|
The Languedoc region has been likened to the Provence of 70 years ago – the British ideal of the south of France. This is a land of sandy beaches, mountain ranges, endless vinyards, wild garrigue scrubland where eagles soar and flamingos paddle in the shallows of oyster beds. The region has also come to the attention of UNESCO with 2 attractions on their list of World Heritage Sites. cuts through the region on its way from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The avenues of tall straight regular plane trees that line it’s route is an image that tends to stay with you after you’ve left. In 1996 the canal joined the Great wall of China as a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site, followed in 1997 by Carcassone. Here is the description that UNESCO gives to the canal: This 360-km network of navigable waterways linking the Mediterranean and the Atlantic through 328 structures (locks, aqueducts, bridges, tunnels, etc.) is one of the most remarkable feats of civil engineering in modern times. Built between 1667 and 1694, it paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. The care that its creator, Pierre-Paul Riquet, took in the design and the way it blends with its surroundings turned a technical achievement into a work of art.
Carcassone is a living medieval city complete with turrets and dungeons. The city can be very crowded in summer, but a visit out of season gives you more time to take in the atmosphere and appreciate the fantastic views across the city to the distant snow topped Pyrennes.
|
|
The Languedoc |