8 UNESCO World Heritage sites to be discovered in Occitania

The South of France is full of exceptional treasures for the common heritage of humanity. Proof with these 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites to be discovered in Occitania

The Occitanie region unites the former regions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées. It is shared by Toulouse and Montpellier , licked by the Mediterranean Sea, holed by the mountains of Pyrenees , perched villages and vibrating traditions. Here is a tour of the eight UNESCO World Heritage sites to be discovered in Occitania.

1. The Episcopal City of Albi

Since 2010, Albi is one of the most beautiful UNESCO World Heritage sites in Occitania. It must be said that its cultural and architectural heritage has to impress and stimulate the general interest. This ancient capital of the pastel trade preserves wonderful special hotels and stunning religious ensembles. The city of Albi is particularly photogenic with its characteristic red bricks. Moreover, its brick cathedral, Sainte Cécile, is the largest built in this flamboyant material.

Whether you choose to visit Albi freely or on a guided tour, the city has a lot to do for one or two days. Among the essentials of Albi are the Moulins Albigeois, the Berges, the Cathedral and its old Pont, the Covered Market, the hotels (Reynès and Gorsse), the houses (Enjalbert and old Alby), the medieval districts or the palace adjacent to the famous Toulouse-Lautrec Museum.

This quick tour allows you to grasp the crop around wheat and mills, enjoy the beautiful views of the Episcopal City and ejaculate the Tarn from one bank to another. You then immerse yourself in a unique feudal setting before you walk through the aisles of a market where local products are abounding.

Finally, you will discover the superb private hotels and their exquisite courses. Not far, old Albi's wooden and brick houses transform the urban landscape. The palace, for its part, immerses you in another dimension with its huge vaults, medieval pavements, painted ceilings, Renaissance gallery and remarkable garden.

2. The city of Carcassonne

The city of Carcassonne and its fortifications are several hundred years old. It has gone through many trials, has been destroyed and rebuilt over the years. It is also what gives the City a unique architectural combination. Amongst the most famous Unsco sites in Occitania, Carcassonne has been a World Heritage Site since 1997 and has been constantly attracting visitors from all over the world.

You will usually enter through the door of Aude. Immediately, you fall on the beautiful facades of the half-timbered houses and the overflowing squares of charms. The story takes place under your eyes through its famous monuments such as the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire and its superb gargoys, the castle towers and of course the immanquable ramparts. From this defensive stone belt, the views are breathtaking on the old town, the black mountain and even the Pyrenees.

To visit the City of Carcassonne , several routes are possible, paid or not. In any case, don't miss the comtal castle, round paths and long strolls in the maze of pink lanes. We also advise you to taste the unique atmosphere of Carcassonne at nightfall, when it comes to sounds and lights.

3. The Canal du midi

The Canal du Midi snake from Toulouse to Sète . This historic river road leads you into changing and enchanting scenery. In turn you will find green hills, sunny vineyards and picturesque villages. The Canal du Midi is one of the oldest Unsco d’Occitanie sites.

It flows over two hundred and forty kilometers and runs no less than three departments. On the way, you can cross the medieval city of Carcassonne. Other major points of interest along the canal: the Rose City – Toulouse – and its péniches, the Castelnaudary basin, the locks of Fonserannes, the cradle villages of the cassoulet and the port city of Sète.

This river path is divided into several steps and offers à la carte stays. You can travel along the Canal du Midi by barge, biking or walking. On the water, the crossing is absolutely peaceful and out of time, offering unforgettable meetings with lockers. On a bicycle, you can follow the green tracks perfectly arranged by the canal and usually shaded. Most of the water-flowing hotels welcome cyclists and offer a rental and/or transport service from point A to point B.

Finally, if you want to walk in the shade of the plane trees along the Canal de Midi, you will have all the time to imbue yourself with the places you met and make a bit of a journey with many pilgrims holding you company. The land is flat and well maintained but we advise you to define the section you want to browse over a few days.

4. The Gard Bridge

Our ranking of Unsco sites in Occitania brings us near Nimes , Capital of the fairies, the jeans and the arenas. The Gard bridge , thirty minutes from the city, is a magnificent Roman aqueduct twice a millennium. This architectural masterpiece is one of the most valuable ancient vestiges in the world.

The site has two banks, respectively, named right bank and left bank. Access to the Roman site is paid and offers many activities. In particular, Le Gardon, a pretty river where it is good to swim or canoe-kayak. Its banks are fantastic for a picnic with, in background canvas, the immense arches of the monument.

Along the Gard Bridge, you can also hike on very accessible trails, piercing the Garrigue and going to small villages. In the summer, many events take place on the Roman site, including musical nightlife and a sound and light show that are absolutely worth the detour. On site you will also find a museum and restaurant valueing local products.

5. Gavarnie's circus

The Pyrenees National Park all is part of Unsco sites in Occitania. It must be said that its beauty is as virulent as the evident. Within the park, crowned with snowy summits, you will find the glacial circus of Gavarnie .

This vertiginous amphitheatre is the most famous natural arena in France. The place is striking. On the steep slopes of this bowl, the waterfalls fade and the raptors make their nests. Twenty thousand years ago, a glacier stood here and dug up the clutched valley that unfolds before your eyes. Many hikers come to rub themselves on the open roads on the high walls of a thousand five hundred meters, on the cascades falling over four hundred meters for the largest and on the glacial Brèche of Roland.

This site of exceptional beauty is very accessible, on foot, on horseback or on the back of a donkey. The main hike is only three hours away. To explore the place away from the crowd, you can quite borrow other paths, more or less muscular, traced around the stone arch.

6. Causses and Cevennes

The Causses and the Cevennes , wild, spectacular and rich in their traditions, constitute a unique natural landscape in France. They stand on the least populated department of the country, the Lozère , and two other departments, the Gard and Hérault . Entrance to the Heritage of Unesco des Causses and Cévennes dates back to 2011.

Cocks gather many megalithic sites to visit during real walks in the land of menhirs. The capital of the Cevennes, Florac, deserves a great halt. This pretty town pierced by the scintillating streams at the foot of the Méjean causse. Close to Florac is the charming village of Quézac, located at the entrance of the Gorges du Tarn. Yes, this is the natural place where the sparkling waters in France spring.

The Causses overlook the Gorges du Tarn : an emblematic landscape of the Lozère. They extend between the towns Ispagnac and Le Rozier, with incredible small Cevenol villages and walking as canoe-kayak. On the way, do not miss the adorable medieval and paved village of Sainte-Enimie or that of Saint-Chély-du-Tarn that bathes in the green waters of the Tarn.

Causses and Cevennes, their vast deserted and hilly steppes and their karst rocks, contain other treasures. The mythical caves of Aven Armand and Dargilan. These two underground gems offer a true journey to the center of the Earth and an unheard discovery of the world dug under our feet.

7. Vauban fortifications

The works of Vauban twelve in France are born thanks to the genius of this military architect. Its fortifications are as many citadels, urban bastion enclosures and bastion towers classified sites of Unesco in Occitania. They have become fundamental in the history of Western military architecture and are now an exceptional universal value. They testify to the strategic theories of the 17th century, used until the mid-19th century. Two of Vauban's achievements are present in Occitania.

Go first to conquer the fortified city of Villefranche-de-Conflent and sound Liberia . The city nests near Perpignan in the preserved environment of Pyrenees-Orientales . It is built in pink marble and adapts to the natural topography of the place.

Villefranche-de-Conflent is dominated by Fort Liberia, open on an exceptional panorama of the Canigou. This fortress of Vauban protected the village and served as a prison. You will discover the longest underground in the world: seven hundred and thirty-four steps that connect Fort Liberia to its village. This flight goes up and goes down on foot for the bravest or the shuttle.

Always in Occitania, take the direction of the highest fortress of France: Mont-Louis . It was built by Vauban to seal the passage of the Pyrenees. Its square shape flanked with bastions and ramparts is beautifully preserved.

Villefranche-de-Conflent and Mont-Louis are served from the famous Yellow Train, the emblem of the Catalan Country.

8. The paths of Santiago de Compostela

We finish this top of Unsco sites in Occitania by Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle roads , high place of Christian pilgrimage. This historic route is often an initiatory journey. The Spanish portions of the way, Sixty-nine monuments ranked on the French roads and seven portions of the road Puy-En-Velay are registered UNESCO World Heritage. The origins of the paths of Saint-Jacques date back to the year 800. They hold their name Saint James the Major, one of the first apostles of Christ.

Rare are the ones that start in the entire course (more than forty days of walking). However, it is divided into several ways shared between France and Spain , to borrow according to your desires and possibilities.

The path of the French Puy attracts for its natural landscapes and the architectural treasures that mark it. This is the most frequented portion, so the most suitable for accommodation and meetings.

The way Arles connects the eponymous French city and the Puente la Reina Spain. It extends over eight hundred kilometres of varied landscapes in terms of reliefs, fauna, flora and altitude.

The way Vézelay crosses the Limousine countryside, the Loire, between two seas and the immense Landes forest to arrive in Saint-Palais. There is also a variant by Bergerac, in the heart of the vineyards of Bordeaux.

The way Tours is the oldest and richest architectural path. It also runs along the green paths of Orleans in Tours for cyclotourism enthusiasts.

The path of Stevenson connects Le Puy-en-Velay and Arles, crosses magnificent territories including the Cévennes rebels cited above.