Aurignac is an unpretentious cave barely the size of my garage, but it has played an outsized role in the development of prehistory as a scientific discipline, and it gave its name to the oldest modern human culture in Europe.

This is a circular journey of 470km made entirely by train, which you can start and finish at many stations along the way. An optional 5.6 kilometre walk in the high Pyrenees turns the journey into an international voyage that takes in the Spanish town of Puigcerda.

The town of Limoux lies on the river Aude 25 kilometres upstream from Carcassonne. It has two claims to international fame: its carnival and its sparkling wine.

Traditionally they were trained to defend flocks of sheep from bears and wolves, but during the second half of the 20th century the Pyrenean Mountain dog all but disappeared from its home range, along with the predators it used to confront. With a little help from Slovenia, this iconic dog has made a come back in recent years.

Pierre-Paul Riquet offered his workers sick pay, holiday pay, monthly pay, equal pay, and he expressed a preference for employing females. Why did he make such a generous and enlightened offer?

Follow this 22-kilometre circuit in Toulouse and discover eight magnificent pigeonniers built between the 17th and 19th centuries. ​

Raimon de Miraval was a troubadour who truly lived his art. This poor knight fell hopelessly in love with the wives of the two brothers who owned the bigger château next door, and in his old age he was tempted to come out of retirement in a bid to save the world, the Cathar world, from destruction by Simon de Montfort and his crusaders.

The obelisk in the lake at Saint-Ferréol only shows itself during times of extreme drought (eg 2022) or when the lake is drained for maintenance (last done in the winter of 2016-17). What is its purpose?

In English, isatis tinctoria is commonly known as woad. In Toulouse it was pastel. Extracting the blue dye from these green leaves was a long and complicated process, but it generated enormous wealth for the region.

Today, it is rare to find the mesturet on the shelves of a boulangerie-pâtisserie or on a restaurant menu. This is a traditional dish made almost exclusively at home, and every ancient family seems to have its own recipe and continues to use it. In many cases, the recipe is a closely-guarded family secret, but I can reveal my own unique version, based on oven-roasted butternut squash.

On 16 October 1685, Louis XIV dispatched four companies of infantry to the town of Puylaurens, 45 kilometres to the east of Toulouse. Their mission? Demolish the Protestant temple and force the townsfolk to convert to Catholicism.

If you visit the parliament building of Toulouse – Le Capitole – you can enjoy many fine and extremely large paintings in the public rooms on its first floor. But on your way up the main staircase, take a moment to admire the painting in front of you. It depicts the first edition of the Floral Games, held in 1324.

How did Pierre Assézat become so rich, he could begin building one of the finest Renaissance mansions in Toulouse? And why did he run out of money halfway through the project? Discover the ups and downs of the pastel trade and the damaging effects of the Wars of Religion.

THE RUINS OF LIANTRAN: DISCOVER ONE OF THE OLDEST PASTORAL SETTLEMENTS IN THE PYRENEES / Liantran has been used by shepherds for around 7,000 years, and it was surveyed by archaeologists for the first time in 2018. What they discovered makes Liantran one of the largest and most complex pastoral sites discovered in the Pyrenees.

WHY ARE THE PYRENEES CALLED THE PYRENEES? / This question has been debated since Classical times, and there is still no clear answer today. Back in the 16th century, the future King Henri IV of France thought he knew why. These mountains were called the Pyrenees because one of his ancestors had ravished a princess inside the cave of Lombrives.