The best road cycling routes around Oupia

There is no other way from Bastide Saint louis to the Cité than this stone link, laden with 2000 years of History: Le Pont Vieux. The stone bridge that replaced the feudal structure once built upstream, on the site of the Roman bridge, dates from the early 14th century. The work was underway in 1315, and was probably only completed around 1320.

The ramparts of Carcassonne were built in several stages over more than a millennium by the Romans (3rd-4th centuries), the viscounts Trencavel (12th century), and then the kings of France (13th century). The ensemble was then extensively restored in the 19th century by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

The ramparts of Carcassonne were built in several stages over more than a millennium by the Romans (3rd-4th centuries), the Trencavel viscounts (12th century), and then the kings of France (13th century). The complex was then largely restored in the 19th century by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

The ramparts of Carcassonne were built in several stages over more than a millennium by the Romans (3rd-4th centuries), the viscounts Trencavel (12th century), and then the kings of France (13th century). The entire complex was then extensively restored in the 19th century by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

The church of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist bears witness to the gradual shift of the religious heart of Saint-Jean-de-Minervois. For centuries, parish life was linked to the Saint-Jean de Dieuvaille chapel, now nicknamed "the church of the Hole", isolated in a canyon between the hamlets of Gimios and Barroubio. At the beginning of the 18th century, the current village became the new center of the community, around this current parish church.

From the bridge over the Cesse, a magnificent perspective opens up onto La Caunette, a village nestled at the foot of the limestone reliefs of the Minervois. The houses clinging to the rock and the bell tower of the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption church create a landscape where the architecture seems to naturally extend the stone of the causse. Originating from the Occitan cauneta, meaning "small cavity", this term evokes the numerous cavities dug into the limestone that characterize this area.

Viewpoint over Azillanet ! A nice stop to enjoy a superb perspective over Azillanet, a village whose history dates back to at least the 9th century, when it was mentioned under the name of Azelanum.

At the entrance to La Livinière stands a monument astonishing in its size and history: the Notre-Dame du Spasme basilica. This Marian shrine, which became a minor basilica in 1959, has been a major pilgrimage site in the Minervois for several centuries. Its origin is linked to Nicolas de La Jugie, lord of La Livinière in the 14th century, who is said to have brought back from Jerusalem a statue representing the Virgin at the moment of her swoon at the foot of the Cross. The interior of the building reveals an architecture vaster than one might imagine from the road: three naves and a large space capable of accommodating many pilgrims. A detail that gives the place a unique history: the original statue of Notre-Dame du Spasme, venerated for centuries by the inhabitants and pilgrims, disappeared during a theft in 1960.