CENTRE HISTORIQUE DE LA CANOURGUE

Bathed by the clear waters of the Urugne, La Canourgue is criss-crossed by canals like a little Venice.

These canals were built as early as the Middle Ages to enable people to harness the power of water.

Situated on a low rise at the confluence of the Merderic and Urugne rivers, a fort, now the Château Saint Etienne, together with the Saint Martin monastery, formed the embryo of the town: the square is still marked by the Tour de l'Horloge. Enjoy the old town center with its Renaissance mansions and porches, the Place au Blé with its timber-framed houses, the clock tower with its astonishing weathervane, the remarkable Romanesque church, the Callongue with its medieval stalls, the Place du Pré Commun with its Griffou fountain and the three mills still in existence along the Urugne.

La Canourgue is a "lively, flirtatious, dapper town", writes Solanet.