ahotpoet

I am considering reserving a small house in this town for a week in mid September to explore Carcassonne, Toulouse, Med coast etc. Can anyone comment on this as to it being an interesting enough place and easy to get around from. I wanted to bike ride on the Canal du Midi and some other areas and I will rent a car and check out some of the local markets. Is anyone familiar with this place enough to have an opinion?
Also if any of you will be in the area from Sep 10-17 and wants to meet up for some sightseeing, just say so.
I'm thanking you in advance.

ahotpoet

gee this question never seems to get a response. Has anyone EVER been there?

GregY2

Maybe your title is too specific. I suspect not many people will know this village - I had not heard of it - although they may well know something of the surrounding region. We hve a house further south, near Perpignan, and often use Toulouse airport so we have driven through the general area but I really can't comment on that village.

AnselmAdorne

I found the village on my map.

While I haven't been to that village (we stayed in Agde and near Castelnaudary when we were in that region), you would be very close to Carcassone, Minerve, Narbonne (and the Abbaye de Fontroide), and Béziers. You could also make day-trips to the fortress ruins of Peyrepertuse, Quéribus, and Puilaurens. The Canal is delightful--leafy and tranquil, with lots of walking and bicycle paths. If you like the house, it's likely a good bet.

You've probably already looked into the history of the area. It's quite fascinating: prior to the Albigensian Crusade, the area was politically fractured, fiercely independent, and very tolerant of religious differences. The 13th century crusade, which was rooted in crushing the Cathars, ultimately became a political war between France and the independently-minded people of Languedoc. Stephen O'Shea's <i>The Perfect Heresy</i> and Jonathan Sumption's <i>The Albigensian Crusade</i> are both great sources.

One other interesting note: there are some very distinctive wines in Languedoc. Corbi&egrave;res, Minervois, and Faug&egrave;res are three that we particulalry enjoyed.

Have a good trip.

Anselm

GaryCA

I've stayed in this village, but I'm not sure now much I can help. It was an attractive, peaceful village convenient as a base for Carcassonne, Minerve, and the local wineries. There was a hotel with an excellent restaurant, the Hotel d'Alibert. The abbey church is very nice.

ahotpoet

Thank you all so much for this input. Good restaurant, quiet, wine, sounds good to me!

macca

I am assuming that you will have returned by now. We are considering a trip to the same area next year around the same time and would be interested in any comments about the town / house / suroounding area

GregY2

Macca, you might like to have a look at our (incomplete) website. We have a village house between Perpignan &amp; the coast. While not in the eact area, it is close enough to allow some exploration - ie Carcasonne in a liitel more than an hours drive - but is also close to some very interesting scenery, history etc. The rather catchy address is http://www.users.tpg.com.au/adsl8fbu/claira.html

AnselmAdorne

GregY2, having looked at a lot of sites for rental properties over the years, yours is certainly one of the most informative I have ever seen. Many places offer only two or three interior photos, and the exterior shots rarely tell you what is on either side of the building. Your site has great interior photos that let the viewer understand what the whole house looks like. (My wife and I always look for photos of the kitchen, wondering if we can cook there, and photos of the sitting area, to make sure there is a couch.)

I also like that you have a photo of the square, so one can see how the house fits in with the rest of the neighbourhood.

Now about that web address ... catchy indeed, LOL.

Anselm

GregY2

Thanks Anselm, I made the website myself and wanted to provide as much information as possible. The house is actually owned by a syndicate of several families, principally for our own use, so we have set it up to our own standards rather than just as a rental property. For that reason we like to show it off and we believe that more information makes it more likely that someone else will like it. We agree that many places don't provide enough information and there is always the worry that something is being hidden - that has happened to us before with hotels. I am actually in the course of refreshing the site, I will soon be adding some comments from our guest book, putting in a better quality map, and more information about things to do in the area.

macca

I agree with AnselmAdorne that GregY2's website is well presented and gives a great perspective. Well done. There should be more like it!
Browsing the pages has also given me some different options to think about. there certainly seems to be much to do around Claira. What are driving times like to the various main towns you have mentioned in your page?
It is always so hard to begin the planning of a holiday. Ours will probably be for between six and nine weeks next year. We spent three weeks in France in 1997 and definitely want to return - this time to spend in an area

GregY2

Thanks to you also Macca, for your comments on our site. We find Claira to be in a great location as it offers access to the areas you initially asked about but also to the scenic and histroic interior, the Mediterranean coast, and even Spain. Some of our owners have done day trips to Barcelona &amp; Andorra from the house. Most of the places that I refer to on the website would be within an hours drive from the house, some quite a bit less. A good site to refer to is http://www.viamichelin.fr - key in start and finish towns and it will calculate the probable transit time, fuel cost, tolls (if it involves the autoroute), as well as detailed directions. We are just back from a few days at Claira and discovered some great walks in the foothills of the Pyrenees and that added a new dimension for us as well. I will add soem of these details when I get the new site up. You may also like to try http://www.users.tpg.com.au/adsl8fbu - that will take you to the site for our other house, in Provence. We find that people often enjoy spreading their time across 2 places -they are about 3-4 hours apart by autoroute. If you would like more specific information let me know here and I can give you my email address. Greg