender of the Castle of Montsegur in the year 1244. To date, all these questions and many others remain and feed a rich literature and passionate debates, even passionate, and which justify some pretty hikes in the heart of the epic landscapes located around Rennes-le-Chateau and the Pech de Bugarach.

     Lovers of ancient books, calligraphy, and parchments, will find in the streets of Montolieu, nicknamed the '' book village '', enough to feed their passion and curiosity.


    Le pays cathare
    The Basilica of St Nazaire The Canal du Midi The Aude Gate Lanes of the medieval City
     The Cathar country will also offer you a sumptuous Mediterranean coast (Narbonne, ponds Bages and Leucate), caves and sinkholes impressive (Cabrespine, Limousis the Aguzou), the spas of Rennes-les-Bains and Alet- les-Bains, remarkable sites of hiking (Bugarach, gorges of Pierre-Lys and Galamus), a plethora of museums, not forgetting this ancestral land giving birth to wines served today on the largest tables world (Malepère, Minervois, Corbieres): places where the winemakers, attached to their land, say their work with the heart, ''the Soul of Wine'' so dear to Baudelaire, and you will tast (with moderation) their wonderful products born of an ancestral know-how.




11290 - Arzens - FRANCE

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