CANAL DU MIDI CYCLING TOURS . REGIONAL INFORMATION . DETOURS IN FRANCE


CANAL DU MIDI CYCLING TOURS 

REGIONAL INFORMATION 

                                                            DETOURS 
                                                                                                                                         IN FRANCE


Canal du Midi cycling tours

The Canal du Midi (Occitan: Canal de las Doas Mars, meaning canal of the two seas) is a 241 km (150 mi) long canal in Southern France (French: le Midi). It was originally named the Canal royal en Languedoc (Royal Canal in Languedoc) but the French revolutionaries renamed it to Canal du Midi in 1789. It was considered at the time to be one of the greatest construction works of the 17th century.[1]

The canal connects the Garonne River to the Étang de Thau on the Mediterranean and along with the 193 km (120 mi) long Canal de Garonne forms the Canal des Deux Mers joining the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The canal runs from the city of Toulouse down to the Étang de Thau near the Mediterranean.

Strictly speaking, the Canal du Midi means that part initially built from Toulouse to the Mediterranean — the Deux-Mers canal project aimed to link together several sections of navigable waterways to join the Mediterranean and the Atlantic: first the Canal du Midi, then the Garonne which was more or less navigable between Toulouse and Bordeaux, then the Garonne Lateral Canal built later, and finally the Gironde estuary after Bordeaux.

The construction of the canal was motivated by wheat trade. Jean-Baptiste Colbert authorized the commencement of work by a royal edict of October 1666. Under the supervision of Pierre-Paul Riquet the construction took from 1666 to 1681 during the reign of Louis XIV. The Canal du Midi is one of the oldest canals of Europe still in operation (the prototype being the Briare Canal). The challenges in these works are closely related to the challenges of river transport in modern times. The key challenge, raised by Pierre-Paul Riquet, was to convey water from the Montagne Noire (Black Mountains) to the Seuil de Naurouze, the highest point of the canal.

It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.[2]


Image result for toulouse Toulouse

A city with unique architecture made of pinkish terracotta bricks, which earned it the nickname la Ville Rose ("the Pink City"), Toulouse counts two UNESCOWorld Heritage sites, the Canal du Midi (designated in 1996 and shared with other cities), and the Basilica of St. Sernin, the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe,[12] designated in 1998 because of its significance to theSantiago de Compostela pilgrimage route.
Panorama of the Cité de Carcassonne


Carcassonne Canal du Midi Cycling Tours 

Carcassonne (French: [kaʁ.ka.sɔn]; Occitan: Carcassona [kaɾkaˈsunɔ]; Latin: Carcaso) is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the Region of Languedoc-Roussillon.

Occupied since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the Aude plain between two great axes of circulation linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. Its strategic importance was quickly recognized by the Romans who occupied its hilltop until the demise of the Western Roman Empire and was later taken over by the Visigoths in the fifth century who founded the city. Also thriving as a trading post due to its location, it saw many rulers who successively built up its fortifications up until its military significance was greatly reduced by the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659.

The city is famous for the Cité de Carcassonne, a medieval fortress restored by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1853 and added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.[1] Consequently, Carcassonne greatly profits from tourism but also counts manufacture and wine-making as some of its other key economic sector
Béziers is a town on the Orb River in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region of southern France. It's known for its Feria de Béziers, an annual bullfighting festival. The old town's narrow streets wind up to 13th-century Béziers Cathedral, marked by its grand rose window. The neighboring Jardin des Évêques is a 14th-century terraced garden with views of the river and the town's 5 bridges.Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred on bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event.[2] Béziers is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network.[3]



Image result for seteImage result for sete  Sète



Known as the Venice of Languedoc and the singular island (in Paul Valéry's words), it is a port and a seaside resort on the Mediterranean with its own very strong cultural identity, traditions, cuisine and dialect. It is also the hometown of artists like Paul Valéry, Jean Vilar, Georges Brassens, Gregory Del Piero, Hervé Di Rosa, Manitas de Plata, andRobert Combas.










Image result for cathar castles    See original image
Cathar castles
Cathar castles (in French Châteaux cathares) is a modern term used by the tourism industry (following the example of Pays Cathare – Cathar Country) to designate a series of fortresses built by the French king on the southern border of his lands at the end of the Albigensian Crusade. Some of these sites, before the royal period, were fortified villages capable of shelteringCathars and which were destroyed during the building of citadels.


Image result for corbiere wines Image result for minervois winesCorbières Wines  

Corbières is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for wine in the Languedoc-Roussillon, and it is this region's largest AOC, responsible for 46 per cent of the region's AOC wine production in 2005. Red wine dominates the production in Corbières with almost 95 per cent, with 3.5 per cent rosé wine and 2 per cent white wine making up the balance.[1] Carignan is the most common grape variety.[2] The AOC was created in 1985, covers 13,500 hectares (33,000 acres) of vineyards and produces an average of 554 000 hectoliter of wine per year, corresponding to 74 million bottles.[1]

Due to its size and geography, Corbières encompasses an enormous variety of soil types and microclimates. The wines from the region tend to be just as varied as the terroir. The region also experiences widely varied winds. The dry, Atlanticvent Cers frequently brings cold weather from the northwest while the area is normally under the influence of the warm, Mediterranean vent Marin.


Minervois Wines  

Minervois is an AOC in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region. The red wines of the Minervois appellation are produced fromCarignan (which can account for no more than 40% of the blend), Grenache, Lledoner Pelut, Mourvedre, and Syrah grapes. The white wines (which are less prevalent) include varietals such as Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Maccabeu, Bourboulenc,Rolle, Clairette Blanche and Muscat.

AOC regulations require the wine to be blended, so single varietals are necessarily Vin de Pays. Historically, the region's capital has been the village of Minerve.




From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire