The best road cycling routes around Maraussan

The Canal du Midi, formerly Canal Royal, is a 17th-century technical feat designed by Pierre-Paul Riquet to connect the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Today, it is above all a place for relaxation and discovery, where heritage, nature, and conviviality blend together.

At the place called « Le Malpas » (bad passage in Occitan), the Canal du Midi crosses a hill that separates the valleys of the Aude and the Orb. The importance of the relief led Pierre-Paul Riquet to have a 160 m long tunnel dug for the passage of the canal. It is the oldest navigation tunnel in Europe. Carried out in 1679-1680, this construction site is one of the most emblematic of Riquet's undertaking.

In the heart of the Grand site d'Occitanie, Colombiers invites you for a peaceful stop along the Canal du Midi, at its charming bucolic little river port.

In the heart of the Grand site d'Occitanie, Colombiers invites you for a peaceful stop along the Canal du Midi, at its small riverside port with bucolic charm.

In the heart of old Creissan, a heritage site unfolds, telling more than a thousand years of history. The Saint-Martin church, mentioned as early as the 10th century, belonged to the powerful chapter of the Saint-Just cathedral in Narbonne, which held lordship over the village for several centuries. It was solemnly consecrated in 1132, during a religious assembly bringing together several bishops, an exceptional event that testifies to the village's importance in the Middle Ages. This modest Romanesque church retains the characteristics of 12th-century Languedoc religious architecture: a single nave covered by a barrel vault and a semi-dome apse. More unusually, the remains of an old well are visible within the building. A short walk away, the castle of Creissan recalls the other facet of medieval power: that of the lords who administered the territory alongside the religious authorities. Together, the Saint-Martin church and the old castle form the historic heart of the village.

In the heart of old Lignan-sur-Orb, the Saint-Vincent church tells a story intimately linked to that of the neighboring castle. Originally the chapel of the castle of the lords of Lignan, it belonged to a domain that became the property of the bishops of Béziers as early as 977. Destroyed during periods of conflict, it was rebuilt in the Romanesque period in the 12th century before being transformed over the centuries to become the village church. A few meters away, the castle recalls the time when Lignan was a major ecclesiastical domain: former residence of the bishops of Béziers, it was transformed in the 17th century into a more comfortable dwelling before becoming a wine estate. Today, the castle is entering a new phase of its history with a major rehabilitation campaign.

The Saint-Amand church of Cazedarnes bears witness to the history of a Languedoc village shaped by its rural traditions and its environment of vineyards and limestone hills. Built in the Middle Ages and then modified over the centuries, it retains a sober architecture typical of village churches in the Avant-Monts biterrois. A few kilometers away, the old abbey of Fontcaude, founded in the 12th century by regular canons of Saint Augustine, allows you to continue discovering a territory marked by a rich religious history.

The Notre-Dame-de-la-Purification church forms the historic heart of Causses-et-Veyran. Built between the 11th and 13th centuries, it preserves a remarkable Romanesque choir as well as several Gothic chapels added over time. Originally, it was the chapel of the feudal castle, which explains its unique position within the old castrum and its integration into the village fortifications. Right next door, on Place Jules Milhau, lie the remains of the former castle of the lords of Causses, including a medieval tower that recalls the strategic importance of the site. If you have a few minutes, extend your discovery with the two Gallo-Roman pillars located about 1.2 km southeast of the village, on the edge of the D19, at a place called Les Piliers. These impressive remains of an ancient Roman aqueduct bear witness to the ingenuity of ancient builders.