Heading south from Paris via Lyon and the Rhône valley, you can go one of two ways: east to Provence and the Côte d'Azur – which is what most people do – or west to Nîmes, Montpellier and the comparatively untouched northern Languedoc coast. Nîmes itself, while not officially part of the modern administrative région, makes for a good introduction to the area, a hectic modern town impressive both for its Roman past and for some scattered attractions – the Pont du Gard for one – nearby. Montpellier, also, is worth a day or two, not so much for any historical attractions as for a heady vibrancy and ease of access to the ancient villages, churches and fine scenery of the upper Hérault valley. This was the part of Languedoc most affected by the spread of Protestantism in the sixteenth century, an experience that has marked the region's character more than any other. The Protestants, with their attachment to rationality and self-improvement, espoused the cause of French over Occitan, supported the Revolution and the Republic, fought Napoléon III's coup against the 1848 Revolution and adhered to the anticlerical and socialist movement under the Third Republic. They dominated the local textile industry in the nineteenth century and were extremely active in the Resistance to the Nazis.They also suffered a great deal for their cause, as did the whole region. After the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 – the treaty which had granted religious toleration at the end of the sixteenth century – persecution drove their most committed supporters, especially in the Cévennes to the north, to form clandestine assemblées du Désert, and finally, in 1702, to take up arms in the first guerrilla war of modern times, La Guerre des Camisards, conflicts which still resonate in the minds of both Huguenot and Catholic families.
Pages in section ‘Eastern’: Montpellier, Nîmes, Sommieres, The Coast, Inland.
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