Lagrasse

Lagrasse grew around a Benedictine abbey founded in the eighth century, and the two parts still face each other across the Orbieu, joined by a humpbacked bridge of the twelfth century. The abbey was split at the Revolution and remains divided: one part is publicly owned and visited, the other belongs to a community of canons who live there. The village keeps a covered market hall on stone pillars from the fourteenth century and streets of medieval houses. The Corbieres vineyards surround it, and the village has drawn writers and booksellers, with a literature festival each August.

What you actually see

• The medieval bridge - a humpbacked crossing between village and abbey.
• The divided abbey - a publicly visited half and a monastic half.
• The covered market - a fourteenth-century hall on stone pillars.
• The Corbieres vineyards - wine country closing in around the village.

When to go

April to June and September to October; the August literature festival fills the village. Abbey hours are shorter in winter. Autumn colour along the Orbieu is good.

Honest expectations

Only part of the abbey can be visited, and the two halves charge separately in some seasons. The village is small with limited parking. Summer heat in the Corbieres is heavy.

Nearby

Fontfroide lies east; Carcassonne is northwest.