Attractions

The Area

"The Languedoc and Roussillon region is one of France's best kept secrets. Its remote villages and little-travelled byways affording a window onto a vanishing European rural culture and its beaches and cities offering a thrilling diversity of activity" - Rough Guide to Languedoc & Roussillon

The immediate area is rural and full of sunflower fields in the heat of the summer. This is the Lauragais the heartland of Toulouse's traditional agricultural prosperity. If you saw any of the John Burton Race French Leave series on Channel 4 you will know the area - his farmhouse was at Montferrand a couple of miles from La Serre.

Shops and Markets

Our nearest shops are at Villefranche de Lauragais a 10 minute drive away. This is a traditional small town with all amenities, many boulangeries and charcuteries; a weekly market and a very good supermarket.

The larger towns of Revel and Castelnaudary can be reached in under half an hour. John Burton Race describes the Revel Saturday morning market as one of the best in France not just for the quality its produce but for its atmosphere. The Rough Guide describes Castelnaudary as one of those French country towns 'boasting no particular sights but which are nonetheless a real pleasure to spend a few hours in.'

Activities

If you are looking for activity, close by there are lakes with water sports facilities (try Saint-Ferreol near Revel) and the Canal du Midi lined with tall plane trees offering walks, boat trips and cycle excursions. La Rigeole is a feeder river to the canal and provides marvellous walks particularly to the north of St Paulet.

The historic cities of Toulouse and Carcassonne can be reached in well under an hour. There are many castles, cathedrals and mediaeval market towns to explore as well as forests, gorges and caves. The snow-covered peaks of the Pyrenees can be seen from the front of the house and can be reached in just over the hour. The Mediterranean beaches are the same distance to the east.

Things not to miss.. according to the Rough Guide include:

In Toulouse - la Ville Rose

• Place du Capitole – stunning square at the heart of the city
• Cite de l’espace and Aerospatiale – massive hi-tech space centre and the assembly plant of the new Airbus
• Les Abattoirs - cutting edge art gallery
• Hotels Particuliers - ancient mansions of the city's elite

About an hours drive

• La Grotte de Niaux - prehistoric cave-paintings in the Pyrenees
• Train Jeaune - narrow gauge railway in the Pyrenees
• Montsegur - romantic and mysterious last redoubt of the Cathars
• Cordes sur Ciel - cruise the boutiques or enjoy the atmosphere of this hill-top town
• Carcassone - France’s most famous and evocative citadel
• Albi - the old town and musee de Toulouse-Lautrec

Further afield

• Collioure & Cadaques - picturesque Catalan beach towns either side of the Spanish border
• Nimes amphitheatre - 2000 years old and still in use
• Pont du Gard - take a dip under this extraordinary Roman Aqueduct
• Cirque de Navacelles - a dramatic canyon cutting through the upper Herault

For Children (Young and Old)

• Sigean Nature Reserve- immense drive through nature reserve recreating several equatorial habitats with 3800 animals
• Cap Decouverte- 1600 acre sports and leisure park
• Aquaval- water park
• Tepacap- adventure park in natural setting

Now to be added to the list is the stunning Millau Viaduct on the A75 between Clermont and Montpellier which opened in February 2005. It's higher than the Eiffel Tower and "a bit of motorway that makes you want to turn round and do it again".