Foix, Medieval castle and abbey in Ariège, France
Foix is a small town at the meeting point of two rivers in the Pyrenees, about fifty kilometers south of Toulouse. The settlement spreads from the riverbank to the wooded slopes around it, with buildings tucked along steep streets that climb toward the central square and the castle above.
An eighth-century oratory grew into an abbey within a hundred years and drew settlers to the area. The counts ruled from the castle rock and shaped the region for centuries, until the territory passed directly to the crown in the mid-seventeenth century.
The town takes its name from a Latin word for beech, pointing to the forests that surround the valley. Visitors see half-timbered houses along narrow lanes that climb from the riverbank toward the castle rock, showing how daily life unfolds here.
The old center can be explored on foot, though the steeper lanes require some stamina. Early mornings work well for quieter walks before visitors from the surrounding valleys arrive and fill the squares.
The castle was never taken by attackers for centuries and withstood all attempts during the Albigensian campaigns. Today the towers house a museum with finds from the counts' era and weapons from different periods.
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