Maison d’ete

This area offers an enormous selection of activities.
Hiking, Cycling, swimming in lakes, rivers, The Mediterranean and Canyoning; Wine tours and tasting to exploring a thousand years of Cathar history visiting castles and ancient burial grounds and monuments.

Walk out or cycle directly from the house and follow the guides we’ve created through vineyards and numerous tracks.

Visit delightful quiet historic villages such as Minerve, La Caunette, Aigne, Agel, Beaufort and Olonzac all with magnificent restaurants.

Canoeing at Roquebrun on the river Orb is a must do. Hire kayaks from Canoe Roquebrun and take a leisurely trip down river stopping off on beaches for relaxing, swimming and picnics. Roquebrun has a local bar and two really nice restaurants, Le Petit Nice and La Cave Saint Martin.

There is a Market in a local village every day of the week. Olonzac’s impressive Market is on every Tuesday, Agel’s on alternative thursdays (evening), Capestang on Wednesday and Saint Chinian’s on Sunday.

Saint Chinian is an important Wine Town for the whole region. The biggest selection of the very best wines from the Languedoc can be found at Espace Vin de Saint Chinian, just up the road from the high street. It is open on Sundays too!

The Beaches on The Mediterranean are less than an hour away. Our favorite is Leucate Plage with its golden sands, beach bars and Oyster shacks, Gruissan plage , Narbonne plage and Saint Pierre de Mer plage are lovely too.

Maison d’été Gite is situated amongst vineyards. Walk a few metres to Cecil’s front door and ask for a wine tasting. She owns the Babio domain. There are literally hundreds of local domaines and the best thing to do is go to our local UTILE shop in the village of Aigues Vives. They have a fine selection of the local wines. Our favorite domains are Vordy, Coupe Roses, Caihol Gautran, Paguignan and Les Tuileries d’Aigne. All do wine tasting.
We enjoy visiting the village of Assignan. The Chateau Castigno has a strong influence on the village. It has a Michelin star restaurant called’La Cave’ a tapas restaurant called Petit Table and a Thai restaurant too. The Cave at Castigno must be visited for wine tasting.

Visit the small village of Saint Jean Minervois. It is famous for producing Muscat Wine. The locals drink Muscat as an aperitif. For a tasting we suggest going to Domain Mountauc. They have a selection of Muscats to be drank with different food. British Wine critic, Jancis Robinson has commented that there Muscats are the best in the World! This domain also produces outstanding red wine too. The domain of Barroubio, just a few mins drive out of the village towards Assignan produces outstanding Muscat too. The family have owned this Domain since the 12th Century. They also produce red wine.

We highly recommend a visit to Distillery du Petit Grain, a Small Gin Distillery in Saint Jean. Tastings can be arranged.

As you are in the area take the car to a tiny hamlet called Gimios, it sits between Saint Jean and Barroubio. Find a place to park and take the road signed to the Eglise de trou (Church). It’s a walk through vineyards and then a sharp right turn down a track that feels like ‘middle earth’. The Church is open but not in operation…a relict of the past! Be sure to have booked a table at the restaurant Le Jardin Tranquille. It’s owned by a Belgian lady. It’s all home cooked food!

Visit the village of Le Somail situated on the famous Canal du Midi. There are five restaurants and a well known historic book shop. Hire bikes and take them up or down stream to restaurants on its banks. You can also book tours of the canal du midi on our boat, Nova. We offer trips from 2 hours to full days taking in a tour to a restaurant situated on the Canal.

You have a choice of three Cities to visit;
Béziers, Narbonne and Carcassone. Beziers is experiencing a renaissance with major restoration and development works being completed over the past ten years. Take a walk from the famous Fonserane 9 locks on the Canal du Midi to the Centre of Beziers, walking along the river Orb and over the restored Roman bridge. Visit the newly restored covered Market and wander through the narrow streets in the old town where you’ll find fabulous bars and restaurants such as Pica Pica.

Narbonne with its boulevard alongside the canal, has the famous Les Halles in door Market. Wonderful fresh fish and fruit in abundance and some lovely bars and restaurants. We recommend Chez Bebelle, but get there before 12 midday in order to get a seat.
Visit the new and amazing roman museum too designed by Sir Norman Foster. A must do to fully appreciate the massive influence the Romans had on this region. If you’re looking for a memorable feast, then you must go to the Grand Buffet, but make sure to book it a few months in advance!!
Carcassone is probably the most famous City in this region. The walled Cite is the third most visited historic monument in France. A warning, it gets very busy!

Visit Gruissan, a beautiful coastal Town on the Mediterranean with its Market on a Saturday, the best boulangerie, and wonderful coastal walks at Ile Saint Martin.

A short distance from Narbonne are the villages of Bages and Peyriac du Mer. Bages is situated on a hill top with its labyrinth of passage ways that lead to a small central square with a bar and restaurant while Pyriac der Mer looks over an old salt flat where Flamingos, Cranes and other varieties of birds are often seen. Walk out on to a boardwalk over the salt flats for a short hike.

Exploring further a field, there is easy access to Albi, Toulouse, Girona, Perpignan, the Pyrenees, Montpellier, Nimes and Arles. The Spanish Costa Brava is only a day trip away!! Barcelona, 3 hours!