Countryside Accommodations

We stayed in some cute b&bs in the countryside. They were good deals, all costing between $70 to $100 CAD per night, and there was so much character in these places compared to your usual hotel. 

Chez Maison Bleue, in Sonnac-sur-l'Hers, with a population of 150. We went for a walk around the whole village which took about ten minutes. Our bed and breakfast was in the main square of the village (beside the church)!

La Gallinette, in Villedubert (close to Carcassonne), was so pretty and full of little details. I would have loved to stay there more than one night. Sure, it was a bit girly, but you would not believe all the touches they had throughout their whole property. It was very Pinterest worthy.

Finally, we stayed in Domaine de Blancardy for three nights in the Cevennes. It is a working winery, and we enjoyed breakfast and dinner there everyday. Duck, foie gras, and wine sure make for some rich French meals! It was the cheapest one of our accommodations during our whole trip, costing a mere $70 per night, but I suspect it is because it is literally in the middle of the mountains, with no other buildings in sight.

Grotte des Desmoiselles

La Grotte des Desmoiselles was hands down my most favourite part of our trip. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen in my whole life! I spent the whole hour of our tour with my mouth open because it was so breath taking. It was full of stalagmites and stalactites, and it ended with a grand tour of the Cathedral - a cavern that was 120m long, 80m wide, and 50m high. It was just unbelievable. It felt like I was in some kind of fantasy novel.

Mont Aigoual

Mont Aigoual, according to my guidebooks, was supposed to have an amazing view. Maybe it's because I'm from BC and have seen my share of good views, but I found this mountain to be a bit overrated. This was my least favourite of the sights we saw in France, because I thought it was so ordinary. I think I'm too spoiled with all the gorgeous hikes in BC! 

It was hazy the day that we went so we didn't see too much, but on clear days you can see up to the Mediterranean, which is a few hours drive away.

Two 3-Star Sights in an Afternoon

The Millau viaduct is one of the tallest buildings in France, and it is MASSIVE. This was not in our Michelin guide, because it was built in the 2000's, but browsing through the most recent guidebook in bookstores showed that it is now a three star attraction. It was a feat of modern engineering. I wouldn't have gone out of my way to see it, since it also comes with a toll, but it was on our way and Leonard, being a city planner, was very excited about driving through it.

Then we headed to the Chaos de Montpellier-le-Vieux, another three star sight that looked very close to Millau on my map but actually took us two hours to get to because of the mountainous roads.  It is a labyrinth of strangely shaped limestone rocks, and shepherds who would wander here in the past believed that this was a devil city, as they would lose their stray sheep among the rocks. I can definitely see why, because it feels like you are in a vastly different land once you enter this area. Driving and seeing these rocks tower over the mountains was an experience.