There are many places near to our house in Castelnaudary that we haven’t visited. I have selected my top three, but in no particular order.
The first is Albi. Located on the banks of the River Tarn, this city is a UNESCO World Heritage site. There is much to see here, including the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum and the Pont Vieux d’Albi, one of France’s oldest bridges, constructed in 1040.
My second choice is neither in France nor a city. It is Andorra, a tiny principality located in the the Pyrenees between France and Spain. It is a two and a half hour drive from Castelnaudary via a very scenic route! Andorra is a popular tourist destination for winter sports, hiking and duty free shopping. Although not a member of the EU, there is a special arrangement so that Euros can be used in Andorra. The official language is Catalan.
Another city I have always wanted to visit in Occitanie is Nimes. The Lonely Planet guide calls it the ‘Rome of France’. No surprise, as it is known for its cultural heritage, Roman monuments, warm climate and beautiful architecture. Its incredible Roman buildings include a magnificent Amphitheatre and a 2000-year-old temple.
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Albi is always worth a visit (about an hour SE from us). I have never visited Andorra and only gone around the Nîmes ring road, although it’s definitely on my list. I’m sure it’s fascinating. It’s smaller cousin, Arles, is well worth a visit.
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I’ll add Arles to the list – thanks for the heads-up!
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I hope you will visit these wonderful places and write about them in future blogs!
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I hope so too!
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We were well impressed with Albi, June, but Arles is somewhere I’d love to see. Nimes and Andorra too. So many lovely places.
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So many places and not enough time!
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We live in Llandudno in N.Wales and have not yet visited the special island of Angelsey or even Snowdonia ,which are fairly close to us, despite wanting to go to both! Why?…must be laziness. Love the places you chose, I would really love to see them…chance to practice my rusty university french…but perhaps should do the ones closer to home first. Thank you for the lovely photos and information.
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I think it is often the case, perhaps because live we nearer to these places, we feel there is more time and opportunity to visit them, even if we never do! For me the exception was Wimbledon, when I lived in the area, I did make it to the tennis on several occasions!
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I second Arles.
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Arles seems to be very popular. I’ll do some research!
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