I forgot about the village of Sainte-Enimie within the Causses and Cévennes WHS. This village is another on the list of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.

I was planning to go back to France this summer, including a visit to this village, to finish off the country but abandoned the plan because I don't feel like travelling in places where infection is more widely spread than where I spent the last 4 months. But this will eliminate most places on the Earth, so it's perhaps time to change my thinking.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/426272/marquesas-islands-in-bid-for-unesco-recognition

"French Polynesia has tabled its revised bid to make the Marquesas Islands a UNESCO World Heritage list. Its culture minister Heremoana Maamaatuaiahutapu and the head of the archipelago's mayors, Benoit Kautau, made their presentation in Paris to 30 French specialists."

tsunami

I am a fellow Les Plus Beaux Villages enthusiast! (and i Borghi piu belli!)

I can think of a few that have Chemins listings! Saint Lizier, Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert, Estaing, Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges - there may be others I'm missing. I didn't think of any Causses & Cevennes crossovers, aside from Saint-Enimie, but there may be some!

Fontainebleau Domain [Extension] - 2024/2025

https://www.leparisien.fr/info-paris-ile-de-france-oise/foret-de-fontainebleau-une-etape-franchie-vers-le-classement-au-patrimoine-mondial-de-l-unesco-03-10-2020-8396220.php

Upcoming nominations 2023 - 2025?

City of Carcassonne and its Sentinel Mountain Castles [Extension] (70% approval by users)

https://viaoccitanie.tv/patrimoine-mondial-de-lunesco-un-atelier-de-concertation-a-puilaurens/

Megalithic Sites of Carnac (100% approval by users)

https://actu.fr/bretagne/carnac_56034/megalithes-de-carnac-une-charte-signee-pour-que-le-dossier-soit-classe-a-l-unesco_38073648.html

The Marquesas Islands (N/A data from users)

https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/polynesie/marquises/inscription-au-patrimoine-mondial-de-l-unesco-nouvelle-etape-pour-le-dossier-des-marquises-871488.html

Potentially taking precedence over:
- Nîmes, Antiquity in the Present (53%)
- The Mediterranean Alps (60%)
- The Landing Beaches, Normandy, 1944 (35%)

OK, so I finally got the flights for my "December vacations", and, despite the initial plans, it will be Toulouse/Tolosa!!!

I was putting together the pieces of this region, let's call it the Pyrenean Occitania (mostly, but not only,historical Languedoc, if I am not mistaken), and there's a lot of interesting points even besides the omnipresent French camino of Compostela. My head is already buzzing with ideas! I'd like to ask the community about some specific points:

- how much needed is the car to visit places beyond Toulouse and Carcassonne, like the Vauban fortifications or the castle of Foix? The former look a little remote on the map.
- and thinking about driving, my only concern for this season (first week of December) are the possible condition of the roads in the Pyrenean region, i.e. snow or frost in addition to possible winding roads. Does someone know? I have experience of small hill and mountain roads, but mostly in the good season. And how accessible will sites like the extended Carcassonne castles or the caves be?
- speaking of "mysterious" TWHS, the rivage méditerranéen des Pyrénées is really undescript (probably likely to retire?). Apart it being in a quite eccentric position with respect to the rest of the attractions, does someone have experience of it, and how?
- and finally, do we know something about the primeval forest of Massane, south of Perpignan? At a first glance of the official site, I haven't found anything specific about visits... probably there's not really anything specific to say about it? But I fear it's not really the right season.

In total I will have full six days, so I think I can craft an extensive plan even if days will be short, but I enjoy kind of a slow pace, and I might like to stop for some nights in smaller places like Albi or villages at the feet of the Pyrenees... do someone has some sugegstions? One place I absolutely want to include due to personal (video-game-induced) fascination is Rennes-le-Château.

By the way, the plus beaux villages de France were cited in previous posts. but I have not found a connection... might it be worth it? :-D

Montségur and Peyrepertuse are the best citadels but I can't help you with the weather, I'm not from this region.
I advise against Massane in December...

The travel time by car is not too long but remember to check the closing times, earlier at this time of year.

You can visit Cordes-sur-Ciel or Collioure for exemple, or visit the fortress of Salses.
Other interesting places: Orgues d'Ille-sur-Têt, Abbaye Sainte-Marie d'Arles-sur-Tech and its mysterious tomb.

You can also make a stop in Llivia, a Spanish enclave in French territory, with its historic pharmacy.

Don't forget to eat a cassoulet if you stay at Carcassonne or Castelnaudary! :)

It's definitely in the pipeline for one of the next years, it seems:

Classement Unesco du château de Montségur : la dernière ligne droite se profile

A Unesco delegation has visited Martinique to evaluate the 2022 nomination of Mount Pelée and the pitons:

Les ambassadeurs de l'UNESCO sur le terrain

Vézelay - The "Mystery" of ID 84-002 - Corbigny
Today's review of Vézelay by Frederik Dawson prompted me to look again at the site and a "mystery" has emerged regarding the 2nd of its 2 locations which I haven't been able to solve despite much Googling.
What is "at" this location? Does anyone "out there" know the answer or can they discover it!

At the moment the Vézelay entry on this Web site contains this phrase "The second location is Corbigny, about which is no further info given in the nomination. It's another pilgrimage site with an Abbey church, some 30kms north of Vézelay.". At first sight that seems a plausible answer - there is indeed a town/village called Corbigny around 30kms from Vézelay (it happens to be south but, no matter). And, as the entry states, it IS associated with pilgrimages to Vézelay. BUT it is certainly NOT the 2nd location if other evidence is correct!

The latest map of the inscribed site shows it to be a 5 ha polygon less than 1km SW of Vézelay. This is confirmed by the coordinates on UNESCO ( N47 27 21.00 E3 44 8.00 ) - except that they are a few hundred metres south of the polygon's location.

So - what is situated at this location which led it to be separately identified way back in 1979 when Vézelay was inscribed - and for that separation to be maintained thereafter? Unfortunately we don't have a Nomination file to tell us...... and the ICOMOS evaluation doesn't even mention it!!

Zooming in on Google satellite view appears to show NOTHING more significant than a field and a forest! Certainly no buildings, ruins or mounds to indicate any archaeological remains.

This comprehensive (and lengthy!) Guide for the Santaigo de C Pilgrimage trails starting from Vezelay has one trail which goes straight past the location - but without mentioning anything about it- except the "view"!! See pages 60/1 "1.5 Immediately after the exit to the campsite (left: cross): turn right (= Chemin de la Justice). (Nice view of Vézelay)". Could it really be that the location is all about the place with a fine view of Vezelay?

But what about "Corbigny"? Neither the guide, nor Google Maps refer to a place called "Corbigny" at this location and the UNESCO map only has the word superimposed over the basic map. Could a mistake have been made muddling up with the more likely "Corbigny" just 30kms away? ? Apparently not - this Bing map clearly shows Corbigny at the right location!

Any suggestions as to why this 5 ha area is "UNESCO Inscribed"???

Solivagant

I hope I can help you find some answer


http://www.vezelay.fr/site/IMG/pdf/vezelay_pos_reseau_eau_potable_1_10000.pdf

from the map from website of Vezelay town, that area really called Corbingy.


Possible! I found this statement "L'éperon vézelien depuis le chemin de la Justice, point de vue célèbré par les artistes au cours des siècles" from this http://www.vezelay.fr/site/IMG/pdf/protection_du_paysage_r.pdf

view from Le chemin de la Justice is the view of Corbingy and Vezelay.

Yes - as per the Bing Map above too - there REALLY is an area just outside Vézelay called "Corbingy" after which this inscribed area has been named and it is just "confusing" that there is a completely different (and more significant!) "Corbingy" a few kms away!


That is my current conclusion too - that this small location has absolutely NO TANGIBLE aspects/remains whatsoever but has been inscribed SOLELY on the INTANGIBLE aspect of the view of Vézelay from it. There is nothing there of "value" OTHER than that view! It is worth noting that the "associative" Criterion vi ("with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance") WAS one of the 2 on which the site was inscribed. It also perhaps needs to be remembered that this site was inscribed as early as 1979 - only the 2nd year of inscriptions. So ways of "doing things" were still being worked out. The map from that year shows that it originally had NO Buffer zone at all. Presumably having this separate "inscribed area" was then considered the "best" way of preserving the view. It would be very interesting to be able to see the Nomination file for what it says.

@Els A "better" set of coordinates for this location which are the correct side of the Chemin de la Justice (and hence "facing" the view!) are 47.457103, 3.736644

All this is merveilleux. Great investigation, guys! Now I have this Caspar-David-Friedrich-like image of any serious WHSer admiring the hill of Vézelay from Corbigny!

It would indeed be nice to have examples from "les artistes au cours des siècles" of this viewpoint!! Can you think of a few names who might have made it down to Vézelay?! Which "schools" would have been most likely to have been enthused by the subject? I just don't think it could be made "Romantic" enough for a "Caspar-David-Friedrich" - though you never know!! Here is a "starter"

Google Street view seems to indicate that the view from the road is hidden nowadays by shrubbery. -the same is true if one follows the Rue d'Etang towards Vezeley. So it is difficult to work out which, if any, of the paintings were done from the inscribed area.