Étang de Thau

Places to see in ( Marseillan - France )

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• published: 07 Nov 2016
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Places to see in ( Marseillan - France ) Marseillan is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. It lies some 50 km west of Montpellier. Marseillan sits on a large lagoon, the Étang de Thau, and is the southern entreport for the Canal du Midi. The centre of the village lies within the lines of the old walls. There is a hotel and a number of cafes and restaurants. Marseillan Plage is a purpose-built holiday resort on the Mediterranean, some 3 km (1.9 mi) from Marseillan Ville. The port is a protected heritage site, and the altar and organ in the church are also listed. There has been virtually no new building in the heart of the village since the 17th century, and many of the houses date from the twelfth century. Until 1970 the vineyards came to the main boulevards built outside the line of the walls around 1870. Since then the population has grown from around 3,000 throughout the last 200 years to over 10,000 in 2010. This does not include those who have bought houses and villas in Marseillan but use them only as holiday homes. Expectation is that the population will top 14,000 by 2015. There is dispute as to who exactly founded the village. Marseille claims that honour, understandable because of the two names. But both names are derived from the Greco/Phoenician Massaliotes who extended trading routes from the eastern Mediterranean. Marseillan's economy is founded on fish, wines, trade and visitors. This has always been so because from its foundation Marseillan has been a major trading centre, a port and a stopping-off point for travellers. Always a stopping point on the long routes along the Mediterranean shore Marseillan has provided travellers with a welcome since the village was founded. Today much of the village’s prosperity comes from the summer visitors: holidaymakers in Marseillan Plage, day visitors to Marseillan Ville, houseboat visitors from the Canal du Midi and owners of holiday homes. To some degree even those northerners who have settled permanently are visitors. Certainly they make a substantial contribution to the local economy. The old village has remained unchanged through the centuries, and today’s village is almost identical in shape to the one known in the Middle Ages. This is because Marseillan was a fortified village until late in the 18th century. From the second century BC Marseillan was protected by earthworks, but by Roman times it had a timber stockade. This was sufficient until Simon de Montfort and his army passed through during the Cathar Crusade. New stone fortifications then replaced the timber. The Château sat foursquare in the centre of the village, behind its own walls, whilst the village walls were themselves four-and-a-half metres high. There were four gates, six watchtowers and the village was moated. Marseillan enjoys an equable climate. Sheltered by the mountains of the Massif Central the weather systems from the north are seldom a problem. Marseillan has some 300 sunny days a year, and ground frosts (at worst) in mid-winter. From time-to-time a little snow falls, but this only dusts the ground and is gone by mid-day. Marseillanais make day trips into the mountains to experience snowballing and to make snowmen. The prevailing winds are from the south-west, and south. Marseillan receives the hot winds from the Sahara but, fortunately, does not suffer the pink sand that those winds carry out to sea. The Mistral blows down the Rhone valley and, although a northerly wind is sometimes referred to as a “mistral” it has none of the severity nor persistence of the true version. ( Marseillan - France ) is well know as a tourist destination because of the variety of places you can enjoy while you are visiting the city of Marseillan . Through a series of videos we will try to show you recommended places to visit in Marseillan - France Join us for more : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLP2J3yzHO9rZDyzie5Y5Og http://placestoseein87.blogspot.com.eg/ https://plus.google.com/108460845579164318812 https://www.facebook.com/placestoseein87/ https://twitter.com/Placestoseein1 https://www.tumblr.com/blog/placestoseein https://www.pinterest.com/placestoseein87/places-to-see-in/