The best walks and hikes around Port-Sainte-Marie

The Buzet-sur-Baïse river stop is ideal for taking a break along the Canal Lateral à la Garonne. Perfect for cyclists, with plenty of supplies to stock up on!

From the Route des Crêtes, you can enjoy beautiful views of the fortified village of Clermont-Dessous. Situated on a hillside, it preserves the remains of ramparts, a beautiful Romanesque church, and a typically Gascon charm.

[In Advent] "we hear in the Gospel the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist. He appears in the desert and calls people to conversion so that they may prepare for the coming of the Lord. His call reminds us that Advent is not only a time of waiting, but also of interior preparation. "Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths" (Luke 3:4). John's message challenges us to examine our lives. What "rough paths" and "crooked roads" are there in our hearts? Where have we perhaps distanced ourselves from God or lost sight of our fellow human beings? John invites us to remove these obstacles and reorient our lives. But his call has not only a personal dimension, but also a social one: the way of the Lord is a way of justice, peace and reconciliation. When we pave the way of the Lord, we bring light into the darkness of the world and hope into the hearts of people." (Text: Michael Inden, Diocesan President of the KAB in the Archdiocese of Cologne)

Perfect for a short stop. Tables in the shade, a very pleasant setting near the Canal. Possibility to buy food and drinks at the harbor master's office (be careful it is not always open), toilets (reserved for customers of the harbor master's office 🙄) The village of Buzet is not very far, there are quite a few amenities.

Saint John the Baptist (Saint Jean Baptiste), to whom this church in Clermont-Dessous is dedicated, is - like Saint Joseph - a man on the threshold of the Old and New Testaments. His parents are Zacharias and Elisabeth, and after the announcement of the Incarnation of God through them, the Mother of God visits her relative Elisabeth, who will give birth to a son in her old age, namely John the Baptist. He is half a year older than Jesus and is considered his forerunner/pioneer. He lives in the desert, preaches repentance from sins to the Jewish population and baptizes them in the Jordan, where Jesus also comes to be baptized, and is filled with the Holy Spirit who descends upon him from heaven. The feast day of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in the calendar of saints is June 24, exactly half a year before 'Christmas Eve'.

Saint John the Baptist, to whom this church in Clermont-Dessous is dedicated, is—like Saint Joseph—a man at the threshold between the Old and New Testaments. His parents were Zechariah and Elizabeth. After the Annunciation of the Incarnation, the Virgin Mary visited her relative Elizabeth, who, in her old age, would give birth to a son, John the Baptist. He was six months older than Jesus and is considered his forerunner. He lived in the desert, preached repentance to the Jewish population, and baptized them in the Jordan River. Jesus also came to the Jordan to be baptized, and was filled with the Holy Spirit, who descended from heaven. The feast day of Saint John the Baptist in the liturgical calendar is June 24, exactly six months before Christmas Eve.

The parish church of Saint Jean-Baptiste was built in the 12th century at the top of the promontory carrying the castle, isolated from the village by a ditch, in the Romanesque style with a dome. The church took part in the defense of the site with its tower placed above the crossroads of the slightly projecting transept being used for the surveillance of the region.

Wikipedia: The first mention of Buzet is in a charter of Bernard Guilhem, Count of Gascony from 997 to 1009, which confirms the gift made by his father to the Abbey of Saint-Sever of three churches and a forest in the jurisdiction of Buzet. But it is not then a question of the castle. This appeared for the first time when Bernard Guilhem's successor, Sancho de Gascogne (1009-1032), offered the monks of Saint-Pierre de Condom his "domain (curtem) named Buzet and the castle (castellum) that he himself had fortified in it, with all his farms, vineyards, woods, meadows, pastures, wet and dry, cultivated and uncultivated (…)1”. As the text specifies, the Count of Gascony had himself ordered the fortification of a previous residence, which means that he can be considered without too much doubt as the founder of the Château de Buzet.