Travel Guide Espéraza

Halfway between the sea and the mountains, nestled at an altitude of 280 meters in a cirque of wooded hills, lies Espéraza, a beautiful little village nestled in a bend of the Haute Vallée de l'Aude. The village stretches along the banks of the River Aude, between the Pyrenees and the Corbières, a place of prehistoric life. A natural village from which many hiking trails depart. The village is home to two museums and offers a wide range of summer events (Saint-Jacques festival in July and Saint-Michel festival in September). The Haute Vallée is steeped in history, starting with the Charlemagne era, marked by the birth of numerous abbeys (Saint-Hilaire, Saint-Martin-Lys, Alet). In 813, it was Espéraza's turn to have its own priory. In the Middle Ages, the town depended on the work of the "carrassiers" or "radeliers", who transported trains of logs and trunks between Quillan and the sea. This wood was first used for heating, then, from the 17th century onwards, for shipbuilding. In the mid-19th century, Esperaza became a center for the manufacture of woollen felt hats, becoming the world's second-largest milliner! A new turning point came in 1989, when paleontological research unearthed several thousand dinosaur bones. The excavation site, which still extends as far as Campagne-sur-Aude, contains one of Europe's largest fossil deposits!