Rennes-le-Chateau
Rennes-le-Chateau is found to the south of Carcassonne in the Aude department.
The village is an attractive little village reached after a fairly steep climb in the car and giving some splendid views of the surrounding countryside. At the top of the village you can see the Tour Magdala, a small, castle-like tower which hangs out over the views of the valley below. This was built by the priest Berenger Sauniere as a library which he said was to be used for retiring priests.
A little further down in the village is the church of Mary Magdalene. The church was renovated in the late 1800s by Berenger Sauniere. Inside it has some unusual features such as the figure of the devil holding the holy water stoup.
The views from the tower and out across the valley are very impressive, and the village has a history dating back to both prehistoric and roman occupations...but it is not these that attract the crowds.
Rennes-le-Chateau attracts people because of various conspiracies and theories that give the village an important role in various plots throughout the ages - essentially based on the possibility that Jesus and Mary might have stayed here and established a family after being exiled.
The story gathered momentum in the 19th century, when the village priest, Berenger Sauniere, reputedly found evidence for this family line descended from Jesus. The popular book by Dan Brown, the Da Vinci Code, has further revived interest in the village, which received more than 100,000 visitors in 2006 - it is now possible to take a guided tour of the tower, church and the house and gardens built and renovated by Berenger Sauniere at Rennes-le-Chateau.
Note - the entire story is also said to have been invented in the 1950's by someone simply trying to promote his hotel. It's still entertaining to speculate of course, and as with other stories of this type perhaps we can never be completely sure...perhaps the 1950's story is itself a cunning cover-up plan to divert attention away from the real mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau...
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The Rennes-le-Chateau hotels listed feature descriptions, guest reviews, ratings, location maps, online booking etc. as well as the 'best-price' guarantee. The search for hotels in Rennes-le-Chateau is provided by booking.com. General holiday / vacation options- See Languedoc-Roussillon gites for Rennes-le-Chateau holiday rentals - Holiday villages in Languedoc-Roussillon Holidays nearbyLooking for something close by? See a wide choice of hotels, holiday villages and holiday rentals at: Places to Stay near Rennes-le-Chateau VisitSee Visit Rennes-le-Chateau for places to visit near Rennes-le-Chateau including: a detailed map, villages in bloom and most beautiful villages DiscussAsk questions or leave a comment about Rennes-le-Chateau in our Languedoc-Roussillon forum Airports near Rennes-le-ChateauCarcassonne airport at 32 km Perpignan airport at 70 km Toulouse airport at 125 km Rennes-le-Chateau property for saleSee Languedoc-Roussillon property for sale
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Places to visit near Rennes-le-Chateau, France
Explore places of interest within about 70 kilometres on a map at places near Rennes-le-Chateau.
Some places to visit within 30 km: 
11 km: Gorges de l'Aude (Dramatic gorges,) 15 km: Limoux (Small town) 11 km: Quillan (town) 6 km: Rennes-les-Bains (small spa town)
See also Rennes-le-Chateau (version Francais)
