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LANGUEDOC ROUSSILLON
A tour of this region reads like a wine list Côtes du Roussillon, Aude, Hérault, Pays du Gard, evidence that, for hundreds of years, man has scratched a living from its rocky soils.
It's a land of contrasts, the gentle, sandy coastline stretching from the Pyrénées to the Rhône mouth backed by a rugged interior where the Cathars once took refuge. Nearest the Pyrénées, the old province of Roussillon was once Spanish, the frontier marked by the fort at Salses. Now the Aude department, it is famous for its peppery Corbières, Fitou and Minervois wines, Cathar castles and, inland from Roman Narbonne, the restored fortress town of Carcassonne. Its capital, Perpignan, retains Catalan traditions. From here, sandy beaches stretch down through Argelès to the artists' town of Collioure and the rocky Côte Vermeille. North of the River Aude lies the Hérault, where the Cathar stronghold of Minerve occupies an empty land of garrigue scrub and vines, rising to the forests of the Haut Languedoc Regional Park. To the north-west, in the Lozère, a stunning new motorway bridge spans the Tarn at Millau; upstream the spectacular Tarn Gorges cut down through the Cévennes. On the coastal plain of the Hérault lie medieval Béziers and Pézenas, the resort of Cap d'Agde and fishing port Sète. East is the lively capital of Languedoc-Roussillon, Montpellier, on the edge of the Camargue wetlands. Views over this flat landscape can be enjoyed from the ramparts of Aigues-Mortes. Coastal resorts include modern La Grande Motte and Port Camargue as well as older Grau-du-Roi and charming Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer. Inland, the Roman Pont du Gard spans the valley north of Nîmes, famous for its amphitheatre.
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