Château de Fressac, Gard, France

The Château de Fressac overlooks the valley and small village of Durfort in Gard, near the foothills in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. This military castle was constructed in the early 1200s, served to guard the valley and was a place of refuge for centuries. By the 1600s it was finally abandoned, sold to private hands, and centuries later the owners bequeathed the edifice and land to the Commune de Fressac (1992).

The castle was well constructed, with a series of outer walls constructed of quarried stone and gates protected by iron porticoes and bends which gave the strategic advantage to those inside. The castle never fell to invaders, but this may be partly due to its relatively modest importance.

The stony path to the castle begins in the village cemetery and requires a climb of about an hour. Although the modest castle is now in disrepair, the climb is worth the effort. It is safe to explore the thick stone outer walls, view the upper walls constructed from stones gathered from the rocky hillside, and investigate where stables and rooms used to be. Enough of the structures remain to let us imagine what life might have been like in this desolate wind-swept hilltop abode. The views of the valley, some seemingly stretching to the Mediterranean, are magnificent.

The Village of Durfort (Gard), France

The medieval village of Durfort (départment du Gard) now has about 500 inhabitants. Durfort undoubtedly developed around the 12th-century chateau constructed during the height of feudalism and provided it labour and supplies. The modern village is now both sleepy and beautiful, with many of the stone homes being carefully renovated. The agricultural plains have been productive for centuries.

We focused mainly on the village's charming narrow walkways and followed the 14th-century wall, finally pausing on the outskirts of the village for a lovely luncheon, which sustained us for the challenging hike up the local mountain.