Page 489 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

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Pont du Gard Corbières
! F6 ⌂ 400 route du Pont ! D7–E7 ⌂ Aude
du Gard-La Bégud, Gard k Perpignan £ Narbonne,
@ From Nîmes # Hours Carcassonne, Lézignan-
vary, check website Corbières @ Narbonne,
∑ pontdugard.fr Carcassonne, Lézignan-
Corbières n 2 rue
No amount of fame can Guynemer; www.tourisme-
diminish the first sight of the corbieres-minervois.com
2,000-year-old Pont du Gard,
a UNESCO World Heritage Still one of the wildest parts
Site. The Romans considered of France, the Corbières is
it the best testimony to the best known for its wine and
great ness of their empire, and, the great craggy hulks of the
rising 49 m (160 ft), it was the Cathar castles, which perch
highest bridge they ever built. precariously on hilltops.
It is made from blocks of Much of the land is untamed
stone, which were hauled into garrigue (scrubland), fragrant Sunrise illuminating the
place by enslaved peoples – with honeysuckle and broom, castle of Peyrepertuse,
an estimated 1,000 men over while the south-facing slopes near Corbières
a five-year period – using an are planted with vines.
ingenious system of pulleys. To the south are the spec-
The huge build-up of calcium tacular medieval castles of To the west is the barren
in the water channels suggests Peyrepertuse and Quéribus, Razès area in the upper Aude
the aqueduct was in continu- the latter being one of the last Valley. Its best-kept secret is
ous use for some 400 to 500 strong holds of the Cathars. the village of Alet-les-Bains,
years, carrying water to Nîmes The guided visits around the with beautifully preserved
along a 50-km (31-mile) route remarkable Cathar château half-timbered houses and the
from the springs at Uzès, a at Villerouge-Termenes reveal remains of a Bene dictine
charming town boasting an some details surrounding its abbey, battle-scarred from
arcaded marketplace. turbulent past. the Wars of Religion.

The spectacular Roman-built
Pont du Gard aqueduct across
the beautiful River Gardon

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