Alet les Bains

 Some 16 kms further into the Pyrenees from Limoux is Alet Les Bains.

A small and ancient village which owes its prosperity to the local hot springs which were in use when the Romans were here.

Courtesy of wikicommons

There is a benedictine abbey from the 9th century.

Image from wikicommons

and this is a picture of roman toilets

wikicommons again

For information on the ruined cathedral wikipedia says

The Diocese of Alet was one of several bishoprics created in 1317 in the wake of the suppression of the Cathars. In Alet the bishops were also the abbots of the already existing monastery there and the cathedral of Our Lady was built next to the abbey.

In 1577 it was largely destroyed by the Huguenots during the Wars of Religion and was not subsequently rebuilt. The immense Gothic quire was demolished by order of the last bishop, Charles de la Cropte de Chancerac in 1776. The diocese of Alet was not restored after theFrench Revolution and by the Concordat of 1801 its parishes were added to the Diocese of Carcassonne.

The cathedral ruins remain a spectacular sight.

[edit]St. Benedict's Cathedral

As the main cathedral was for so long in ruins, part of the monastic buildings were used as an emergency substitute. These premises were known as St. Benedict's Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Benoît d'Alet).