Off the beaten path in the Herault

When I looked at options for how to spend these few days in Pezenas, several nearby sights and villages of the Herault (a department within the Languedoc-Roussillon region) were mentioned online but not in our guidebook. Today, our 26th wedding anniversary, we'd hit them up.

First was the "Tour Medievale" or Fort de Valros. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_de_Valros It's the ruins of an old medieval fortress and observation point because it's up 100m over the surrounding area. There are also the remnants of the 18C Claude Chappe telegraph system. The views were gorgeous from the Table d'orientation ! 

Easily missed sign, especially if you're looking for "Valros"

Table d'orientation

"That's where we're going next!"

Beautiful views of the French countryside

No one around!

Next up was Nezignan L'Eveque. No claim to fame, just a cute town. We got there and took a picture of the posted walking guide, as the Tourist Information was closed. The signs were in 4 languages. Everything was closed. We enjoyed our wander.

It was a good circuit of a cute town

First up was L'eglise Sainte Marie Madeleine from 1173. It was enlarged in the 15C. Closed, so we couldn't see the inside.

St Mary Magdalene Church, 1173

The church square was pretty.

The streets were very quiet.

Next was the Ancien Hopital which belonged to the order of the Antonins who apparently knew how to amputate and make prostheses in the 1300's! 

The sheild, with a "T" "9" and "star" denoting the Antonin order

More pretty, sleepy streets.

Working on this beauty.

Next up were 17C doors (Portes XVIIeme). From ancient times and until the 1789 Revolution, Nezignan produced quality shelly limestone. Many houses were built with elaborately carved front entries.

The steps up to the Ancien Chateau site were closed. So I don't know what that blue thing is. The chateau was from at least 1187, was severely damaged in the wars of religion, fell into decay, and abandoned. Its ruins were sold for demolition in 1749. The stones used to build other village houses and pave some streets in Florensac. The staircase was used to build the Chateau de Coussergues.

We walked down to the lower town. It was not as pretty as the other streets we'd seen.

Kitty did not like being disturbed

There's a vineyard right there! Condamine L'Eveque

A quick stop in the cemetery before heading out.

Popular Metro stop in Paris is named after Bir Hakeim

We passed up Florensac and Pomerols as they had nothing going on. We were headed for Castelnaud-de-Guers when I spied a sign for "Le Pont Romain," a Roman bridge, in Saint-Thibéry. There was also a flour mill on site. There was a descriptive sign in 4 languages.

The bridge originally had 9 arches to cross the Herault river. It was a part of the Via Domitia Roman road, which we would later walk on in Narbonne. We walked around the back of the mill which is now a power station.

I had to dip my fingers in the river. It was cold!

We continued on to Castelnau-de-Guers. We found a place to park by the Saint-Sulpice church. There was a sign in 4 languages and, surprise!, the door was open. We walked in to hear musicians in rehearsal and were told the church is usually closed. They invited us to the performance on the weekend.

Interior of Saint-Sulpice

The church was part of the Saint-Thibéry abbey and was reconstructed in the 14C. The bell tower looks like a donjon. 

We walked over to the ruins of the Chateau, which dates back further than the 12C because the chapel was built then. It was closed tight. And the little bit we saw of the town while driving through was unremarkable.

So we headed back to Pezenas. We had a few snacks in the apartment before heading back out to the nearby Abbaye de Valmagne. https://www.valmagne.com/ It's a former Cisternian abbey founded in 1139 with one of the oldest vineyards in the Languedoc. We toured the abbey before getting a taste of the wines (and buying a couple of bottles). It was beautiful!

Our dinner reservations were at 830pm so we walked around Pezenas for a bit then had a drink at Cafe des Arts.

Still my favorite Pezenas door :)

Restaurant de Lauzun, https://www.restaurant-delauzun.com/ 1 Michelin star, just outside Pezenas. We figured we'd take uber there. Well, after no luck getting a ride, we walked over to the Tabac, looking for a taxi stand, and the helpful server tracked down a cab for us (nice fancy Audi). We got to the restaurant right on time. It's a beautiful setting.

I chose the "Menu en 5 services" and husband had the 9. We both had the wine pairings. After all, we weren't driving and were celebrating 26 years together.

It's been a minute, and I didn't exactly take notes of each spectacular dish, but we greatly enjoyed everything we ate and drank. The setting was lovely, the staff professional and accommodating, and the food was better than expected! We would absolutely return and eagerly hope to, soon.

Champagne and bier to start

5!!! amuse bouche

Beets with smoked trout (ahmazing!)

Ceviche. Only dish I didn't love

Cotton candy for the celebration!

The rest of the deserts

Cafe noisette and the rest of the deserts

My guy. 26 years and counting!

After our wonderful meal, and a nice chat with the chef, we paid up, and asked the maitre to call us a cab. He was immediately concerned as it was close to midnight.  A few minutes later, he said no cabs were available but a staff person could take us back to Pezenas Center. It turned out to be our wonderful server, Valerie, who dropped us off at our apartment door, a couple of blocks from his own place.

So, happy 26th anniversary to us! Pezenas, her countryside, her chefs, and people, did not disappoint!