The sun baked Minervois region is bursting with history and spans Herault and Aude. It's filled with ancient Cathar villages and vineyards under wide, open skies.
The village of Olonzac is the capital of the Minervois and is lively and energetic all year round, and on Tuesdays hosts one of the best weekly markets in the area. The village has everything you'd ever need: cafés, bars, restaurants, grocery stores, bakers, wineries, butchers, doctors, a pharmacy, a hairdressers and more.
Only two miles away, the Canal du Midi runs through the village of Homps, where you can stroll along the banks in the shade of the trees or take a boat trip/hire a boat and relax on the water as you watch the world go by! The village of Minerve is only 20 mins away and has been selected as one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France! Near the village the river disappears underground in a large, naturally-carved tunnel which can be explored by the more adventurous in your group.
Within the village there is a large artistic community and many of their workshops are open to the public. The Canal du Midi is an UNESCO World Heritage Site - this 360 km network of navigable waterways links the Mediterranean and the Atlantic through 328 locks, aqueducts, bridges and tunnels and is one of the most remarkable feats of civil engineering in modern times. Built between 1667 and 1694, it helped pave the way for the Industrial Revolution.
Lac de Jouarres lake is only 2km - it's worth a visit for the scenery alone, but you'll also find opportunities for boating and wind surfing on its shores. During the summer season, the lake has lifeguards and there is a restaurant/snack bar and sun-loungers for public use. You can walk the perimeter of the lake in just over an hour, and the swimming area has been prepared using pebbles and geotextiles to prevent weed growth. The sailing areas are away from the bathing area, so there's no need to worry about the two activities overlapping! In the summer season, a range of surf board courses is on offer in the sailing area.
Further afield, there's plenty to see and do thanks to range of opportunities for day trips. Narbonne and Valras beach in Beziers are only 35 minutes away. During the summer there is a childrens adventure park and fairground rides just by the harbour in Valras Plage as well as lots of restaurants, boutiques and ice-cream stalls. Narbonne Plage carries the European Blue Flag and has 5km of fine sand with plenty of sporting activities such as sailing, beach volleyball, jet-skiing, sand yachting, catamaran or sea kayak. There is also lots of entertainment in the summer such as evening markets, open-air shows and traditional festivals.
Try a day in Montpellier, Carcassonne, Nîmes or Toulouse or explore the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean coast to discover ancient castles and picturesque villages that have been untouched by time. Walking and cycling are very popular in the Montagne Noire thanks to the rich diversity of wildlife and scenery. And if you really want to travel, the Spanish border is only an hour and a half away!
The Region
Languedoc-Roussillon is one of those areas of France where you can feel like you’re totally cut off from the rest of the country. Commercial tourism has been very slow to capitalise on the region, meaning you can still enjoy a slice of authentic French rural life at its finest. A mixture of landscapes also makes it a great place to visit, with a good stretch of coastline offering a totally different experience to more bucolic interiors. Whatever you’re looking for, our range of villas and chateaux in Languedoc means you can get exactly the kind of holiday you want with accommodation that’s perfectly tailored to you, your friends and your family.
