Things to do in the Languedoc:   Cultural Activities

Each summer the Abbey of Saint Martin Le Vieil holds a series of classical concerts, theatre, and art exhibitions normally in the months of July, August and September. Abbey of Saint Martin Le Vieil 11170, Tel: 04 68 76 00 81. Reservations : 04 68 76 92 58

Festival at Carcassonne. Each year there is an excellent summer season (normally from the end of June through to the end of July) of opera, orchestral and pop concerts, theatre, dance and jazz in the open air theatre of the medieval city of Carcassonne: www.festivaldecarcassonne.com Cathédrale Saint Michel, 52 rue Voltaire, 11000 Carcassonne, Tél: 04 68 25 14 48, The cathedral is between Rue Voltaire and Boulevard Bardés in Square de L'Armistice. Organ concerts are held here, particularly during the period of religious festivals. Basilique de Saint Nazaire: La cité, During the summer months, that is July, August and the first half of September, there are organ recitals each Sunday.

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Limoux. A very ancient and unusual festival known as the Fecos, takes place each winter in Limoux - pictures below. For more about the Fécos, click here .

In May each year an organisation called Artistes a Suivre…mounts a weekend exhibition spread over multiple locations in the Haute Vallée de l'Aude. Click here to vist their Website

Click on the following link to find out What's on in the Aude.

In the Languedoc you might be surprised to see life-like figures sitting and standing around in unlikely places. Sometimes they are life size; more often they are smaller, typically around half scale.

Almost every festival is attended by these figures, from the Limoux Carnival to the annual Toques et Clochers (as at Couiza). You can even find them sitting outside Carcassonne restaurants. They are typically dressed as manual workers, but some are clearly "encantados" - fairy folk. It is not at all clear what these figures are intended to represent, or why they are made, but they are massively popular. You will see them (if you look carefully) on balconies, sitting at tables, slumping on the floor, leaning on a fence, ... They seem to be closely related to the Santons of Provence. For more on Santons ("Little Saints") in Provence click on the following link which will open a new window to Beyond the French Riviera www.beyond.fr .