Occitanie
Art, History & Archaeology Sites & Museums

This part of the swampy Camargue has been exploited for the salt since Neolithic times. Charlemagne was the first to have a tower erected, in 791 AD to help the fishermen and salt workers. Later in the 13th century Louis IX developed the town’s defences so that France was not dependent on Italy for her involvement in the Crusades. Twice, for the 7th and 8th Crusades, Louis IX left for the Levant from here. But it was not until the very beginning of the 14th century, after some 30 years after Louis’s death that the walls completely encircled the city.

Better known for the remains of a Roman bridge, painted by Gustave Courbet, Ambrussum is a complex archaeological site with much to see. The bridge, built around 30 BC, carried the Via Domitia over the Vidourle River. On the western side of the river is the remains of a staging post, overlooked by a Gallic oppidum – the ramparts of which included 21 towers. An onsite museum sets out the significance of the bridge, the settlement and the Via Domitia. Free to visit, this is an idyllic spot for a picnic. Plan on 2 to 3 hours to see everything.

The amphitheatre in Nîmes is widely regarded as one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres. So well preserved is the structure that it is still used for a variety of events, although since 2009 it is in the process of being restored – a project that will last at least 25 years. It was built around 100 AD, shortly after the Colosseum in Rome, with an estimated seating capacity of 24,000. The amphitheatre was just inside the city wall, the position of which is marked in the paving surrounding the arena.

The cave of Bédeilhac has an enormous entrance, one that was attractive to the German army during World War II. They intended to use the cave as an airplane hangar. This activity destroyed a lot of archaeological deposits in the cave. Bédeilhac has a great diversity of parietal and portal art, including representations engraved and moulded in clay. Some of the side galleries are closed to the public, but the main gallery is accessible by a guided tour and has some interesting examples of Palaeolithic art.

On the top of the Pog de Montségur are the 13th century remains of a fortress that is perhaps one of the most well known Cathar Castle. Archaeological excavations have shown the hilltop has been occupied since the Neolithic. The first fortress was built in the beginning of the 12th century, and from 1232 Montségur was the seat and capital of the Cathar Church. In 1243 the castle was besieged for 11 months by the King’s army in what was the last stand of the Cathar Wars. After the fall the castle was rebuilt and housed a Royal garrison until the 17th century, and this is what we can visit today.

A fortified castle that was built in he 11th century, with major additions in the 14th century. Since then it has passed through many hands. After being nationalised following the French Revolution, it has had six different owners. The location of the castle was almost certainly chosen because it overlooks the Regordane, an ancient route through the area used by pilgrims and Crusaders until the beginning of the 14th century. The ruined state of the castle is due to the over-mining of coal deposits beneath the castle during WWI.

A guided tour at Cougnac takes visitors to two separate caves, one that is of geological interest and the other of archaeological – with the paintings. The tour starts in the undecorated cave, which provides visitors with information about the natural processes that create the limestone caves in which Stone Age artists came along many millions of years later and made their paintings and engravings. The nearby decorated cave has some of the finest examples of paintings in France, with a few unique and rare depictions.

Known locally in the Occitan language as ‘Dolmen Lo Morrel dos Fados’, which translates as the dolmen of the hill of the fairies. Built around 5,000 years ago, it is the largest passage grave in southern of France. The circular tumulus has a diameter of about 35 m which is cut through with a passage and burial chamber – together about 24 m long. The rocks that make up the structure are local sandstone, except the slab covering the burial chamber which came from outcrops at least 3 km away. The site, free of charge, is signposted from the D168, and is easily accessible.

Pliny writes of a small fishing village in tidal marshes, but excavations begun in the 1960s soon revealed that the settlement was much more substantial. What started out as a shoreline landing stage for Etruscan, Punic and Greek traders in the 6th century BC developed into a major Roman port of more than 12 ha. By the 2nd century AD the settlement was abandoned due to rising sea levels, it was subsequently covered in silt. As an ongoing excavation, the site is rarely accessible, but it is visible from the onsite museum, which is well worth a visit.

Le Castellum Aquae in Nîmes (also called the castellum divisorium de Nîmes) is at the end of the 50 kilometre aqueduct (known as the Nîmes Aqueduct) that brought water from from a spring near Uzès, the Eure Fountain, to what was then the Roman city of Nemausus. Although the ruins seem quite simple and unassuming and tucked away in a side street of Nîmes, there is only one other castellum divisorium from the Roman world that is better preserved, and that is at Pompeii.

On an isthmus between a tidal lagoon and the Mediterranean Sea is the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Maguelone. Although there is evidence of human habitation from the Stone Age throughout prehistory and antiquity, it was only in the 11th century that the influence of the location took off when it became bishopric and an impressive fortified Romanesque cathedral was built. The towers were demolished, but the church remains functional. The Romanesque tympanum, which depicted Saints Peter and Paul, has been replaced by a Gothic one. The relief of the two saints has been added to the door frame.

The Maison Carrée is the only Roman temple to be so completely preserved. The Corinthian-style temple was built by Augustus, and dedicated to two of his adopted sons – Caius and Lucius. It was placed on a podium overlooking the city’s forum or public gathering place. Other architectural features of the forum can be seen today. By virtue of its size the temple would have dominated not only the forum, but also the city, reminding locals of the rule of Rome. Napoleon had the neoclassical Église de la Madeleine in Paris modelled on the Maison Carrée.

At 70 m high, with a river and a road running through the ‘tunnel’, the cave is itself well worth seeing. Visitors take a guided tour of the underground tunnels, learning about the prehistoric people who lived here. Unfortunately the cave art is in inaccessible parts of the cave, but there are reproductions of these images in the museum along with other artefacts recovered by archaeologists.

The medieval fortified city of Carcassonne, known locally as la Cité, is one of the most popular destination for visitors to the south of France. The citadel has been occupied since prehistoric times, but it was the Romans who first built a series of walls, parts of which can still be seen. These were added to by the Visigoths, Crusaders and other. As spectacular as the imposing walls are, much of what we see today is the result of 19th century restorations, which are not accurate. But well worth a visit, even with the tourists, for the Roman and Medieval ramparts, the Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus, and the medieval castle & museum.

Legend has it that the Saint-Pierre Abbey in Moissac was founded by the Frankish king, Clovis I, in 506 AD to mark his victory over the Visigoths. More reliable historical records suggest the monastery was established in the 8th century. By the 11th century as a result of its association with the Cluny Abbey, it had become a wealthy religious centre in south-west France. The cloister is one of the largest and the best preserved Romanesque cloisters in Europe. The south portal is one of the largest Romanesque portals. Moissac Abbey is a listed UNIESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Pilgrimage to Saint-James of Compostela.

Niaux has some of the finest examples of Palaeolithic art in Europe. The cave stretches back into the mountain for about 2 km, but the first painted panels are only 500 m from the entrance. Besides paintings on the wall, there are also engravings on the clay floors. Graffiti from the 17th century suggests that these visitors knew about the prehistoric art. A walk of nearly 40 minutes takes you through some spectacular speleological features to the gallery of black animals

Since the discovery of the paintings in 1922 research on the paintings at Pech Merle, including the techniques used to make the images, what pigments the artists used, and also how some of the more complex panels developed over time, have been at the forefront of research on and debates about the meaning of Palaeolithic cave art in western Europe. Without doubt, this is one of the most striking decorated caves still open to the public in France – and should really not be missed. It is also the easiest cave to book tickets for.

Today Pont du Gard is a popular tourist attraction at a spot on the Gardon River favoured by locals to pass the time on a sunny day. Back in the 1st century AD the three tiered aqueduct was a critical part of a 50-kilometre long system that carried water from a spring just outside Uzès to the Roman colony of Nemausus, modern-day Nîmes. Roman architects created a technical masterpiece, standing over 50 m high, and 275 m long at the highest point. The lower level served as bridge well into the Middle Ages, long after the aqueduct ceased transporting water.

On the plains below the hilltop medieval town of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, are the extensive and partly excavated remains of a Roman city. Established between 20 and 15 BC, the settlement was at the crossroads of two important commercial roads linking the Pyrenees with the Garonne. Remanants of a large bathhouse, theatre and various public buildings can be explore. Vandals attacked the city in 405 AD, forcing inhabitants onto the citadelle – remains of their ramparts can still be seen.

The circular cairn, about 25 m in diameter and 1 m high, is to be found in a forest clearing near the village of Tinal d’Abrens. Set within the cairn is a ‘passage’ that measures 16 m by 3 m. From this passage the remains of an estimated 300 individuals were recovered during excavations in the 1920s. The associated graves goods included obsidian blades, arrow heads, one gold bead and other items of jewellery (jade and shell), as well as animal teeth and numerous ceramic shards. It is thought the tomb dates to the beginning of the Bronze Age.