Languedoc-Roussillon

Five départements make up this region: Aude, Gard, Hérault, Lozère and Pyrénées-Orientales. There are two cultures, two civilisations here - Catalan and Languedoc. There are snowy peaks, reflected in the Mediterranean, barbarian steppes and valleys carpeted in vines, towns older than living memory and mediaeval villages slumbering in the shade of church towers. And then there are abbeys nestling in forgotten dales, castles perched in inaccessible eagles' nests between land and sky, hermitages clinging to the side of unfathomable precipices. Scrubland and orchards, canyons and deserts, swamps where horses and bulls run wild, lakes full of pink flamingos... A vast outdoor tiered theatre leading down to the Mediterranean, Languedoc-Roussillon showcases 2,500 years of history in some of the most sumptuous natural scenery in France.