Visiting the Corbières Region
It
was May 20th, and we were headed in a taxi from our apartment in Le
Marais to the Gare de Lyon train station on our way to the south of
France for the 4th stage in our sabbatical trip (we’d already been to
Scotland, Venice and Paris). In early April, we had made reservations
for a TGV train from Paris to Montpellier, where we’d pick up a rental
car and spend a week in the Corbières region of Langedoc in southwest
France. Unfortunately I forgot to check the news the previous day and
didn’t realize that there would be a huge manifestation (demonstration)
at La Bastille against the privatization of the EDF/GDF
(government-owned utility company).So the usual 15-minute trip took 90 minutes and we raté our train. However, missing our train was not a simple matter to fix; it was the weekend of Pentecost, therefore a “rouge” travel day, implying sold-out trains. After an hour in a queue and some convincing of the agent that it wasn’t “our” fault that we missed the train, we obtained a rupture de correspondence (or RC in the SNCF lingo) and got a free substitute route: Paris to Lyon, Lyon to Avignon and finally Avignon to Montpellier. Not exactly the direct TGV anymore! Since we were arriving now past 7 p.m., we called and convinced the Avis agent to leave the keys with the acceuil (welcome desk) at the train station in Montpellier. System “D” at its best!
We had a speedy Paris to Lyon trip, but the Lyon-to-Avignon and Avignon-to-Montpellier trains were Corail trains, slow non-reserved trains where you typically share a compartment with three or four fellow travelers. After 20 minutes in the Avignon-to-Montpellier train, an older gentleman in front of us asked us where we were headed and the resultant conversation of French and English filled the rest of our long journey to Montpellier. Being rather scholarly in the history of the Languedoc region, he told us about the Cathar religion, its extermination by the Catholic Crusade and Inquisition in the 13th century, and their legacy of castle ruins, which can be visited today. Of course, the discussion touched upon the US-lead Iraq war and his (and our) thoughts on it. On this trip we generally found the French to be increasingly concerned about Franco-American relations, and curious to find out whether all Americans really agree with George W. Bush (well, maybe half!).
Cathar history is a subject broached frequently and passionately by the people we met along the trip. Even though Catharism has been extinct for nearly eight centuries now, it still very much defines the Aude region (Le Pays Cathare). Briefly, we learned that the Cathars were a gnostic Christian sect that arose in the 11th century, and Catharism became the dominant religion in the Languedoc area. Theirs was a very pure Christianity, developed as a reaction against the Catholic religion and its corrupt dictatorship at that time. Cathars were chaste, vegetarian pacifists who believed the world was split along lines of matter and spirit, good and evil.
The ironically named Pope Innocent III decided these pacifists posed too great a threat to Catholicism and encouraged their violent extermination by the Catholic crusadors of Northern France. The Cathars had established numerous castle strongholds in the Aude region, but one-by-one their castles were placed under siege and then pillaged and burned, until finally the Catholics took Montsegur, the last Cathar stronghold in the region. All of these 11th and 12th century castles are now in ruins, but can still be visited. If you ever go to see Montsegur, you will be amazed by the determination it must have taken to build this castle on top of a very steep rock cliff.
We typically like asking local people what to see and do rather than planning too much in advance, and our friend in the Corail train was the first contribution to our sejour planning. Arriving in Montpellier, we successfully found our car (the map showing our car space was not in the envelope so we had to read license plates in the garage till we found it). In our trusty green Megane, we were off to Murviel-les-Beziers, thanks to our “mappy.com” directions and a trusty Michelin map of the region that we purchased in Paris. Both are indispensable for venturing into the countryside.
After a quick dinner at a brasserie in Beziers, we arrived quite late at Chateau Murviel-les-Beziers with the owners anxiously waiting up for us until 10:30 in the evening! The Chateau was purchased by this Parisian couple in a coup de foudre two years ago, and they have been renovating it every since. We stayed on one of the top floors in a newly renovated room. The chateau is located directly beside the village church and the Hotel de Ville (town hall), so starting at 7:00 a.m. you get a very loud wake-up call from the church bells, repeated every hour. Fortunately, they don’t ring between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.! On weekends at 9:00 a.m., you’ll get the local publicités (advertisements) from the Hotel de Ville. For example, “Allo, allo! Don’t forget to get your fresh eggs at the market today. Today, the baker has made a special batch of religieuses (pastries)”. Breakfast is in the courtyard and the hosts work really hard to make sure everything is perfect. As usual, we asked them for their recommended places to visit and at the end of the trip, they gave us a private tour of their personal residence at the front of the castle.
Here are some brief summaries of what we visited:
Canal du Midi locks near Beziers – The history of the Canal de Midi is quite amazing and poignant. Pierre-Paul Riquet was an engineering visionary who amassed a fortune during his career, and he used every penny to build this canal stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately he died penniless six months before the canal was completed and opened. The nine locks near Beziers are quite dramatic as boats pass from one level to the next. Plan about an hour to visit it.
Pézanas – A well preserved “artisanal” city reminiscent of Saint Paul de Vence that is worth a full day’s visit. The town’s historical museum is quite nice with no guards in each room, allowing one the opportunity to take photos. The city is also known for antiques and chocolate candies that look like olives. There are many cute restaurants for lunch or dinner.
Minerve – One of the Cathar chateaus destroyed by the Catholic crusaders from the north, it is located on a peninsula formed by two ancient river gorges. The siege was finally won when the crusaders used a catapult to destroy the fortified town’s water supply. As you approach it, it is quite dramatic to see it perched out at the end of the point of land. The city is worth a half-day visit.
After two nights at the Chateau de Murviel-les-Beziers, we packed our bags and headed a little bit further south to the center of the Corbières wine region in the Aude, to the town of Boutenac, and stayed at the very nice and welcoming Bastide de Corbières. Jacques and Francoise run a wonderful B&B and have refined it nicely after seven years in operation. Great attention to detail! The five rooms are named after wines and in the backyard is a newly added pool and a rose garden, which was in bloom when we visited. Their B&B is a perfect base for exploring the region and a perfect place to relax after those explorations.
On top of all that, Jacques and Francoise prepare wonderful gourmet dinners each night that are better than any restaurant in the region and they also adapted to the vegetarian needs of Ineke. At breakfast, they provided very well-informed ideas for visits to the area. We can’t say enough about their hospitality and recommend them to anyone as a place to center your trip to this beautiful region.
The Aube is covered with an enormous number of vineyards – viticulture is clearly the region’s dominant industry – and resembles upstate New York but with warmer temperatures and more sun. Imagine Napa Valley but with more rolling hills. Some towns and sights we visited:
Perpignan – The capital of Rousillon region, it is the center of Catalan culture in France.
Collioure - An artist-colony with an ancient castle and church on a point overlooking the Mediterranean. A cute community, although quite touristy, that is worth a half-day visit.
Carcassone – Too touristy for us in a similar way to Mont Saint-Michel. It is probably worth a half to full day but you’ll need to fight the crowds and the kitsch gift shops.
Abbaye de Fontfroide – One of the top places to visit. This 12th century monks’ abbey has been completely restored by the family that bought it three generations ago. The restoration is wonderful, with a beautiful rose garden and a scented garden (though not completely faithful to the austere vision of the monks). We took a wonderful guided tour in French by a young guide who was clearly passionate about her work.
Abbaye de Saint-Hilaire – Parts of this abbey date back to the 8th century. Most notably, it is the birthplace of champagne! In 1531, the monks at this abbey developed the original technique for making champagne, which they called Blanquette de Limoux. A contingent of these monks then left for the abbey in Dom Perignon in the Champagne region, taking their know-how with them, and the rest is history! If you are in the area, especially in nearby Limoux, try a Flute de Blanquette (tastes just like champagne). The abbey itself is not as well restored as Fontfroide, but worth a visit.
Montségur – When you arrive at the precarious 3000-foot altitude of Montségur, you have to marvel that 10,000 troops spent 10 months in 1243 conducting a siege of the fortress, which contained about 500 Cathar inhabitants at the time. It was the last stronghold of the Cathars, and the successful siege by the Catholic crusaders marked the end of Catharism. Today visitors can make the difficult 45-minute climb to the ruins. The views are amazing when you get to the top.
Bages – Originally we went to Gruissan on the Mediterranean coast but were disappointed with the lack of charm, so we ventured to Francoise’s recommendation of Bages for dinner. Bages is a small fishing town with two good restaurants and an authentic ambience that’s worth the diversion.
A highlight of our trip, and how we passed most of our time, was driving on the winding country roads. You come across small towns, pastures, vineyards, etc. and a pace of life that makes this region wonderful to visit, especially as a nice complement to the bustle of cosmopolitan Paris. However, the best part of each day was coming back to the Bastide de Corbières to enjoy a wonderful dinner and conversation with the Camels and their guests.
If you would like to see photo slideshows of our sabbatical voyage:
West Highlands of Scotland
Venice
Paris
Murviel-les-Beziers and Environs
Corbières Part 1
Corbières Part 2
London
Practical information
Bastide de Corbieres
Francoise and Jacques Camel
+33 4 68 27 20 61
http://www.bastide-corbieres.com
Murviel-les-Beziers
Florence
+33 4 67 32 35 45
http://www.chateau-de-murviel.com
Two other hints:
RyanAir runs discount flights from London to Carcassone but beware: the airport has no radar (i.e. visual landings only) and thus any significantly inclement weather or cloud cover forces flights to land and take-off from Perpignan. This could set you back a half a day (it happened to us).
All the European discount airlines (e.g. Volareweb, EasyJet, RyanAir) have strict (and low) weight limits for baggage (15 to 20 kilos) so make sure to pack lightly or be prepared to pay dearly for excess baggage.
Bill O'Such has captured a large number of photos of typical Parisian and French life along with images from Berlin, Barcelona, Lisbon, Venice, London, Krakow, Prague and many other European cities. Dragged kicking and screaming from his second-life as a Parisian, Bill is currently a director of engineering in a Bay Area company responsible for the development of software that enables creation of smart, connected internet devices. He still tries to retain his French ties through visits every six months to refresh his photo gallery, and participating in a variety of French activities in San Francisco.
If you are interested in renting a Paris apartment, please visit Bill's website: Paris Apartment for rent in Le Marais - The Elzevir Apartment
