The 330-year-old Canal du Midi Skirts the sun-drenched shore of the Mediterranean before meandering inland through the fabled ‘Cathar Country’. For those seeking an alternative destination in France, the historic, UNESCO World Heritage status Canal du Midi is perfect, with it’s with its fortified hilltop villages, walled cities, ever present towpath and little canal side villages.
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a medieval fortified city set atop a hill overlooking the Aude River. Rising against the backdrop of the Pyrénée Mountains, the city is striking not only during the day but also at night, when it is floodlit. Composed of a circle of towers and battlements, turrets and ramparts, with the longest city wall in Europe, Carcassonne is a perfectly restored medieval town.
Béziers
The hilltop town of Béziers is the wine capital of Languedoc. It was its most famous son, Pierre Paul Riquet, whose vision led to the completion of the Canal du Midi, and his hometown is the centerpiece of the canal. Béziers was first settled by the Phoenicians and was an important Roman military post.
Copyright © 2014 by A Luxury Travel Blog. This article was written by Chris Gant and originally published at A Luxury Travel Blog
