Original subtitles

(air wooshing)

(energetic sweeping music)

(energetic sweeping music)

- Our journey begins in

the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France,

alongside an historic canal in the heart of Cathar country.

Moving East, it's on to the Languedoc Coast

with its sun-drenched beaches and medieval villages.

We travel along the shore of the Mediterranean to find

a wall city of Aigues-Mortes,

where members of the Knights Templar were imprisoned

in a tower in the 14th Century.

It's then on to Montpellier for a view

of one of the city's most remarkable landmarks,

the Esplanade de l'Europe.

In the Massif Central region, we visit the Millau Viaduct,

the world's tallest and surely most elegant bridge.

From the stupendous cliffs of the Gorges du Tarn

we come upon isolated towns

nestled in the Savoy Mountains.

To end our journey, on top of one of the region's iconic

but extinct volcanoes.

In the Languedoc-Roussillon region of Southern France,

we find the Canal du Midi

which joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea

through a system of 99 locks.

Upon its completion in 1681,

it was considered a remarkable feat of engineering

and became an important tool

for trading wheat, wine and textiles.

Today, it's a beloved waterway for tourists

and boating enthusiasts who dock in picturesque villages

like Homps to sample local wine and walk medieval streets.

800 years ago, this was the land of the Cathars,

a religious sect that denounced

many basic tenants of the Catholic Church.

Pope Innocent III declared a crusade

to eradicate the Cathars in 1208

and the ancestors of many residents here

in Argens-Minervois were brutalized

in the Pope's 20 year campaign.

400 years later, after the Crusade ended,

the opening of the canal helped to restore

these canal-side towns back to their former glory.

Drifting along the canal in a boat,

there are few reminders of that tragic past.

As one of the country's oldest canals,

the waterway requires a great deal of upkeep.

42,000 diseased plane trees

are being removed from its banks.

While the trees are due to be replaced,

the famed view along the canal will not be the same

for many years to come.

(upbeat music)

Change isn't always easy for a region

with such historic roots,

especially when it comes to wine making.

France has dominated the industry for centuries

but its wineries have been forced to compete

with vineyards in California, Australia and South America.

The Languedoc Region, which produces one third

of the country's wine has had to forge

a new approach to wine making,

balancing artisan traditions

with the demands of the global market.

(relaxed guitar music)

We leave the canal to join the lovely river Aude,

flowing 224 kilometers from the Pyrenees mountains

to the Mediterranean Sea.

On either side, vineyards spread out

across the flat landscape as we approach the coast.

(relaxed guitar music)

Near the small town of Les Cabanes de Fleury,

the river flows into the Mediterranean,

a body of water that has always evoked images

of beauty and romance.

(soft guitar music)

Once an important route for merchants

and travelers of ancient times, and today,

a destination for holiday makers looking for the sun.

In Valras-Plage, tourists crowd

the nearly unbroken strip of sand along the Languedoc Coast,

where the French government's redevelopment program

has proven to be a flying success.

(relaxed guitar music)

Before there were resorts, this area of France

was made up of sleepy fishing villages.

Although the county boasts

plenty of coastline and excellent ports,

fishing makes up only a small part of its economy

but boats like this provide sought after seafood

to restaurants along the coast,

including sea bass, tuna and sardines.

The cuisine of Southern France

has a very distinct gastronomy compared to the North.

It's unrivaled climate and location

brings a bounty of fish, fresh vegetables,

meats and fruits throughout the year.

(relaxed guitar music)

This small volcanic island is the site of Fort Brescou

and a sturdy lighthouse just off the coast.

The fort was built in 1586 for defensive purposes

but was used for many years as a prison.

Rebuilt in the late 17th Century,

the fort has played a significant role in many conflicts

including World War II.

Back on the mainland, is Cap D'Agde,

where modernism and naturism meld to create

one of Europe's more interesting resorts, Cap Naturalist.

Clothing is optional in this part of the Cape

and it's mostly naked numbers grows to 40,000 in the summer.

Before development began in the 1970s,

small weekend houses dotted the salt marsh landscape.

Today, it's one of the largest leisure ports

on the French Mediterranean.

A few miles inland is the old Venetian town of Agde.

The original settlement beside the river Herault.

Up until the 18th Century, it was one of the most important

maritime posts of Gaul and later of France.

(relaxed guitar music)

Founded in the fifth century, its maze of narrow streets

are flanked by houses built from ash,

quarried from the nearby volcanic Mont Saint-Loup.

Moving east along the coast, this thin peninsula.

It's easy to see why this beautiful landscape

was once the home of the troubadours,

a school of French poets that flourished

from the 11th to the 13th Century.

Their elaborate love poems, written in the Occitan language

gave rise to the development of modern Western literature.

The pastoral spirit and the rustic passion of the region

has served as the inspiration

for many other writers throughout history

and for painters too, like Van Gogh, who said

he came here because he wished to see a different light.

Just as poetic is the busy Port of Sete,

where a network of canals joins in the middle of the town,

imbuing it with a sense of vibrancy and purpose.

(seagulls cawing) (soft piano music)

It was built in the 17th century to boost maritime trade

and was one of the Mediterranean's first fishing ports.

(soft piano music) (seagulls cawing)

With the sea at its front door

and the Thau Lagoon at its backdoor,

the oysters, mussels and fish

keep this enchanting port busy.

(soft piano music)

A series of etang or lagoons just northeast of Sete

teem with plant and animal life,

hosting a variety of fish

and hundreds of species of birds, including flamingos.

They come for the brine shrimp and blue green algae,

a diet that renders them pink.

The Canal du Rhone is watery highway

connecting the Etang de Thau to the Rhone River.

It also connects with the Canal du Midi.

(relaxed guitar music)

Taming this landscape has always been part

of the region's history.

Water and land have been flooded, dredged,

channeled and cultivated over many centuries.

(relaxed guitar music)

Our next stop is the vintage Grande-Mott,

the oldest of the resorts along the coast

and a world unto itself.

It was built in the 1960s with a purpose

to transform the less developed but sun-drenched beaches

of the Languedoc coastline.

Love it or hate it, it's an icon.

Its design was conceived by Jean Balladur

to resemble Mayan pyramids springing up from the jungle.

With 30 tennis courts, a sailing school

and several swimming pools,

there is plenty to keep its millions

of annual visitors busy.

The massive redevelopment of these coastal areas

is often a sore point for residents of the province,

adding to centuries old tensions

between the country's North and South.

In a region with a long history of invaders

from the Gauls to the Nazis,

the Occitan's medieval settlers of this region

have worked hard to maintain a sense of identity

and to preserve their endangered language,

which was repressed after the French Revolution.

But despite the influx of tourists,

Languedoc has retained its old world charm,

with less of the blight found in Spain

and other parts of France that came of age

in earlier decades.

In rather sharp contrast to the Grande-Mott,

Aigues-Mortes carries a torch for old charm.

(relaxed music)

Built on the flat marshes of the Camargue

and encircled by high stone walls,

the town was established in the mid-13th Century by Louis IX

to give the French Crown a Mediterranean port

under its direct control.

Inside the walls, you'll find six substantial towers,

including the famed Constance Tower and 10 gates,

all protecting a fascinating religious heritage.

It's a place that summons images of medieval knights.

At the beginning of the 14th Century,

some of the Knights Templar were incarcerated here

after the sudden dissolution of their Order.

They were tried, found guilty and held prisoner

in the Tower of Constance.

Legend holds that a Roman engineer called Peccius

was the first to organize

the salt production efforts in the Camargue.

(soft orchestral music)

These natural salt marshes

have a higher than normal salt content

and nearly 500,000 tons are collected annually.

(soft orchestral music)

As a result of these marshes being harvested

for well over a thousand years,

there is a greater preservation

of these indigenous wetlands.

(soft orchestral music)

We now leave the coast behind and travel north and inland

to the Montpellier-Mediterranee Airport to refuel,

keeping out of the way of a live aircraft coming in to land.

The airport serves well over a million travelers annually,

a percentage of the 84 million tourists

who visit France each year.

(helicopter whirring)

Refueled, we head off down the runway towards Montpellier,

the capital city of the Languedoc Region

and the eighth largest city in France.

(upbeat piano music)

Unusually, Montpellier is one of the few cities

without any Roman heritage

and its history only truly begins in the 12th Century.

Its dominant feature is a vast,

semi-circular neoclassical building

that contains homes, shops and restaurants.

The Esplanade de l'Europe and the surrounding district

were created as part of an urban regeneration project

in the late 1970s and designed

by the Catalan architect, Ricardo Bofill.

Although modern in appearance,

Roman and Greek classical design influences can be seen,

particularly in the use of large columns.

Leaving the city behind, we head further inland

towards the mountainous region of the Massif Central.

It's also an area with few airfields

so it is prudent to top up with fuel whenever possible.

As we drop down towards the airstrip,

we see evidence of the country's farming in action.

France has been one of Europe's

most dominant agricultural centers for centuries.

Over this hill is the valley of the River Thames

and crossing it is the spectacular

and dramatic cable-stayed Millau Viaduct.

(upbeat guitar music)

Considered one of the greatest

engineering feats of all time,

the bridge beautifully expresses the unique relationship

between technology, function and landscape.

(upbeat guitar music)

The Viaduct opened in 2004 and set several records.

It incorporates the world's highest pylons,

the highest mast and highest road deck.

It also supersedes the Eiffel Tower

as the tallest structure in France,

standing 270 meters above the river at its highest point.

It's purpose is to provide a direct high speed route

from Paris to the Mediterranean Coast,

easing horrendous holiday congestion in the valley

and in the tranquil town of Millau.

It was designed by the French structural engineer,

Michel Virlogeux and famed British architect, Norman Foster.

The bridge is a great source of pride to France

as it has served to capture

some of the country's architectural grandeur.

Construction began in October of 2001

and took just three years to complete.

Impressive for such a large, complicated project.

The challenge of design was creating a structure

that fitted into the landscape with a sense of elegance.

Ultra modern materials give drivers crossing the bridge

the feeling of flying over the valley.

(upbeat guitar music)

It is indeed a ribbon through the clouds

and a true work of art.

(upbeat guitar music)

Not far from the bridge is the gateway

to the spectacular Gorges du Tarn.

A network of narrow, plunging canyons,

nearly 500 meters deep and 1500 meters wide,

towering over the River Thames for 50 kilometers.

It's been called the Grand Canyon of France.

(relaxed guitar music)

A natural paradise of steep cliffs,

feathery pines and pink caves,

it's a place of escape from the country's

busy cities and coastlines.

(relaxed guitar music)

Evidence of more populous times can be seen

in the abandoned houses and old terraces

dotted throughout the canyons,

still clinging to the limestone cliffs.

Guarding the entrance to the Gorges du Tarn

is the vertigo-inducing Chateau de Peyrelade,

a ruined castle whose name translates

to Wide Rock in the Occitan language.

Its existence dates to at least the 12th Century

so its seen its fair share of strife.

Today, it's open to visitors who, from the top,

get a superb view of the valley.

The route de The Gorges du Tarn

was one of the first motoring routes to be built in France.

Today it still winds its way

through the town of Mostuejouls,

the site of the route's first tourist hotel,

the grand Hotel de la Muse.

We are now approaching

the most dramatic section of the gorge.

It was formed by the once volcanic uplands

of the Massif Central.

Geologically, they are the oldest part of France

and culturally one that is most firmly rooted in the past.

Industry and tourism have not quite taken root here.

Local people are a reserved lot and continue to maintain

a strong sense of regional identity.

(soft music)

Many of France's greatest rivers rise in the Massif Central

but it's the Lot and the Thames that create

the distinctive characteristics of this region,

defining the shapes of the limestone plateau

with their outstanding gorges.

These kayakers are enjoying a landscape

which was created 23 million years ago

when intense volcanic activity produced

this dramatic and beautiful scenery.

(soft music)

The gorge is a popular place for vultures too,

which glide in on the thermals

rising up from the warm valley floor.

(soft music) (vulture squawking)

Further along the gorge and following the Thames,

adventurous hikers are charmed by river and cliff,

descending down old sheep paths in pursuit of discovery

as Robert Louis Stevenson once did

before pirate tales made him famous.

Hoping to forget a lost love, the young Stevenson

traversed 120 miles through this region in 1878

with a stubborn donkey.

He later wrote, "Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes."

It's still a travel classic.

(soft music)

Although he was known to be quite sociable,

he preferred to walk alone, save for his donkey.

"You must have your own pace," he later wrote.

Today, the Robert Louis Stevenson Trail

is followed by hikers hoping to tread in his footsteps

and call forth his muse.

Of his haphazard journey, he said,

"I travel not to go anywhere but to go.

"I travel for travel's sake."

(soft music)

Modern day travelers can stay

in a number of hotels in the gorge

including the Chateau de la Caze

which has a history stretching back to the 15th Century.

It was a prison during the French Revolution

and became a hotel in 1988.

The old stone bridge at Quezac represents

the Northeastern end of the Gorge du Tarn.

(soft music)

Further north on our journey,

we find the village of La Piguiere.

It's a bit hard to reach but tourists don't seem to mind

because 700,000 people a year flock to the town,

mainly those passing by

on the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route

that starts in France and ends in Northwest Spain.

Perched high on a rocky pinnacle is the 10th Century,

St. Michel d'Aiguilhe Chapel, where pilgrims are blessed

before they continue on their journey.

(soft orchestral music)

A few miles west is this impenetrable fortress,

sitting on top of a large basalt rock.

It once belonged to the illustrious de Polignac family

and has seen a turbulent history since medieval times.

(soft choral music)

Today it is but a shadow of its former glory

but its tall keep still dominates the landscape.

(soft choral music)

As we continue north, it's hard to believe

that such a peaceful landscape was once

one of the most active volcanic areas in Western Europe.

Volcanism began in the Massif Central millions of years ago

before there were castles or canals.

In a country inhabited for thousands of years,

there is little left

that hasn't been touched by human hands,

except for here, perhaps.

In this 40 kilometer seam of volcanoes

called the Chaine des Puys.

This is the land of fire and brimstone

but the volcanoes here have been taking

a 6,000 year long nap.

(dramatic music)

One of the youngest volcanoes in the chain

is the iconic Puy de Dome.

In pre-Christian times,

it was a place for spiritual ceremonies

and the Romans built a temple dedicated to the God, Mercury.

Today, it finds a purpose by hosting adventurous travelers

who climb to its top for the spectacular 360 degree view,

the perfect place to end this journey.

(energetic orchestral music)