The original village which became Foix was likely built to access the clean water melting from a huge glacier which once dominated the entire valley. This glacier likely crept all the way down from Pas de la Casa in Andorra and the lie of the land suggests that the Cerdagne basin was also filled with ice which became a lake and then a fertile basin between mountains. Evidence of glaciation is clearly visible, even to the amateur observer. The ice has created havoc with the mountain slopes and sculpted the landscape in a most extraordinary way.
Foix is proud of its history. Gaston Phoebus was born here, a famous Occitan warrior, poet, and politician from the 14th century. He was also well-known for his hunting skills, so a good all-rounder who represented the different aspects of his region. He left a patriotic regional song, which is still sung in republican banquets, and family dinners, to this day. He became the governor of Languedoc, and the main liaison between the ambassadors of Spain and England.
The Foix market has regional specialities galore, with old artisan butchers rubbing shoulders with new arrivals to the region: “Green Tourism” has gradually drawn people into the area, which had previously been deserted in favour of towns.
A few kilometres away, there is an underground river near the Plantaurel Massif, which you can visit by barge. There are many different level of grotto, stalactites, and underground waterfalls.
If you drive up the route nationale RN 20, to Montgaillard, you’ll find a 5 hectare park with over 120 old skills represented. That’s how it is in Ariège, there is a nostalgia in the air, the past is always present.
