2024 NOW ON SALE: Up to 2024 NOW ON SALE: Up to 15% Early Booking Discount UNIQUE FRENCH RIVER CRUISES Europe’s largest river cruise operator Chateau Montsegur © Oscar Rodbag, Ariege Pyrenees Tourisme Europe’s largest river cruise line NOW OFFERING ATOL PROTECTED FLY-CRUISE PACKAGES! WHY CHOOSE TO CRUISE WITH CROISIEUROPE? Bordeaux: Land of Chateaux and Claret 6-Night Fly-Cruise package (2) from £ 1,484 per person 2023 Departures: October 47 years’ experience and more than 50 ships BORDEAUX The Saône and the Rhône 7-Night Fly-Cruise package (3) from £ 1,867 per person 2023 Departures: September & October Superb French cuisine INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS: Tel. 01756 691 269 • sales@croisieurope.co.uk The Loire a Royal Legacy 5-Night Fly-Cruise package (4) from £ 1,746 per person 2023 Departures: September & October For our full range of special offers visit our website: www.croisieurope.co.uk (1) On majority of departures on French rivers. (2) Flights based on LGW-BOD with Easyjet and private airport-ship transfers. (3) Flights based on LGW-LYS or LTN-LYS with Easyjet and private return airport-ship transfers. (4) Flights based on LGW-NTE with Easyjet and private airport-ship transfers All prices and offers are based on two adults sharing a cabin, category C, are correct at time of going to press, subject to availability, apply to new bookings only, cannot be applied retrospectively and can be withdrawn at any time. Terms and conditions apply. All the flight-inclusive holidays are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, cruise, hotels and other services) is listed on it. CroisiEurope UK Ltd partners with Blue Water Holidays Ltd for ATOL protection. Blue Water Holidays is a company registered in England and Wales, number 4085664. Registered Office: Bowers Wharf, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 2PD. - IM067100025. Non-contractual photos - Copyrights: Alexandre Sattler, Shutterstock. AVIGNON All inclusive for drinks onboard (1) MS LOIRE PRINCESSE ANGERS Just 20 km away in the centre of the department, Foix oozes atmosphere, dominated by a medieval hilltop castle owned by the powerful Counts of Foix. In the early 16th century, they became kings of Navarre, the last of whom – Henri III – went on to scoop the top job as Henri IV of France. Tour the restored rooms, visit the interactive museum, and walk the ramparts for a taste of medieval power and politics. If you’re feeling adventurous, experience power struggles of a different kind at Montségur, 35 minutes’ drive from Foix. This hilltop castle was the last outpost of the Cathars, a strict religious movement which gathered much support in south-west France during the early 13th century amongst people weary of the corrupt Catholic Church. The Cathars shunned material possessions but took refuge from the Papal armies led by Simon de Montfort in strongholds such as Montségur and nearby Roquefixade. The Cathars last stand came in 1244 after a 10-month siege at Montségur. The occupants were given two weeks to renounce their faith, but more than 200 refused and were burnt alive at the foot of the hill. The steep 150-metre climb is not for the faint-hearted but offers spectacular views across peaks and valleys to the plains beyond. Mirepoix market North of Montségur, the bastide town of Mirepoix is a must-see for its central square surrounded by open wooden galleries or couverts. Soak up the colourful half-timbered facades and explore the straight streets radiating out from the square. Don’t miss the carved wooden heads on La Maison des Consuls, once the council chamber and now a stylish hotel. tourisme-mirepoix.com. Nor St Maurice Cathedral behind the 19th century covered market which boasts the widest nave in France and the second widest in Europe after Gerona in Spain – a graphic illustration of how new Catholic churches were built to accommodate the maximum number of souls in a vigorous recruiting drive after the fall of the Cathars. 30 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 31
