Travel 2016 – Tip 19 – France – Mirepoix

In the 13th Century many Cathars settled in Mirepoix, but after the town was inundated by a flood from Lake Puivert, the town was rebuilt in a safer place. From this time, many buildings have survived including almost all of the late-13th to 15th-century houses found around the Place Principale. If you imagine Tudor buildings in rows along the square, but substitute pastel shades for the white, then you will have an idea of what Place Principale looks like. It has been called the finest town square in France, west of The Rhone.

Also in Mirepoix is the Cathedral of St Maurice, built between 1343 and 1865. The early 16th Century nave is over 100 feet wide and is the widest in France.