During the Albigensian Crusades in the Middle Ages the counts of Toulouse were on the side of the “dissenters”, namely the Cathars, who are often mentioned in the same breath with Mary Magdalene and her successors. The town originally carried the epithet “city of hundred towers” and in the course of the religious wars the counts of Toulouse supported those who were persecuted for their faith and harboured them. Hence the town was number one on the hit list of the king of France and the Pope. Although the inhabitants of Toulouse were able to brave the siege for some time, they ultimately had to bend to the superior numbers of the attackers.

We are going to begin and end our spiritual journey through Languedoc in Toulouse. Those who know me well won’t be surprised to hear that I have chosen two beautiful hotels, so that the delightful and aesthetic parts do not go short. On the last day of our circular tour we are going to have the opportunity to visit the most interesting buildings and places in Toulouse, and there is going to be ample opportunity for shopping and rambling about the city.

There are so many formidable places, landscapes and sites in Languedoc, the southwestern province of France, that it was very difficult for me to plan a travel route containing the most impressive spiritual highlights of this region. The biggest challenge was to determine the place from where we are going to start out on our circular tour, since the storybook town Carcassonne, which we are going to visit, can only be approached by plane from big Central European countries. Therefore, those travelers who come from smaller airports would have to make a stopover in Paris. And whoever has already had the opportunity to enjoy a changeover at the Parisian airport “Charles de Gaulle” knows that he/she can well do without adventures of that kind.

For this reason, I chose Toulouse as the starting point of our circular tour. Though this town is situated outside the Languedoc region, it nevertheless is historically very important in connection with Mary Magdalene and her successors. Since my schooldays it has been etched in my memory that Toulouse is an ugly industrial town where mainly planes are built. Therefore, before my visit to this metropolis, I still had some reservations about it. However, already after the first ramble about the city I fell for its charms. The picturesque Old Town with its alleys, squares and water courses did not only attract us, but also cast a spell over many other people. The college town is vibrant, people sit out of doors, meet each other in nice little restaurants or parks, and there is a multitude of beautiful shops and a lot of cultural life. Toulouse definitely merits being the starting- and endpoint of our circular tour!