Mourral-Millegrand Ringfort.

Also very recently the base of a Greek or Roman amphora and other Gallo-Roman ceramic pieces were found just down from the Ringfort lying exposed on the ground between the vines at Millepetit.

Dolmen and Caves  in the Alaric Mountains.

Apart from Chateau  de Miramont, our  9th century Wisigoth Castle, clearly visible from our garden and easily accessed from the nearby town of Barbaira, there is further evidence of pre history of the Aude/Languedoc. Set at the foot of a limestone cliff  known as Le Roc Gris 418 m. part of La Montagne d’Alaric 600m is an ancient dolmen or burial tomb, what makes this dolmen unusual is the cave behind it. It is located directly in front of a shallow grotte a cave or rock shelter. It looks across a wide ledge known as le Champ de Roland, and beyond to le chateau St. Pierre, a mediaeval fort. Beyond that, across the ravine is a large grotte called Les Chambres d’Alaric. (see photo)

* For further information on these items and other prehistory of the Languedoc, please refer to www.dolmen.wordpress.com/mourral-millegrand-ringfort/  and  www.sesa-aude.com

Equipassion at Millegrand, there are horse riding stables at Millegrand, only a ten-minute walk away, along the canal. No experience is necessary and a ride along the Canal du Midi and vineyards will cost around 20€.

Click the sun to see the weather forecast for the Carcassonne region.

The Canal Port of Trebes is a leisurely ¾ hour walk or 15min by bicycle ride along the old canal towpaths will take you to the canal Port of Trebes, for perhaps for a canal-side lunch and if you are energetic enough you can, hire bikes afterwards, to work off those extra calories. Trebes is a lively port during the summer months, with tourist information, a choice of bars and restaurants, 3 supermarkets, a local market, shopping, including an English bookshop, boat and car hire are available, indoor swimming pool, outside bathing lake, tennis courts, an open air stadium which hosts regular music concerts during the summer, taxis, banks, internet, English speaking doctor. Trebes has all the facilities of a modern town, whilst retaining the charm of the old. The town hosts two weeks of free music concerts during the month of June in the local outdoor arena.

Trebes also has a 13th century church, with uniquely painted wooden figures and a magnificent 16th century stone cross. Free-guided tours of the church are run over the summer months.

Visit the three locks or ‘ecluse’ at Trebes, also the famous Vauban Aqueduct Bridge and the Rode Bridge, all located on the canal at Trebes. 

There’s a lovely bar restaurant by the side of the ecluses or locks, called the ‘Moulin de Trebes’ it’s only a short walk along the canal.

‘La Cite’

The medieval fairytale. En route to Carcassonne you can’t fail to notice the medieval ‘La Cité’ of Carcassonne, a remnant of the middle ages, towering over the town. Like the Canal du Midi, ‘la Cite’ is also a World Heritage site and recently the subject of the best selling novel ‘Labyrinth’ and more recently Sepulchre set in and around the mysterious Rennes le Chateau both by author Kate Mosse. The Cite is now a fantastic tourist attraction and it’s free, although there is a small charge to view the Castle. Here you can loose yourself in the many winding lanes, enjoy the beautiful architecture and many years of exciting history. Be warned, allow a whole day for this visit…apart from the Castle itself, there are a multitude of attractions within the Cite, plus an endless number of fascinating and elegant shops, with narrow cobbled streets, lots of shops and a succession of cafes and restaurants and little squares where you can either enjoy a gourmet meal or perhaps just a coffee…a great location for a bit of people watching or just taking the atmosphere of this truly picturesque place

Carcassonne…the town

Once you’ve exhausted ‘la Cite’ walk over the old bridge into the town of Carcassonne, also steeped in history and culture and offers many family oriented activities, it is a mere 8kms from Millepetit and is essential to visit…with stylish shopping, visit the market, which is held three times a week during the summer, for some real bargains.

There are also cinemas, theatres and parks plus a great choice of café/bars and for food lovers, enjoy a meal, simple or extravagant, any of the many and varied restaurants in and around Carcassonne.

Look out for the ‘Festival de la Cite’ and the ‘Festival de la Bastide’ held over most of July and in August our ‘Spanish week’ with live Flamenco, Salsa and live music every day and into the evening, a great buzz and a fantastic week.

Visit our local Beaches

Don’t forget our local beaches. On the way to Carcassonne, is our local beach, a stunning lake called the ‘Lac de la Cavayere’ set in what was once a magnificent Domaine…it is now better known as Carcassonne plage, only a 5 minutes drive from the cottage, here you can relax in the sun on any one of 3 beaches all with surveillance posts for safer swimming, enjoy a dip in the cooling waters, fish, hire pedalos, or just stroll around the lake enjoying the beautiful countryside. There are also café facilities.

Or…the coastal beaches and more commercial resorts of the Mediterranean, that are reachable in around 45 minutes.

Also close to hand, Le Lac de Pradelles, near Mazamet, provides swimming, tennis courts, pedal boats, fantastic mountain air and stunning views yet incredibly peaceful and completely unspoiled. Lifeguards look over the small lake where children and adults can swim out to the island. For those who would rather not get wet, pedal boats offer a relaxing way to enjoy the water. A small snack bar is on hand most days

Sports and Leisure.

There are many activities catering to all ages and interests including, canoeing and kayaking. There are day trips on the beautiful Canal Du Midi. boating,  horse riding at Millegrand, a few minutes walk away, rambling, tennis, swimming, wine tasting, live theatre, amusement parks, wildlife parks, hiking, sailing with tuition at a nearby lake, water-skiing, parasailing, jet skiing, windsurfing and other board sports are organised close by, white water rafting is also available for the more daring. A visit into the Pyrenees offers wonderful walks in the summer months, with downhill and cross-country skiing in the winter.

The Aude and Languedoc-Roussillon

This region of France is of course the heart of Cathar country, there are many ancient Abbeys, Chateaux and fortified villages. Explore the Cathar castles, find out more about the religion of the Cathars, visit the inspiration of the 'Da Vinci Code' and the 'Holy Blood and the Holy Grail' at Rennes - Le Chateau. Visit Peyrepertuse, Lastours, Puylaurens and Queribus, all Cathar strongholds that cling to the mountaintops, all with astounding views.

We have our very own 9^th century Cathar Castle, dating from the time of the Visigoths, which overlooking our garden, perched on a promontory in the Alaric Mountains, Chateau de Miramont was decimated by Simon de Monforts troops just after the siege of ‘La Cite’ in Carcassonne in 1210, perhaps you will be the one to find the famous ‘lost treasure of the Crusades’ hidden by the villagers of Montlaur deep in the dense forests of the Alarics prior to the attack.  Also visit the many Abbeys, from the stunning Abbey de Fontfroide hidden in the valley of the Corbieres, dating from the 11th century with it's beautiful cloisters and bell-tower, or the Abbey in Lagrasse dating from the 10th century, the village has been voted one of the most beautiful in France and is only 30 kms. away. Sitting on the edge of the River Orbiem, amongst the peaks of the Corbiere is the beautiful village of Elne, looking towards the magical seaside resort of Collioure, all conjure up spiritual and architectural character. Visit the underground limestone caverns at Limousis, or perhaps spend a day touring some of the ‘circular’ and fortressed villages in the vicinity of the canal. You can span a million years BC in the caves of Tautavel and don’t miss some of the attractions which are on right on your doorstep such as the Australian Zoo which is on route to Lac de la Cavayere better known as Carcassonne plage, La Cité des Oiseaux, very close to La Cité and the ‘Gouffre Geant de Cabrespine' and beautiful village of Quillan on the River Aude.

Exploring

Drive through the sleepy hamlets and villages of the incredibly beautiful region of the Minervois, a very short distance from the cottage.  Visit nearby Montolieu, the ‘village of books’, sample the colourful, local markets, enjoy the numerous village fetes and vide greniers…literally meaning ‘empty attic’, these markets are held virtually every weekend during the summer, or perhaps head for the coast, to the sandy beaches of Narbonne and Gruissan which are less than an hour’s drive from us. Why not pay a visit to Toulouse for museums, exhibitions or just people watching in one of the numerous cafes on Place Capitole. Nearby Castelnaudary, located between Carcassonne and Toulouse, is famous for its ‘Cassoulet’, a delicious sausage and bean stew. It is also incidentally, home to the French Foreign Legion, look out for their trademark white caps. This is also the land of the famous Languedoc wines such as Minervois, Malpere, Cabardes, La Clape and Fitou and the area is developing a real reputation for organic wines, a tantalising array of vineyards await you, leaving even keen tasters literally spoiled for choice of course owners are only too happy to let you enjoy ‘dégustation’ and to sell you the odd bottle or two.  The market town of Limoux is just 30 minutes drive away is the home of the original Champagne vines and to the local sparkling wine ‘Blanquette de Limoux’. Produced decades before Champagne, the ‘secret’ of Champagne production was in fact stolen from Limoux by an exiled monk, so Blanquette is the ‘true’ Champagne … buy a bottle and judge for yourself!  These are only a few of the local delicacies that you can sample during your stay.

Also worth visiting are the towns of Beziers, for the Cathedral, museums, flower market, bull fighting and shops. See Narbonne, with its Cathedral its Roman sites, Sunday market and more shopping. Both cities are within 10 minutes drive of Mediterranean beaches that seem to go on forever.

The Languedoc-Roussillon

The region enjoys the mildest climate of France with 300 days of sun a year. From January onwards the almond, apricot and peach trees start to blossom. In March the scenery resembles a huge fruit garden with white and pink flowers. The region was once independent of France, speaking a separate language, the Langue-d’Oc, whilst Roussillon was Spanish until the mid 17th century and the Catalan influence is still evident today. All year round the local French people will use any excuse to have a village party, launching the wines, cherry festivals, marble festivals. There are open-air concerts in La Cité at Carcassonne and the spectacular, firework displays on Bastille day, 14th July. Due to its close proximity to Spain, many Spanish specialties are also on the menu. The coastline is packed with small artistic hamlets and fishing villages, with restaurants by the water, also offering entertainment and festivals year round. There are also several spas in the area that you can visit in order to 'take the waters', don’t miss some grottoes and pre-historic caverns, all of which conspire to create an atmosphere of real mystery.

Exploring further a field.

The coastal beaches and livelier resorts are less than 1 hour’s drive away. Why not pay a visit to Barcelona and Gerona only 300kms…a days outing. Or visit Andorra for some ‘duty free’ bargains.

And Relax.

If you have any time left on your hands you can of course enjoy the simple pleasures of leisurely walks or cycle rides by the Canal du Midi, in the shade the 400-year-old Plane trees, following the tranquil towpaths once used by horses to pull barges.

Visit the region where winter is only a word… not a state of mind, where spring begins in February and where the sun shines for more than 300 days of the year. See for yourself why so many people are discovering the relatively unknown treasure that is the Languedoc-Roussillon…experience a taste of what the region has to offer…an intoxicating mix of French Occitan and Catalan cultures, that perhaps isn’t quite the France that you expected, with its fiestas and local colour, which is reflected in many aspects of its day to day living, not to mention a resurgence of the Occitan language itself. This truly is a great place to unwind and enjoy fabulous regional foods, sights and sounds of this sun-drenched and very different part of Southern France.