I love the South of France! This time I went more west than usual, I spent a week just 30 minutes west of Nimes and then a further 5 days near Carcassone.
Highlights in the area around Nimes:
My favourite days were spent in the Cevennes. Such beautiful countryside! Stunning drives (Cirque de Navacelles), fantastic caves (Grotte de Demoiselles) and awe inspiring views from Mount Aigoul (make sure you bring a jacket ! We went up there when it was 28 degrees and on top of the mountain it was only 11 degrees and very windy!) And the people are so friendly. Also, lots of places to just chill out, sit in river restaurants and watch people swim in the rivers. Or, for the more active, you can rent canoes.
I also loved the castle in Les Beaux. The Papal Palace in Avignon (yes, there isn’t much furniture in it but just the whole scale of it). The drive through the Alpilles.
A bit unusual but quite a lot of fun: The crocodile farm just north of Orange. It is a bit of a drive but if you get a bit tired of all the beautiful buildings …. I have never seen quite that many crocs, and you can stroll through a nicely landscaped jungle, whilst learning about crocodiles.
The Pont du Gard. Impressive. You could take a picnic and also swim in the river if you want to make half a day out of it. Parking is 5 Euros but the aqueduct itself is free.
Aigues Mortes. It is nice to just walk along the ramparts (and quite a way) and you will have great views across the countryside. The nearby beaches are clean, wide and long, if not particular beautiful (built up in Grau du Roi and Grande Motte).
Nimes: The arena is impressive. Worth listening to the audio guide (very detailed). I found the town itself quite smelly which kept me from seeing its beauty …..
The area around Carcassone
How I wished I had spent more time! The highlights were definitely the cathar castles. Be aware, once you have been bitten by the cathar castle bug, you will want to see them all! We saw Montsegur first. I hadn’t quite appreciated that you had to climb up a mountain to see it! But the views! We did another one on the same day and 6 more during our stay. Most of them require a short(ish) high climb (10 – 30 minutes), in Lastour there are 4 on one mountain, so plan in 1.5 hours for the visit. Those 4 castles were my favourite but I also like the biggest one which looks out onto Queribus (I can’t remember the spelling).
We spent ½ day in Carcassone which is impressive. Tried some cassoulet which wasn’t my taste but seemed very popular.
Another highlight was the African Safari Park just south of Narbonne. We spent nearly 3 hours there, just driving and walking through it. It isn’t cheap with 25 Euro per person but we had a lot of fun.
And not to forget, we were lucky enough to be in very pretty, medieval Mirepoix when they were celebrating “fête du cheval”. Horses everywhere, people showing off their horsemanship, all the little street cafes full of people. It was a great atmosphere.
Our self catering gite was fantastic, it had it’s private pool, looking out over a lake and and old tower, on a little hill, only overlooking the owners farm on the other site of the hill. There was a big terrace with a barbeque, play areas and swings. If anybody is looking for something in this area, let me know, I will send you the link. It is quite remote (20 minutes north of Mirepoix) and 20 minutes to the motorway. 50 minutes to Carcassone but perfect for people who want to get away from it all.
We had a great time and I am sure I will return, maybe to explore the area a bit further south, or even west of Toulouse. So many places, so little time …..
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That is why we live here !
Some photos here : www.the-languedoc-page.com/photos/index.htm
Peter
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