Southern France

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Lourdes Cathedral Photo - Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, Basilica, Grotto, Lourdes, France

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Southern France is fabulous in the summer. Between the blooming lavender fields of Provence, the quaint atmosphere of summer festival nights in Avignon, and the daily excitement of the Tour de France, one cannot ask for a better summer European getaway. Here are the absolute highlights of our own trip to the region in July:1. Tour de France: What is the most exciting about the Tour is your ability to choose the venue where you want to see it. Mountain tops, long stretches of flat asphalt, crowded finish line, or a secluded forest roadway—the bikers of the Tour ride it all and you can be there, sometimes an arm's length away from the riders themselves. Together with the festive atmosphere...Read More

Southern France is fabulous in the summer. Between the blooming lavender fields of Provence, the quaint atmosphere of summer festival nights in Avignon, and the daily excitement of the Tour de France, one cannot ask for a better summer European getaway. Here are the absolute highlights of our own trip to the region in July:

1. Tour de France: What is the most exciting about the Tour is your ability to choose the venue where you want to see it. Mountain tops, long stretches of flat asphalt, crowded finish line, or a secluded forest roadway—the bikers of the Tour ride it all and you can be there, sometimes an arm's length away from the riders themselves. Together with the festive atmosphere and the fiercely competitive excitement that surrounds it, the Tour de France is a must to experience.

2. Lavender: Provence is famous for lavender and a visit to one of the fields is simply blissful. The delicate scent and the beauty of the flowers, set against the gorgeous landscape, provides a very essence of high summer.

3. Pont du Gard: Provence used to be a Roman province and is rich in Roman remains, such as the aqueduct Pont du Gard and an amphitheater in Orange. Great sightseeing for the history buffs.

4. Evening meals: Nothing like an outdoor evening meal under the southern French summer sky. A glass of wine, a bit of twilight, a soft shimmer of conversation in the background.

5. Lourdes: One of the most important Catholic shrines in the world. A spiritual experience for Catholics and others as well.

6. Experience a festival: The French love to party and many southern cities host festivals in the summer. The theater festival in Avignon (http://www.festival-avignon.com/index.php?lg=en) and a medieval festival in Carcassonne (http://www.carcassonne.org/) are two of the best. Spending a Bastille Day (July 14) in one of these cities would be ideal.

7. We did not go there, but the cities of the French Riviera, such as Cannes, have their own attractions.

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Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, Basilica, Grotto

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Attraction | "Lourdes Cathedral"

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Lourdes is one of the most important shrines of the Catholic Church and even if one is not Catholic, a visit there can be very interesting.The importance of Lourdes is linked to Virgin Mary, who on February 11, 1858 made an appearance here. The story goes something like this. A fourteen year old local girl named Bernadette was walking in the woods when she heard a thunder emanating from a nearby grotto. Coming closer, the girl saw a rosebush and an appearance of a young and beautiful Lady, floating above the bush. The Lady smiled at Bernadette and motioned for her to advance. Bernadette lost any fear and fell to her knees to pray the Rosary. The Lady soon disappeared, but returned to meet with...Read More

Lourdes is one of the most important shrines of the Catholic Church and even if one is not Catholic, a visit there can be very interesting.

The importance of Lourdes is linked to Virgin Mary, who on February 11, 1858 made an appearance here. The story goes something like this. A fourteen year old local girl named Bernadette was walking in the woods when she heard a thunder emanating from a nearby grotto. Coming closer, the girl saw a rosebush and an appearance of a young and beautiful Lady, floating above the bush. The Lady smiled at Bernadette and motioned for her to advance. Bernadette lost any fear and fell to her knees to pray the Rosary. The Lady soon disappeared, but returned to meet with Bernadette on many more occasions over the next six months. During the last apparition, the Lady revealed her identity as Virgin Mary and instructed Bernadette to dig a hole near the grotto. The hole turned into a spring of water, which Mary promised would have healing qualities. Mary also asked Bernadette to tell the local pastor to have a chapel built in honor of her appearances there. If you have any doubts about this story, so did the pastor. He promptly accused Bernadette of lying and demanded that she tells her "friend" to perform a miracle by making the rosebush in the grotto bloom. On March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, the rosebush bloomed out of season. The Catholic Church investigated and the apparitions were declared authentic in 1862, immediately making Lourdes one of the world's major pilgrimage sites. A beautiful chapel was built over the grotto and every single night nearly 10,000 people participate in the procession around the church. The procession is lead by hundreds of wheelchair and even mobile bed-bound patients, who come here in search for cure. The walls of the grotto itself are filled with crutches of those who have been cured.

As you can imagine, Lourdes is filled with commercial enterprise trying to make money off the pilgrims. Within a mile of the church, there are dozens of stores selling cheap plastic trinkets of all sorts. Only Paris has more hotel space than Lourdes. And yet despite all of that carnival atmosphere on the outside, the church complex itself offers remarkable spiritual experience.

We strolled around the Cathedral grounds for several hours. As the night settled in, we walked over to the famous springs and filled several bottles with the precious water. All around us, people were filling up gallon-sized containers and drinking right from the faucets. We then found our way to a hotel and got ready for the next day... Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on January 16, 2007

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, Basilica, Grotto

Lourdes, France

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Senanque Abbey

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Attraction | "Abbey de Sénanque"

Entryway to Gordes Photo - Senanque Abbey, Provence, France

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Few places have captured our imagination as much as Abbey of Senanque. It is the photograph of this Abbey, which I saw in a wall calendar, that inspired me to plan our excursion to France. I don't know what really drew me towards this place. Its location at the end of a single lane road in the small Provencial valley was interesting enough. But the true attraction lied in the sheer and magnetic beauty of the place. You see, the Abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1178 and for the past many centuries, lived off tending to lavender. The contrast of the centuries-old walls of this Romanesque structure set against blooming lavender fields provides an unforgettable experience. The fields fill the whol...Read More

Few places have captured our imagination as much as Abbey of Senanque. It is the photograph of this Abbey, which I saw in a wall calendar, that inspired me to plan our excursion to France. I don't know what really drew me towards this place. Its location at the end of a single lane road in the small Provencial valley was interesting enough. But the true attraction lied in the sheer and magnetic beauty of the place. You see, the Abbey was founded by Cistercian monks in 1178 and for the past many centuries, lived off tending to lavender. The contrast of the centuries-old walls of this Romanesque structure set against blooming lavender fields provides an unforgettable experience. The fields fill the whole valley with the sweet scent of flowers and the air buzzes with humming of honey bees. In all, the setting provides for a perfect summer day and the visit to the Abbey was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

We spent about two hours walking the Abbey grounds. The monks know the world they live in and they have a fully staffed boutique selling "everything lavender," to supplement their plantation. During certain hours, one can also enter the Abbey cloisters, but we missed the tour of the day and enjoyed the gardens instead.

Some practical information about the Abbey. It is very much off the beaten track and not easy to find. It is located 2 km from Gordes, at the end of a sole access road leading into the nearby valley. Once you get to Gordes, follow the signs. I think the beauty of the place can only be appreciated in the sunny weather, so I do not vouch for the visual experience on a cloudy day. Also, lavender blooms at the end of July, so that is the best time to visit. The monks will not tolerate "indecency," so women can not have exposed shoulders or skirts above the knee prior to entering the Abbey. No fear ladies, the entrepreneurial monks provide dark heavy cloth to cover yourselves with, but I would take my own T-shirt and pants instead. We strongly recommend a visit! Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on January 17, 2007

Senanque Abbey
Near the Village of Gordes
Vaucluse, Provence
04 90 72 05 72

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Fortified Cite de Carcassonne and Lower City

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Attraction | "The Citadel of Carcassonne"

The Citadel of Carcassonne Photo - Fortified Cite de Carcassonne and Lower City, Carcassonne, France

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Carcassonne is considered one of Europe's most preserved medieval sites. The legend of the city's name goes back to the year 760 AD, when the besieging Franks hoped to starve it into submission. The hunger led Lady Carcas, widow of one of the nobles, to collect all available grain and feed it to one remaining pig. Thus fattened, the pig was catapulted into the Frank camp, as a proof of persistent abundance in the city. Seeing a perfectly good pig hurled over the city walls disheartened the Franks, who felt their siege was futile. They lifted the siege and in honor of the resourceful Lady, the city was renamed Carcassonne. Today, Carcassonne is a fairly popular town with an impressive castle at...Read More

Carcassonne is considered one of Europe's most preserved medieval sites. The legend of the city's name goes back to the year 760 AD, when the besieging Franks hoped to starve it into submission. The hunger led Lady Carcas, widow of one of the nobles, to collect all available grain and feed it to one remaining pig. Thus fattened, the pig was catapulted into the Frank camp, as a proof of persistent abundance in the city. Seeing a perfectly good pig hurled over the city walls disheartened the Franks, who felt their siege was futile. They lifted the siege and in honor of the resourceful Lady, the city was renamed Carcassonne.

Today, Carcassonne is a fairly popular town with an impressive castle at its heart. The town hosts a number of medieval festivals in the summer and its narrow streets are filled with cafes and local artifact stands. Understandably it is full of tourists, but the attractions are first class so it is worth the visit. Like in many other places, we made a mistake in Carcassonne. While visiting Europe in the summer, it quickly becomes apparent that the time of day truly affects your experience. Prior to arrival, I read about an absolutely great time you could have walking the emptied town after dusk. Walking atop of the surrounding walls and trying to imagine Charlemagne's army besieging your town a thousand years ago. There is charm to it... a charm that had little to do with our own experience of wall to wall crowds squeezing under the harsh noontime sun. I wish we had spent two nights at Carcassonne to experience its magic after sunset. Next time I do a trip, I will plan two night stays in each location.

What made Carcassonne a fun experience for us was the Medieval Festival itself. It was a theatrical expression of some important event that happened around those parts. It was all in French, so we did not get much of the content, but the fights, the scenery and the props looked very authentic. Carcassonne is fun for adults, and the place is just heaven to bring your kids along. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on January 17, 2007

Fortified Cite de Carcassonne and Lower City
Languedoc
Carcassonne, France

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Pont du Gard

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Attraction | "Pont du Gard Aqueduct"

Pont du Gard Photo - Pont du Gard, Vers-Pont-du-Gard, Languedoc Roussillon

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Historically, southern France is a fascinating place. It has 800-year old ruins of the feudal castles of the middle ages, but it also contains plenty of ancient ruins as well. This part of Europe was the frontier of the Roman Empire. Early years of the Roman Republic were dominated by consolidation of power in Italy but by the 2nd century B.C., that power spread into Gaul, as the modern France was then called. Over the next 400 years this area was under the rule of the Empire, usually providing much needed land for the veterans of the Roman legions. For that reason, this area is filled with many important Roman buildings and Pont du Gard is one of the most impressive structures of them all.Pon...Read More

Historically, southern France is a fascinating place. It has 800-year old ruins of the feudal castles of the middle ages, but it also contains plenty of ancient ruins as well. This part of Europe was the frontier of the Roman Empire. Early years of the Roman Republic were dominated by consolidation of power in Italy but by the 2nd century B.C., that power spread into Gaul, as the modern France was then called. Over the next 400 years this area was under the rule of the Empire, usually providing much needed land for the veterans of the Roman legions. For that reason, this area is filled with many important Roman buildings and Pont du Gard is one of the most impressive structures of them all.

Pont du Gard, which simply means "the Bridge over the River Gard," is the largest of the remaining Roman aqueducts. It was finished around 19 BC, under the supervision of none other than Marcus Agrippa, Augustus' son-in-law. The current remains are only a small part of a 30 mile-long aqueduct that connected a fresh water spring to the Roman city of Nimes. Please ponder that for a moment. Over two thousand years ago, Roman engineers built an enormous stone structure to supply 44 million gallons of fresh water a day to one of their provincial cities. We have all much to learn to truly understand the state of technology and human affairs in the ancient times. We may have WiFi Internet, but our masonry is not as good. In the mid 1990s a powerful flood ravaged this area, destroying the modern bridge built to span the river. Pont du Gard only suffered minimal damage in that affair.

Subsequent history of Pont du Gard is equally interesting. The fall of the Roman Empire disrupted maintenance and we know that by 9th century it became completely unusable. But it continued to inspire and awe the local villagers of the Dark Ages, who nonetheless helped themselves to all the stone they could. The aqueduct was dismantled, leaving only the Pont du Gard itself, most likely because no peasant could possibly steal a block of stone bigger than his house. As the local economies resurrected themselves in the Middle Ages, the remains of the aqueduct were used as a conventional bridge. By 18th century, the structure became a very big tourist attraction and to this day you can see inscriptions of two hundred-year-old hearts and monograms of the men smitten with love for their sweethearts. It was very interesting to imagine not only the builders of this magnificent structure, but also think of all the generations of visitors that have been there to see it since the time before Christ. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on January 17, 2007

Pont du Gard
Crossing the Gardon River
Near Remoulins, France

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Tour de France

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The Caravan Photo - Pyrenees Mountains, France

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Tour de France is incredible. I have long wanted to experience the Tour and think it is the best thing about summer in France. Our whole trip was timed so we can see the race in the Pyrenees, which arguably contain the most exciting stages of the whole event. In order to plan things properly, I used the official Le Tour de France website to get detailed maps and approximate timing of Stage 16 of the race, which was held on July 19. The route of the race is usually very diverse and includes both major highways and minor roads. All of these roads close the day before and thus in order to see the bikers up close, one needs to find a small town in the middle of nowhere that has an alternative access road....Read More

Tour de France is incredible. I have long wanted to experience the Tour and think it is the best thing about summer in France. Our whole trip was timed so we can see the race in the Pyrenees, which arguably contain the most exciting stages of the whole event. In order to plan things properly, I used the official Le Tour de France website to get detailed maps and approximate timing of Stage 16 of the race, which was held on July 19. The route of the race is usually very diverse and includes both major highways and minor roads. All of these roads close the day before and thus in order to see the bikers up close, one needs to find a small town in the middle of nowhere that has an alternative access road. Pick a town that is too big or too close to the finish and you will stand in the crowd of Americans. Pick right and you will get in the middle of the local French spirit, lining the road to have the bikers pass several feet from your nose.

Looking at such a map and schedule (both obtained from www.letour.fr), we chose a small Pyrenee village as our base for the day and drove there in our rented car. When we arrived at our destination, we were pleased to see no barricades to obstruct the direct access to the racers and no crowds to block our view. The bikers were preceded by a colorful collection of mobile advertisements, who sped through the route hurling free stuff at the eager fans. Before long, my wife was smiling from ear to ear as a proud new owner of a yellow umbrella hat and a French Telecom key chain.

It turns out that this is what seeing the Tour is all about. You find your spot hours in advance, have a picnic and have fun watching the caravan, as the mobile advertisements are called. After several hours, you begin to hear a host of TV helicopters hovering over the horizon. As they come closer, you know the race is near and the caravan gives way to the team cars with the spare bikes on their roofs. The anticipation grows, as everyone along the road tenses up. Then come the bikers. There are about a hundred of them and you immediately get blown away at how fast they are going. We saw them on the 5th hour of the 16th day of a grueling race, and they passed by us with an incredible speed. It was all over in less than a minute, but Ana never doubted my travel judgment again. The race is as exhilarating as a sports event can get and being so close to it makes all the difference.

Originally, we intended to see the Tour once and move on, but we liked it so much that we decided to chase it. What followed was an awesome day in the Pyrenees, when we raced our GPS-guided Citroen through some backroad mountain shortcuts in order to get ahead of the bikers. We succeeded to see them two more times, enjoying every encounter. And although standing in an excited crowd close to the finish line was interesting as well, we strongly recommend getting to a quite village, where you can sit on grass with a baugette in your hand and soak in the local spirit. Read Less

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