Cathare Castles, Canal du Midi and much more...

  • Roquetaillade, situated in the heart of the Limoux wine region and surrounded by mountainous terrain, is an unspoiled medieval hill-top village with pretty narrow streets and almost all houses made of local stone. From the church, which is one of the highest points of the village, you can enjoy far reaching views over the vineyards with the Domain du Moulin nesting near the bottom of the valley.

  • Limoux is famed for the longest carnival in Europe and its excellent sparkling wine "Blanquette de Limoux“ which is produced using the Champagne process. Cooking fans should earmark Fridays, the market day, with many delicious local products on sale. Limoux also has a good range of shops and restaurants.

  • Carcassonne is famous for its beautiful medieval fortress 'La Cité', which is a World Heritage site. This fantastic castle inspired Walt Disney and was used in many films including Kevin Costner's "Robin Hood". Inside La Cité there are many medieval buildings but sadly most of them are now shops or restaurants. The least spoiled are the perimeter walls and indeed worth a tour with its views over Carcassonne and the countryside.

  • The Canal du Midi, another World Heritage site, is nearby and you can enjoy boating or cycling along it.

  • Toulouse with its cathedral and many more historic sites has a very pretty city centre with beautiful parks, flea markets and designer shops. So nice that you could get carried away and not have enough money left to try one of the many inviting restaurants. On the outskirts of Toulouse is the famous Space Museum - entertainment and education for budding astronauts of all ages.

  • Narbonne, the ancient maritime centre with its Archbishop’s Palace is a jewel to be discovered buried amongst the fabricated holiday resorts of this coastal area.

  • Mirepoix - with its wooden arcades on the main square dating back to the 13th century invite you to sit down and enjoy the medieval atmosphere.

  • Some of the villages not to be missed:

    Minerve – a small village on a peninsula in a deep cut river with 2 giganteous washed out tunnels in the river bed.

    Alet-les-Bains, a medieval walled village and Rennes-le-Chateau, famous for its mysterious vicar and the still not found Templer treasure.

    Bages and Gruissan – the most romantic villages close to Narbonne.

    • Collioure - a beautifully preserved former fishing village with three bays, a castle, wind mill and narrow roads with colourful old houses.

  • Montagne la Clape – just beautiful rugged landscape, rocks and vineyards.

  • The Cathar castles, most of them occupying spectacular sites perched high on top of rocky mountains with breathtaking views, give testimony of the force of this medieval religious sect, which has its followers to this day. Peyrepertuse is the biggest and Lastours the most stunning of the castles.

  • The Pyrenees - the activities and places to visit here are too numerous to mention.

  • The Mediterranean and its endless beaches are just over an hour away. Some of the beaches appear to have indeed no end. Our favourite is La Franqui with pine trees reaching almost to the sea, its lagoon and little beach houses.

  • There are many gorges and caves to explore in the Languedoc. One of the most impressive of the gorges is the 'Gorges de Galamus' with the rugged road carved out of the rock. Near one end of this narrow gorge there is a small hermitage precariously clinging onto the steep cliff.

  • This area of Aude is rich in prehistoric fossils. In Espéraza is an excellent Dinosaur Museum (next to the Hat Museum) where you can see many fossils and reconstructions of local finds. There are often school trips organised to look for fossils in the disused quarry next to Domaine du Moulin.

  • Grotte de Niaux is said to have the best prehistoric paintings after the Grotte de Lascaux and the Prehistoric Parc nearby illustrates the practicalities of prehistoric life to small and grown up children in a beautifully landscaped parc.

  • Wine tasting – we are in the most productive wine region in the world.

  • For the more energetic amongst you there are many exciting activities and sports available in the area. Below is a list of some of them:
    walking/hiking, cycling/mountain biking, canoeing/kayaking, white water rafting (in spring only), swimming, canyonning, caving, fishing, paragliding, ballooning, rock climbing, abseiling, adventure playgrounds, horse riding, archery, tennis, golf and skiing (yes, really, the nearest resort is just an hour away).

  • Additionally to the above there is a large collection of guides, maps and programmes of activities available in the gites. For further information please also see the Links page of this web site.

    • Weekly Markets

    Sunday - Esperaza
    Monday - Mirepoix
    Tuesday – Limoux, night market in July and August
    Wednesday - Quillan
    Thursday - Couiza und Carcassonne
    Friday - Limoux
    Saturday - Quillan, Gruissan, Carcassonne
     
    The market hall in Narbonne is open daily until 1pm