Mirepoix The guesthouse is a 15 minute drive from Mirepoix, a gorgeous 12th century market town (Mirepoix La Medievale as it is known). A perfectly preserved Gothic Cathedral in the town centre, bordered on one side by oak arcades surrounding a square. Despite its age Mirepoix is a very busy bustling little town.

All year round the Mirepoix area offers a wide range of events:

• Mondays weekly market
• Throughout the year there are concerts and ballets
• A jazz festival in the spring
• Whit weekend, a puppet festival of international standard and a fabulous historical costumes parade twice in the summer.

Mirepoix has several good quality restaurants for all budgets, and a multitude of cafes.

Carcassonne A one-hour drive away is Carcassonne Citadel is a 13th century city and visual fairy tale with round towers, tiled roofs and a wall that guards part of the city. Where Walt Disney is said to have gotten its inspiration for the castle in the film Sleeping Beauty.

The Canal du Midi Passing through Carcassonne while wending its way in from Toulouse it travels eastwards towards Narbonne. Along the tree-lined route of this canal there are endless opportunities for walkers, cyclists, and of course, boat owners.

Pyrenees
These foothills of the Pyrenees are a series of rolling hills, made up of

• Villages
• Sunflower fields
• Deciduous woodland
• Fields of sweet corn
• And vineyards