In Palavas - 29 May 2008
Another bus excursion with Julie! We woke to find it was a fine day so we decided to head for the beach! Palavas was reportedly the nearest beach to Montpellier and is on the bus route to La Grande Motte (although I’ve since discovered that Carnot is even closer as the crow flies). This time the cost was about 6E return.
Palavas was a disappointment except for one important thing. The very ancient 12th century Cathédral de Maguelone.
Palavas isn’t really a destination when you arrive at the sea. It’s a very, very long drawn out area with a town somewhere along the way – and a rather tacky town at that. We couldn’t decide which bus stop to get off at but chose the one closest to the information centre, east of the town, and this turned out to be right underneath the lighthouse! We weren’t actually tempted to climb to the top because we hadn’t seen much evidence of a view to look out on.
With the weather becoming cloudy – again – we decided to walk to the cathedral, west of the town. It was miles away – we must have walked about 10 kms! Thankfully, it was worth the walk but there wasn’t much to see along the way! Except for this beautiful peacock!
The cathedral, like all the religious relics in this area, has quite a history. After the invasion of the Saracens, the city of Maguelone was completely destroyed in 737 by Charles Martel. The inhabitants took refuge in the neighbouring villages and founded a new city called Villeneuve-les-Maguelone. In 1033, Bishop Arnaud ordered that a cathedral be built there. This cathedral was quite important to Rome and several popes stayed there. In 1536, the Bishop’s palace was transferred to the city of Montpellier. On the orders of Richelieu, Maguelone was destroyed in 1632. Only the cathedral remains. Finally, restoration was started by Frederic Febrège, who gave it back in 1875 with its original form of worship. Considering its age, the cathedral is in very good condition although it doesn’t look very much like the photo below, today.
Once inside, there was a surprise! It’s completely empty! And so it’s height and dimensions were very apparent and somewhat awe inspiring.
Having walked all the way there, there was nothing for it but to walk all the way back, with the thought of the last bus firmly in our minds. But we made it with a little time to spare and were grateful that we’d seen something so special, and that the exercise we’d got unexpectedly had been so good for us!