CENTRAL strip ofcoastlinewithgreat beachesthat’sidealforfamilyholidays. Cathars andcanalsare whatcentralLanguedocisallabout.Pluswine,plentyofit,anda Languedoc Central 114 © LonelyPlanetPublications days occupied by artists and craftsfolk, and a particularly active culturalscene. and craftsfolk,andaparticularly days occupiedbyartists its grounds. Pézenas, bycontrast,isawholetownofelegant17th-centurymansions, these de Fontfroidewithitsexquisite cloister androsegardenburstingwithcoloursitsallalonein plonk. longstanding (butnowrapidlyfading)reputation asasourceofcheapparty of which,ifyoucare toresearch andleave anypreconceived ideasathome,beliethearea’s at itsunderwater canoeingandsailing. trail,andabove –windsurfing, andpeekdown (there asyousnorkel are nolessthaneightdivingschools),onthesurface tonne ofoysters, scallopsandmusselsare fordispatchthroughoutFrance. harvested intoLeleaking BassindeThau. Withinthisshallow,protected saltwater lagoon,tonneupon Thisand theCanal miracleof17th-centuryengineering duMidi. endsits240kmtraverse, ofAragon. between Franceandthekingdom thefrontier south, borderingRoussillon.Forcenturiestheywere borderbastions, marking of thisdistantreligious struggleare everywhere –especiallyinthehilltopcastlesof ‘Le Pays Cathare’ Two splendidsightswilldelightlovers ofarchitecture. The 12th-centuryCistercian Abbaye Much oftheinterior isstripedbyvines,extending tothehorizon.Wineriesabound,many The Mediterranean ofLe holidayresort Cap d’Agde offers underwater ahostofactivities And canals:thesmallerCanal delaRobine,whichslicesthroughthetownofNarbonne,

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Visit the Studyshellfishfarmingatthe lunch Munchthrough thefive-course Take thesculpture walkabove thehamletof Explore the17th-centurymansionsof Learn at allaboutwineandwinemaking de Thau Lou Pescadou Pézenas ’s the hill behind it for a breathtaking panorama the hillbehinditforabreathtaking Abbaye deFontfroide ( p137 ), inBouzigues (p131) Cité delaVigne etduVin (p124) 14) Agde (p134), (Cathar country)istheAude Musée del’Étang ( p122 ), then climb climb then ( p122), (p125) menu at département Mayronnes Abbaye de Fontfroide ’s touristslogan.The resonances Gruissan Pézenas Agde CENTRAL LANGUEDOC Sète 115 A75 D2 Balaruc- les-Bains E11 Plage de Thau Bouzigues Le Bassin Gignac Marseillan Marseillan Le Cap d'Agde D51 D5 D2 Fort Brescou D613 Clermont l'Hérault

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de Cassan O Béziers Blanc Le Mas D909 Colombiers A9 During the Renaissance, the city received During the Renaissance, the city received A moribund subprefecture for centuries, A moribund subprefecture Hérépian D909A Gruissan Cazouls- cities in . Its port was an umbilical link cities in Gaul. Its port was an umbilical link lès-Béziers came to life again in the 19th cen- Narbonne came to life for the bur- tury as a railway hub and centre wine industry. To this day, large-scale geoning tourism, role of increasing the and despite to those linked the town’s fortunes remain the grape. of city passed the , the land ar- Rome to its colonies in that connected tery and to the set- the Pyrenees, Iberia, south of inland Gaul. Through it flowed tlements of linen, timber and hemp from the Cévennes, ceramics, and amphora upon amphora of wine, all bound for . The town was briefly by the Muslims in the 8th century conquered their northernmost sallies be- during one of the Pyrenees. yond when the an economic boost something of allowed its goods to be ex- deepported inland and as far as the Atlantic, died once but Narbonne, as port and entrepôt, the drifting sands left it high and dry, cut off the Mediterranean. from with Rome, the mother state. Through the Through the with Rome, the mother state. Étang de Mateille Bédarieux

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History History NARBONNE & AROUND NARBONNE & AROUND Narbonne was one of the principal Roman the principal Roman Narbonne was one of In its time capital of , Gallia Narbonensis, capital of In its time perhaps to build in a one-day driving tour of perhaps to build in a one-day driving tour of countryside around. the enticing a pause, as a base for its Roman heritage, for de Fontfroide, and visiting the nearby Abbaye A9, aiming for the more blatant charms of of blatant charms A9, aiming for the more cities to the north and south. But it well merits pop 46,500 Once a coastal port but now a whole 13km Narbonne is too silting up, inland because of speed along the passed by as travellers often increasingly, plump shellfish are farmed. are plump shellfish increasingly, exciting, is separated land mass by from the and, abound waterbirds shallow lagoons where and slopes hectolitres of robust red wines are wines are red robust of and slopes hectolitres The flat coastal littoral, less year. squeezed each Roman town, lie the Corbières, rugged and rugged Roman town, lie the Corbières, From their arid plains sparsely populated. Inland from Narbonne, once an important lonelyplanet.com