Day 13 : July 10,2008        Hotel du SOLEIL TERMINUS***

 

The Terminus Hotel, enjoys a strategical location in Carcassonne, only 100 metres from the railway station and close to all of the city's major attractions. You can walk along the Canal du Midi and visit the medieval city or, if you prefer, taste the renowned local wines and gastronomic specialities. The property, housed in a building dating back to 1913 boasting a magnificent façade, is a comfortable hotel offering a wide choice of business and leisure amenities including a wellness centre.

  ON THE ROAD 

During this ride you encounter a patchwork of landscapes
 

The Camargue, situated between the two branches of the Rhone River, is one of the loveliest natural settings in Europe. Its fauna and flora are protected within the Camargue Regional Nature Park (Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue) an 85,000-hectare protected site unique in Europe, covered with ponds, marshes, rivers and saltworks, where raising horses and bulls is still a major activity. In the Camargue, more than anywhere else in France, the bull is king.
Étang de Thau or Bassin de Thau is the largest of a string of étangs (lakes) that stretch along the Languedoc-Roussillon. It is the second largest lake in France. 18 sorts of shellfish are taken from the étang the most important being oysters. 750 producers farm 2,750 oyster tables and take some 13,000 tonnes annually. In addition to oysters, some 3,000 tonnes of mussels are produced every year.. The Cirque de Mourèze is one of the most spectacular dolomitic sites : mysterious environment with natural sculptures. On the edge of the Salagou Lake, you are amazed by a strange decor : red ground sculpted by erosion shaping caves and canyons. A ride along vineyards, olive groves and walls made of dry stones.
Tasting a "tapenade" with a glass of sweet white wine "Muscat"... will let you appreciate the local terroir. So many fragrances and tastes ! Invitation to listen to the Legends from Languedoc...

6000 years of History are waiting for you !

The history of Carcassonne is particularly bound to a period of the Middle-Ages, often called "the Crusade of the Albigenses". Carcassonne is more than 2000 years old ! Yes, Carcassonne is the "Cité", this very famous and extraordinary architectural monument, unique in Europe, this miracle of stones on a hill, looming over the surrounding vineyards of Minervois or Carcassès, the Black Mountain or the sinuous outlines of the Corbières with towers and ramparts that are centuries old....
Throughout the centuries the historic site of Carcassonne has played a decisive role in the history of Languedoc. An Iron Age Oppidum transformed into a Roman town in the Ist Century BC, the city-state became the possession of the powerful Viscount Trencavel who ruled over Bas-Languedoc. At the end of the crusade against the Albigensians the city, with its improved fortifications, became one of the strongholds symbolising royal power on the frontier between France and Aragon.However, after the Treaty of the Pyrenees made the Roussillon a French possession, the city lost its strategic role and its defence works were neglected.