Languedoc-Rousillion region of France

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KeithPratt
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Languedoc-Rousillion region of France

Postby KeithPratt » 11 May 2016, 15:10

Spending 2 weeks at this place

http://www.domainedecapies.com/

Any tips for this area - i.e Narbonne, Perpignan, Toulouse, Carcassonne etc? Good restaurant recommendations especially.

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echolalia
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Re: Languedoc-Rousillion region of France

Postby echolalia » 16 May 2016, 13:35

Assuming you’ll have a car, Minèrve is not far from where you’ll be. It’s very pretty, with lots of historical interest (the Albigensian heresy). It will be full of tourists no doubt. Apart from that, all the places I know are a little further east – Pézenas, Montpellier, Sète, Béziers. They’re all worth seeing but as to whether they merit the relatively long drive is debatable. I mean there are probably as many equally interesting places that are much nearer. You’ll get great fish soup in Sète, though.

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Re: Languedoc-Rousillion region of France

Postby KeithPratt » 18 May 2016, 16:18

Great, thanks! Definitely planning on visiting at least one Cathar place. And Montaillou isn't very far from where we are staying.

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Re: Languedoc-Rousillion region of France

Postby Geezee » 21 May 2016, 06:37

The Cathar castles are great - Montsegur, Querebus, Peyrepertus - as well as little villages like St Guilhem le Desert and Lagrasse (my favourite place). My wife is from Beziers and still go there 3-4 times a year. Languedoc is a much more rustic part of France which I love, not so manicured as many other parts. Beziers sets the tone I think - mainly famous now for a hugely racist mayor (former communist and founder of Reporters without Borders) but its fatalist attitude to life is sort summed up as the historical place where the villagers were burnt alive in the cathedral and when questioned over whether they should try to spare the christians the response was just "kill them all, let god sort out the good ones". Beziers used to be glorious, proudly centered on its famous rugby team, but its economy has faltered and it is rough around the edges these days - but the cathedral is still there, beautifully perched on the side of the town above the river and old bridge. I would read a history of the region before going - maybe ones of Kate Mosse's historical fiction, or something like the Last Cathars. Saint Chinian has the best wine in the region and some good places to go to eat - otherwise Languedoc might not be the best place for food, or at least the higher end French cuisine. Sete has, as one would perhaps expect, some of the best seafood in the region - walk along the waterfront and you are spoiled for choice, and it is a nice place where one can go pay tribute to George Brassens, the great troubadour of the region. I really quite like Carcasonne - it's hugely touristy and depending on when you are going it can get a bit much (and extremely hot) so best is to go first thing in the morning - but it's really nicely walkable, has some good places to stop for a glass or two of wine and ultimately there is a kind of fascination to Violet-le-doc's brutal restoration of the city that is quite similar to Hausmann's horrifying boulevards of Paris. One of the great tragedies of the region is how the beautiful plane trees that used to hang over the Canal du Midi have been cut down due to disease - but the Canal is still a lovely place to either wander down walking or take a boat. Rocquebrun is great for hiking and canoing as well if you are into that - has a great restaurant as well but the name is escaping me (sorry, not being very helpful on food recommendations). Happy to talk more if you want more details/recommendations.
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Hightea
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Re: Languedoc-Rousillion region of France

Postby Hightea » 09 Jun 2016, 21:37

enjoy the wine!! Love the wines of the Languedoc!
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BARON CORNY DOG
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Re: Languedoc-Rousillion region of France

Postby BARON CORNY DOG » 09 Jun 2016, 22:26

Rock writer and cranky man Ed Ward was just there (he lived in Montpelier for a little while)

http://wardinfrance.blogspot.com/2016/0 ... y.html?m=1

http://wardinfrance.blogspot.com/2016/0 ... r.html?m=1
take5_d_shorterer wrote:If John Bonham simply didn't listen to enough Tommy Johnson or Blind Willie Mctell, that's his doing.

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Re: Languedoc-Rousillion region of France

Postby The Prof » 17 Jun 2016, 08:23

Take a spade. You'll need to go to Rennes-le-Château and start digging for the Holy Grail. I'm sure you'll find it or some other treasure too.


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