Travel Guide St. Martin-Le-Vieux

About twenty kilometres from Carcassonne, and only four kilometres from the Canal du Midi, the small village of Saint-Martin-Le-Vieil is an essential stopover for heritage lovers. The Cruzels, natural cavities found in the village and its surroundings, which have been used over the centuries as cave dwellings, and the nearby Cistercian abbey of Sainte-Marie de Villelongue, add to the charm of the village, which is also dominated by two partly ruined towers that bear witness to its medieval past. A maze of alleys and stairs gives you access to it. Saint-Martin-Le-Vieil has also preserved elements of the wall that fortified the site in the Middle Ages. Also worth seeing is a medieval-inspired garden, in the shape of a rosette, which recalls the presence of Villelongue Abbey.