Occitanie : cités médiévales, canyons & art de vivre – Les villages de nos régions – MG
Discovering France
means wandering its cobbled streets, climbing to the top of its most beautiful towers,
tasting its specialties, climbing its trails or sailing on its rivers. It also means meeting its inhabitants,
those who, every day, maintain and strive
to bring our heritage to life. Discovering our country
means immersing yourself in the villages of our regions. Let’s explore the Occitanie region,
in the south of our country. It now includes the
Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon regions, around Toulouse, its largest city. During this trip to Occitania,
we will take you to the most beautiful medieval cities, to meet those
who keep the memory of the past alive. From culinary traditions to
crafts, including the greatest stories in our history, this region
will take you back in time. We will stroll
through Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, a haunt of many artists. We will be entitled to a private visit of
the famous religious city of Rocamadour. Before reaching Cordes-sur-Ciel,
an exceptional site. We will make a detour to Saint-Enimie,
in the heart of the Gorges du Tarn. Finally, we will enjoy two
villages on the southern axis: Villefranche-de-Conflent and Castelnou. Let’s begin our journey in the northwest of this beautiful and vast region, exploring the
medieval town of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, located 30 kilometers from Cahors, in the Lot. Perched on a spur,
this village founded in the 12th century is one of the best preserved in the department. To appreciate its
privileged location, start by going to the highest point of the cliff. There you will find this belvedere which,
on one side, will allow you to admire the Lot valley and on the other, Le Bourg. This is the favorite place of Émilie,
a resident of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. Here we are at the Rocher
des Lapopies, around which the various lordships
of the viscounty of Quercy were established: the Gourdons, the Cardaillacs, the Castelnau and the Lapopies. In all the small alleys
there are vestiges of that era. In every little street corner,
you can still imagine seeing someone on horseback arriving.
There you go, it’s magic. Indeed, this village is
the medieval hamlet par excellence. Cobbled streets,
wooden and stone facades. So many ancestral details
that Saint-Cirq-Lapopie has managed to preserve. In the village, stop
at Emilie’s Boutique. You will find a whole host
of regional products there. Are you a foodie, ladies? Everything is good here. Here we are in Quercy. So, Quercy is foie gras,
everything related to duck. Apart from its gastronomy,
Barthes discovered the many artists’ studios
that dot this town. We are on the main street
of the village, a street lined with artists who
all know each other and who all mix with each other. It really kept its artistic soul. His life, even today,
is more than ever in Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. If the city attracted many artists,
it is thanks to André Breton, who made it famous. The writer, a leader of surrealism,
settled there in the 1950s. It was in this house,
the Auberge des Mariniers, the oldest in the village, that he spent all his summers. Nothing has changed since
André Breton left. The table where,
one can imagine, the surrealists met. But it really remained as
he lived at the time. The arrival of André Breton and his painter, sculptor and writer friends heralded the village’s rebirth. Since adopted by artists
from all walks of life. Hello Nerida. Are you doing well ?
Yes. THANKS. Nerida is native to Australia. I’m going to fall in love with the village. For me, as an artist, there is
never anything ugly here. I can I can’t leave
Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, no, no, I can’t. We can say that you are
a true Saint-Cirquoise. I hope.
But yes. Nérida and the other artists
of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie will be happy to welcome you to their shops. But if you want to take a stroll
away from the hustle and bustle, head below Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. You can take an
unusual walk along the banks of the Lot. Here we are at the towpath which
was dug by and which allowed horses to pull gabarres,
small wooden boats which allowed
goods, food and other commodities to be brought up
to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, which was a commercial crossroads. You can also travel along it
in a boat trip along the Lot. And to fully enjoy the scenery,
head to the gardens of the Rignault Museum at the end of the day. The view is remarkable. And since you’re in the area,
it would be a shame not to take a trip to Rocamadour to
visit the religious city. A collection of monuments that attract
millions of pilgrims from all over the world every year. Clinging to the cliff face on three levels,
the site has defied the laws of gravity since the Middle Ages. Below you will find
the village and its shops. Place. Just above, halfway up the wall, is
the sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Finally, at the very top, the fortress
which was responsible for defending the whole thing. It is called a religious city
because it includes a basilica, a crypt and seven chapels. A short guided tour of the premises
in the company of Matthieu, a restaurateur in Rocamadour, and a priest friend. Hello, good morning.
How are you, Ronan? Yeah, that’s good.
Nice to see you. Me too. Thank you for having me,
it’s really nice. A quick trip to the 5th?
Come on. Eh ?
Big first. Big first.
Come on, go. Come on, go. Come on, come on, come on, come on,
But most importantly for now, we’re going to the little
Saint-Michel chapel. This is the place, in fact,
where we can imagine what Rocamadour was like at the time.
All right. Go.
Come on, let’s go. This Saint-Michel chapel is
one of the most beautiful in the sanctuary. But be careful, when you come,
remember to book your visit with an official guide. Without this, you will not be able to access it.
Wow. That’s pretty good. It’s just beautiful. It’s superb. This is not normally the first
chapel that one visits in Rocamadour, but the interest of this chapel from the
outset is that it makes us imagine a little what
Rocamadour was like at the very beginning. All right. That is to say that when Rocamadour began
to become known worldwide, at the end of the 11th century, beginning of the 12th century,
the popes even considered Rocamadour to be one of the four great places
of pilgrimage in the world, along with Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago de Compostela. Rocamadour, a remote corner on a
limestone plateau, inaccessible, honestly. And why do people come there? Simply because
extraordinary miracles take place in this place. And people will testify to some
pretty fabulous things that happened to them. And when you heard that there was
a miracle happening somewhere, well, you go there. In fact, this chapel
was built under the rock. Oh yes, it is also the
highest chapel and the rock serves as its walls, roofs and vaults. We are like huddled under a rock. This is what makes, I would say,
the charm, the grace of this chapel. Oh yeah, it makes it absolutely… It gives it an
absolutely magnificent cachet. And the young people who come here often,
this is the one they prefer. Speaking of which,
we go back down and go to the chapel of the Black Virgin, which is
truly the heart of Rocamadour. All right.
Perfect. I’m going before you.
Okay. This is the most emblematic place in the
city: the chapels of the Black Virgin. With its astonishing statue made of walnut wood,
people come from all over the world to admire it. Especially sailors who see
them as divine protection. The origin of this belief is that Henry II,
King of England, fell in love with the site. Well, Henry II will be
very affected at Rocamadour. It comes at the beginning of construction.
He will come twice. And he will build chapels
to Our Lady of Rocamadour, all over Europe,
to make this sanctuary known. In particular, a very well-known one
in Camaret-sur-Mer, in Brittany. And it is the last building
that the sailors see when they leave the harbor of Brest. And so they began to pray to
Our Lady of Rocamadour when they were in distress at sea. When they were saved,
they would have chapels built to Our Lady in the first port
where they found refuge. So here, how did we know? Actually, there is a bell. So we say it’s
the miraculous bell. It rings every time
there’s a miracle at sea. Oh yeah? Yes, you’ll see, it’s going,
I want to go. Listen, you’ll see. This means that there are
no miracles at the moment. Nothing is happening.
No, nothing. That’s how we know.
I like this logic. No, but you still have to be
pretty clear. Of the proven miracles,
this Black Virgin is said to have performed more than a hundred. So, to discover these stories
and many more, take the time to tour this
religious city with its many buildings. Believer or not,
wonder is guaranteed. Let’s continue our journey a little further south
to reach the village of Cordes-sur-Ciel. We are 25 kilometers from Albi,
in the Tarn, another medieval city with a very special charm,
perched on its rocky peak for more than 800 years. The best way to approach it
is to admire the sun rising over this Occitan jewel. Francette, 100 percent Cordèze,
always starts her day with a walk in the valley. We call it Cordes-sur-Ciel
because depending on the season, and especially in autumn,
mists rise and you really get the impression that Cordes
is detached from the ground and floating. It is this sea of clouds that gave its
name to Cordes-sur-Ciel, which, until about twenty years ago,
was simply called Cordes. We will enter this village,
my village, through the Hormaux gate. Once you pass through the door,
you forget everything and let yourself be inhabited by the magic it gives off. As you stroll,
let yourself be seduced by the steep streets and beautiful
stone houses. You may choose to reside in
one of them, like this loji. He has a very special place
in Francette’s heart. This hotel-restaurant belonged to my
grandfather, who bought it, I think, in 1922. So I was born, and my sister too,
here, in my grandfather’s room, which must have been the two windows there. Like her, let yourself be charmed
by the panoramas around the old town. Take a little stroll around the market,
under the Halles, located at the top of the city,
and don’t forget to look up to admire the Gothic facades. Cordes is an architectural catalogue
of magnificent facades erected by the merchants who made the
city rich through the trade in canvas and leather. And everyone wanted to make
their house the most beautiful. And that is still one of the riches,
truly one of the riches and beauty of Cordes. Among these buildings,
you will surely come across this flag. Know that it is the pride of the inhabitants. This is the flag of the Counts
of Toulouse, Raymond VII. It was he,
Count Raymond VII, who decided to create this village on the Mordagne river. Red is Occitania. The other is the cross
of Languedoc, in yellow. Red and gold are the bright colors
that ensure the supremacy of these counts over Occitania and the region. If the Occitan flag is the standard of
Cordes, the crunchy is its specialty. Don’t forget to take
your bag home with you. And here is how this little
cake is made with sugar, flour, egg and almonds. One thing must be said about croquants:
they were invented in Cordes by a pastry chef
called Monsieur Andrieu. It’s a family treat. Anyone can have
the recipe and do it. Be careful, however, to
monitor the cooking carefully. Those that are ready, when we see them,
they are simmering there, they are making little bubbles. When they’re done bubbling, all that’s
left is to eat them, and everyone seems to enjoy them. After recharging your batteries,
you can’t miss the Garden of Paradise. Located on the edge of the village,
this remarkable garden is a haven of peace, ideal for ending your visit. Change of scenery. It is impossible to cross Occitanie
without stopping in the east of the region, in the heart of the Gorges du Tarn. And if there was only one village to remember
around here, it would be this one, Saint-Enimie, located 40 kilometers from Millau. A medieval town, certainly,
but one that is not lacking in life. Here, children are well aware
that they live in an exceptional place. I love my village because on the banks of the Tarn, you can go kayaking and canoeing. There are really a lot
of hiding places everywhere. Besides, it might not seem like it,
but they are everywhere. This is really good. Perfect for a family stay. In Saint-Enimie, there is no
shortage of activities. Along the banks of the Tarn, you can paddle,
swim or skip stones. For André, who has lived here for
over 40 years, it’s walking. And since then,
he has certainly climbed the steep streets of Saint-Enimie thousands of times. The paving stones are there to make walking easier. So, you have the central part
which is the gutter and the transverse parts, as you see there,
it is simply a brake. People, in the past,
did not have power tools. The wheelbarrow had to be pushed. So when they were tired,
they would take a little break and that would help to steady the wheel. In addition to being ingenious,
the village’s ancestors were generous, as proven by the large thistles
that you will see everywhere on the facades. Here you see cardines,
cardabels, a symbol of welcome. When pilgrims passed by and
saw these megrims on a door, they could go through that
door and were guaranteed a meal. Today, these cardines serve
more as a barometer for the inhabitants. When they are fully open,
according to them, good weather is guaranteed. Several superstitions
like this have survived through the ages. The most famous of these concerns
Enimie, the Merovingian princess who gave her name to the village. It was here that Enimie Camille,
Agobert’s sister, came to bathe to cure her skin disease. She understood that her destiny
was to stay in the village. Even today,
many believe in the source of the joke’s healing powers. As for Saint-Enimie,
a chapel is dedicated to him. It ‘s a bit of a long walk to get there
, but the view is worth it. In summer, we recommend
the night-time guided tour. With our André, transformed into a
night watchman, it’s an original and fun way to discover
the history of Saint-Enimie. So what do you have up there? No, it’s not a coat of arms. It’s not a coat of arms,
what is a coat of arms? It’s with a coat of arms.
It’s with a coat of arms. And what does the coat of arms represent?
The family. Family, nobility. So there is nothing there. So, it’s a badge. And why is it a badge? Because the coat of arms was hammered out
during the revolution to avoid being shortened. André almost steals
the show from his magnificent village. Let’s now head south of the region,
to the Pyrénées-Orientales, to discover
Villefranche-de-Conflent, a town nestled in the mountains,
at the foot of Canigou. We are 50 kilometers from Perpignan. More than ten centuries of history have
taken place within the walls of this ancient trading city. A past that Nicole, a retired history teacher
, knows like the back of her hand. We are here at the entrance
to Villefranche-de-Conflent, which was created in 1092 by the Count of Cerdagne. Halfway between France and Spain,
Villefranche is a strategic location. The ramparts act
as barriers between the two countries. Later, in the 17th century,
the site interested Vauban, the most famous military engineer in history. Vauban had decided to use
medieval fortifications and to raise them, precisely,
to put bastions. We had many sieges, but we
always kept the walls intact. Of the. Please note that you can still
walk along these ramparts. But be careful not to miss the exit. It’s a real labyrinth. People managed to get themselves
locked in the walls and they called for help through
the loopholes when they saw at least one life in the village. A village with a turbulent past,
but also remarkably preserved. As evidence, the facades of the rue
Saint-Jean, where Drapier, Taneur and other notables had established themselves in the Middle Ages. Today, instead, you will find
many picturesque stalls. And the most emblematic of all
is this shop which offers the famous witches of Villefranche. Tradition dictates that they are hung
in houses to drive away evil spirits. A few steps away,
don’t hesitate to visit Marilou, the baker and last
food merchant in the village, and taste her specialty: bougniettes. Before, we did a lot of it at home. And we passed some to the neighbor
who in turn passed some to you. And that allowed us at the time
to criticize the neighbor’s work. It was very family-oriented. Donuts flavored with orange blossom
and generously sprinkled with sugar. A typical recipe
that Catalans love. I wanted to bring you here
because she’s our beloved baker. It has been installed for a
number of years and everything is made by hand. It’s food craftsmanship. After regaining your strength,
set off to storm Fort Liberia, a must-see building in the village. It is accessed by an
underground staircase known as the thousand steps. The funny thing is that
when we ask visitors if they have recounted,
we get a different number each time they do a count. And it’s true that being able to open it
to the public is the icing on the cake, because it’s true that it
leaves an unforgettable memory for people, especially for their calves. But trust us,
the climb is worth it. This Canigou that we have in front of us,
only 11 km away as the crow flies, that is to say that we could
almost touch it. I even have a paternalistic view
of Canigou, since I always have the impression that it’s my grandfather
waiting for me like that in his dining room, with his shoulders
drooping like that. I am one of those who
would never change villages for anything in the world. Protected by Mount Canigou,
Villefranche-de-Conflent subtly blends past and present. As proof, this giants festival,
a Catalan tradition which enchants the village for three
days every year at Easter. Book your weekend in advance. And before leaving the region, we
‘ve unearthed another Catalan gem for you. The village of Castelnou and its
fortified castle 20 km from Perpignan. We feel like we’re somewhere else. We forget time, we forget… It’s nature, it’s extraordinary. It is a luxury in our time. Gilbert fell in love
with this setting 40 years ago. What kind of fougasse do you suggest
today? That’s good for cholesterol. That’s why we live to old age here.
There is a lot of soul. What we love
is the soul of Castelnou. So. After a stroll around the market,
to immerse yourself in the history of the village, we recommend a
donkey ride, which is fun and educational. You see a step that is
made especially for. And then we’ll take the donkey. So, you see Mathilde, this stone,
it reminds you What is it, when you see it?
A skull. Really a skull? So, you know this stone,
it has quite a story. So, you see, he would pass the rope
through there and we would tie the donkey, that’s it. And we could go to lunch. We were quiet,
and the donkey remained quiet. In the streets of the village,
on donkey or on foot, the game of two vinettes continues
and Gilbert has an answer to everything. We are often asked
what is hanging there. It’s certainly not easy. This is a local bread oven site. We would first put things
that required a high temperature and finish with flans,
patachou, things like that. It was quite a ceremony. If this oven is no longer in operation,
there are others in the village that are running at full capacity. In this restaurant,
we recommend you try the local specialty: cargolade. It is a Catalan tradition that is made
with cleaned and seasoned snails, placed on a grill and
simply grilled over a wood fire. So. And there, we’re going to let them cook
for three or four minutes. Ah, finally. We almost waited. Here are your snails. Brave to Chouet. Accompanied by a small
homemade garlic tart in bed. I think we’re going to have a great time.
You see? And that’s the impression,
they are cooked to perfection. A good cargolade is when
all of us, all our friends, get together and eat snails, right? All on the heights
of their beautiful Castelnau. Sharing, welcoming
and the taste of good things. So many values that you can
savor in this beautiful region of Occitanie. A region dotted with medieval towns,
each more authentic than the last. A strong religious and cultural heritage
in natural settings as varied as the peasants, with the added bonus of
the sun of the south of France.
Cap sur l’Occitanie, de la vallée du Lot aux reliefs catalans.
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À Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, ruelles pavées, maisons de bois et belvédères dominent le Lot ; l’esprit des surréalistes plane encore et les ateliers d’artistes jalonnent la grand’rue. En contrebas, le chemin de halage taille la falaise, souvenir des gabarres. Rocamadour se dévoile ensuite : sanctuaires adossés à la roche, chapelle Saint-Michel, Vierge Noire et récits de miracles qui ont fait de ce lieu un haut pèlerinage d’Europe. À l’aube, Cordes-sur-Ciel émerge des brumes : demeures gothiques de marchands, ruelles escarpées, drapeaux des comtes de Toulouse et douceur d’un croquant aux amandes. Cap à l’est vers Saint-Énimie, perle des Gorges du Tarn : eau translucide, canoë, sentiers en corniche et légende de la princesse mérovingienne. Plus au sud, Villefranche-de-Conflent déploie ses remparts médiévaux renforcés par Vauban ; un escalier souterrain mène au fort Libéria, belvédère sur le Canigou. Final à Castelnou : marché, ruelles ocre et château posés dans un décor catalan, jusqu’à la cargolade partagée. Un voyage de pierres, de rivières et de savoir-faire, au plus près d’un patrimoine vivant.
Réalisé par Élodie BOUTIT.
© MORGANE PRODUCTION