Tourism-Region

Saint-Pons de Thomières

The 2300 inhabitants of Saint-Pons de Thomières live in the valley of the Jaur river, at the foot of the impressive mountains, that visitors take as a start for beautiful walks. In this well preserved landscape of the Natural Park of the Haut Languedoc, this town is very inviting. You can admire and visit the Benedictine abbey, founded in 936 by Raymond PONS, count of Toulouse.

The Saint-Pons’ cathedral

You can visit the cathedral with a guide. Initially it was an abbey, built in the 12th century and transformed in a cathedral during the 15th, 16th and 18th century. It has a rich decorated portal, baptised by the local people as the "Porte des Morts". The inside of the cathedral has undergone a lot of restructuring. The choir is closed by a very beautiful grille and is decorated with marble. It contains an organ from the 18th century.

Marbles of Saint-Ponais

You can follow the history of the marble of Saint-Pons de Thomières throughout the different walks, the shortest in the centre of the town, the more sportive ones at the outskirts of the city. They will be suggested to you the minute you arrive...

Pre-historical museum of Saint-Pons

The museum can be visited with a guide. It has opened his doors in 1985, thanks to the donation of Gabriel Rodriguez, pre-historicus. It represents the succeeding civilisations in the near region of Saint-Pons de Thomières, showing objects that have been discovered during the underground searching of the caves of Camprafaud and Resplandy. You will also admire objects from the historical periods of the Bronze period until the Middle Ages.

The spring of the Jaur river

Thanks to the constant freshness of the spring you can observe the crenelated tower of the count Pons, that was a part of the fortified bishop’s palace. At the foot of the rock, the Jaur river starts its flow.

The lake of Vésoles

The impressive waterfall of 200m falling on the gigantic granite blocks had to make place for an hydro-electric dam, which is quite a pity, but this spot still remains worth a visit. Sailing is authorised on the lake.

The lake of la Raviège

This lake is over 400 hectares large and has a length of about 10 miles. It is located in the middle of the forest between the firtree and the beech. The swimmers and the fans of sailing will adore this spot. At the nautical base you can hire pedal boats, canoes, little boats ...Fishing is also authorised. All around the lake you will find plenty of paths for the walkers and the mountain bikers. The EDF dam (EDF is the French electricity company) which is responsible for the creation of the lake and is and impressive construction of over 35 meters high, has two interests : on the one hand the production of electricity and on the other hand the control of the flow of the Agoût river. The lake has been given the name of La Raviège because of the little hamlet La Raviège that disappeared under the water when the dam was finished.

The caves of la Devèze

This cave is situated in the Natural Park of the Haut Languedoc and has been accidentally discovered on the construction site of a railway. It is like a living cave, very authentic, and perhaps one of the most beautiful in France. The fine concrétions will impress you. This cave is also called « The palace of the glass spinster ».

The museum of speleology

At the entrance of the Cave of la Devèze you will find the museum of speleology that has an important collection of documents, material and original objects found during the potholing of the underground. You’ll get an interesting explanation about the formation of caves and about concrétions. Absorbed by this underground world you will discover the origin of the abysses and the fauna that lived in our caves but has disappeared nowadays. You will get a real initiation on scientific potholing, but understandable for every one.

Underground safari

The underground network of the Ponderatz cave is an immense adventure and discover field. Assisted by a formed and graduated monitor you can crisscross the galleries, the rooms and the underground river. Different itineraries will be proposed to you, some without any difficulty, other more sportive, but all of them are sensational. The material you need for this underground exploration is provided.

Olargues

You will discover this picturesque village - one of the most beautiful of France - at the foot of the massif of Espinouse and get immediately the impression that the village tries to stick to the promontory, ringed by a loop of the Jaur river. Its steep alleys, guarded by a little tower, dominate the cultivations of cherries laying in the valley. From here out you can admire the sight of the Jaur river, of the Espinouse and the Caroux whose mountain tops point at the horizon.

The gorges of Héric

A three hours during walk will bring you to the hart of the magnificent gorges. The wild flora gives a divine colour to the rocks. The trip makes you go along the torrent between high rocks, the torrent calms down in what we call the swimming pools, the biggest of them being the abyss of Cérisier. You can plan to take a pick nick and enjoy a quiet meal at the waterside. You will admire the wonderful circus of Farrières, that is surmounted by needle rocks. At the end of the trip, you will reach Héric, a hamlet know for its roofs « de lauze » (tiles in stone of the region).

Roquebrun

The ruins of its Medieval tower dominate the cobbled alleys of this little village, which has a very particular climat that allows the growing in full ground of mimosas (flowering in February), orange trees, lemon trees and mandarin trees.

The Mediterranean garden of Roquebrun

Exposed on terraces above the village, this Mediterranean garden has a collection of over 400 Mediterranean and exotic species, as Indian Fig Opuntias, strawberry trees, jujube trees, junipers and loquats.

The marble quarry of Coumiac

This quarry has been exploit until 1965. Its marble is red, and therefore called « antique » marble. One of the glorious titles of the quarry is that its marble has been chosen to decorate several rooms in the White House in Washington. Layers of pre-roman civilisation are stacked. The oppidum overwhelms the biterian plains and it is this Mediterranean location that makes the site interesting. The museum built on the foundations of the old town, offers a collection of objects discovered during the searches, evoking daily life from the 6th century B.C. until the 1st century A.C. Certainly worth a visit : the view on the ancient « pond of Montady », drained since 1247, is exceptional.

Béziers

The town is built on a strategic spur, surrounded by stairs and dominated by a magnificent cathedral. The wine amateurs have to visit Béziers as it is the capital of the Languedoc vineyards. People who adore the ballads on the water will discover that Béziers is the native town of Pierre Paul Riquet, the engineer of the Canal du Midi. And last but not least, the town is also very well known for its inflammation during the feria (local festivities) in August.

Saint-Chinian

In Occitan : »Sanch Inhan ». The vineyards of Saint-Chinian, famous for its « appellation d’origine controlée » since 1982, cover about some twenty villages, that produce, at the south-east of Saint-Pons, one of the best wines of the region. Saint-Chinian, a very typical and picturesque village, stretches as far as the Orb and the Verzanobre with the mountains of Caroux and Espinouse as backdrop.

The oppidum of Ensérune

At Ensérune you can still feel the breathing of the remains of this fortified town, where several.

The canal du Midi

On one side this canal owes its success to its technical feat, but on the other side especially to its beautiful banks, the calmness of its flow, and the interesting trip throughout the Languedoc, going from the "Méditerranée" to the "Lauragais", along idyllic landscapes, towns with a rich past and interesting monuments.

Carcassonne

Amazing !! You can’t but admire this city dominating the surrounding vineyards with the scrub of Corbières as backdrop. The Canal du Midi was classified World Heritage Site by the Unesco in 1996, Carcassonne obtained the same honour in 1997. You will always remember Carcassonne, as so many already who have paced up and down the little streets, who have been walking along the ramparts or have payed a visit to the Castle. The city of Carcassonne is the biggest fortress in Europe. It is made up of a fortified core, the Comtal Castle, and a double wall : the outward wall has fourteen towers and is separated from the inner wall (that counts 24 towers) by lices.

Land of the Cathars

"Le pays Cathare", stretching from the Mediterranee as far as the Pyrenees, has an enormous landscape variety and very prestigious sites. You will admire the castles, the abbeys and roman cloisters in a unique natural environment. In the XII th century spreads an independent Christian religion : the Catharism. This belief, based on Christianism, and criticising Catholicism, developed very fast in Occitania. To crush this movement, the Catholic Pope launched the Albigensian Crusade. The crusade became finally a war between the Lords of the North and the Occitan Lords. The inquisition tribunals managed to extirpate the movement and to destroy the Cathars. Even if the Catharism has been annihilated, it remains a symbol of liberty, tolerance and open-mindedness of the Occitan culture. It will stay in mind for ever, even though nowadays only the castles, the abbeys and the museums of the land of the Cathars symbolise this battle.

Minerve

Minerve stretches out on the rocky promontory, looks like a real island detached from the Causse because of the succeeding glacial and fluvial erosion. Dominating a rough passage, cut out in the gorges of the Cesse and the Brian, this town is a very picturesque site, stuffed with curiosities, like for instance its natural bridges. The echo of the Catharian tragedy still resound : it was in fact in Minerve that the first pyre of the Albigensian Crusade was set on fire. More than one hundred fifty Catharian parfaits sacrificed themselves on the pyre wanting to respect their belief.

La montagne noire

The black mountains, located in the Natural Park of the Haut Languedoc, are a characteristic territory, where as well Atlantic as Mediterranean influences can be found. La montagne noire seems the last bastion of the Central Massif. It is known for its dark forests and the rocks tanned by the years. Very abruptly, it rises up above the Thoré, in the North, with an eye fixed on the Pyrenees ; in the South it slopes smoothly down to the plains of the Lauragais and the Minervois. The visitors of the Montagne Noire will also discover the terrific splendours of the earth like the abyss of Cabrespine or the Caves of Limousis that open the doors of a mysterious domain.

Castres

For a very long time Castres has flourished thanks to the textile. The homes of the weavers, the dyers and the tanners, rising up on the riverbanks of the Agoût, reveal this thrive. Today the town of Castres has a fantastic museum : the museum of Hispanic Art. The plans of the building were realised by Mansart ; the plans of the gardens by le Nôtre. The museum possesses an exceptional collection of works of Goya. All around Castres you will discover the wonderful landscapes with the Sidobre, the Montagne Noire or the Monts de Lacaune.

The Sidobre

You can discover the gigantic granite quarries, that reveal the economic importance of the Sidobre. The Sidobre offers bizarre landscapes of granite rocks, sculptured in « boules » (balls) by erosion. Those enormous blocks of rock are in balance one on to the other, looking like a river of rocks, the « compayrés », and make of the Sidobre a tourist site with reputation.

Lacaune

This station has thermal sources. From here out you can do wonderful walks through the surrounding mountains or in the fresh valley of Gijou. The Belgian people among you will be pleased to discover the fountain of the pee boys at the square of Griffoul, in the centre of the town. It will surely make them think of the fatherland.

Lamalou-les-Bains

The thermal exploitation of Lamalou goes back up to the XIII th century, when the healing force of its waters was discovered. But this is not the only interest of Lamalou-les-Bains. It is also a good start spot for excursions in the Caroux. There are not less than fifteen sources that spurt out along the geological fault crossing the valley. The water of the sources is ferruginous and contains sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium and carbon dioxide.