South of France Hotel | Carcassonne Travel Guide

Tourist sights in the Languedoc

Local attractions


Church, Rieux	Citadel, Carcassonne	Canal du Midi

The Village of Rieux-Minervois

Today Rieux is a village of 2,100 people. Hotel Le Domaine aux Quat'Saisons lies on the western edge of the village. During the second World War, Hotel Le Domaine aux Quat'Saisons was occupied by German forces who made it their regional headquarters. Rieux was first inhabited in the Neolithic period. The medieval centre of the village is built in classic circulade pattern in common with many Cathar villages in the area, for ease of defence; the village was attacked in 1209 during the Albigensian crusade, but quickly surrendered to the forces of Simon de Montfort. Rieux has a unique 11th century heptagonal church with carvings by the Master of Cabestany that attracts visitors from all over the world and is well worth a visit.

The Minervois

The Minervois describes both a range of hills, and a wine-producing area within the coveted zone: Minervois AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controle status). Minervois produces some of the best wine in the area; good examples are slightly more refined than wines from neighbouring Corbieres, due to its kinder, more temperate climate and its clay-limestone soils. Sun-soaked vines stretch over the hills, interrupted only by sleepy stone villages and outcrops of garrigue-covered rock. Orchids and bulbs are prevalent in spring, giving way to a summer bounty of flowering shrubs.

The Minervois is a relatively flat area contained between the Montagne Noire to the north and the Corbieres hills to the south. It forms part of the broad, lower Aude valley that is about 30km wide. The region stretches from the lower slopes of the Montagne Noire - gentle hills yielding the best Minervois wine - southwards in a series of plains and ridges that gradually drop down to the Canal du Midi and the river Aude. The hills are shallower than neighbouring Corbieres, and this has allowed for more cultivation over the years. Indeed, this area was populated by Bronze Age inhabitants, and later settled by Romans and Visigoths. Tell-tale signs are all around, in the form of ancient forts and dolmens - burial chambers built with huge slabs of rock.

These days, this area is equally popular, with its relative ease of accessibility, wonderful climate and gentle countryside against a dramatic backdrop of mountains. The physical result of the Minervois' low-lying locality between mountain ranges is that the most superlative, sweeping views are to be enjoyed from one side of the valley to the other, and beyond...

Canal du Midi

The original purpose of the Canal du Midi, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was to make it easier to transport goods from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean; nowadays it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in France for the beauty of its scenery, its river barge tours and its history. In the 17th century this was an incredibly ambitious technological project. The canal, still a marvel of hydraulics, engineering and stonemasonry more than 320 years later, winds its way through the vineyards, passing only six kilometres away from Le Domaine; boats and barges are available for hire at several nearby canal ports.

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Church, Rieux	Citadel, Carcassonne	Canal du Midi

Carcassonne

The 2000-year-old city of Carcassonne is the most impressive fortified medieval city in the south of France. Now another UNESCO World Heritage site, you cannot miss its silhouette - encircled by a huge double row of fortified walls that run almost 2 miles long with 56 watchtowers, it makes an imposing structure for miles around. Of course the city was the prime target in the tragic and brutal Cathar suppression of the 13th century. The city surrendered after a violent siege and its ruler Raymond Roger Trenceval gave himself up to save the city and its inhabitants.

Caunes-Minervois

The Abbey at Caunes-Minervois hosts concerts in the summer and makes an enjoyable visit. Caunes is known for its pink marble quarries, that at one time supplied marble to the palace of Versailles.

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