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| Towards Retirement Part II |
| Lézignan-Corbières. |
| Carcassonne |
| Pouzolles |
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Our second trip to France, to find the region, town or village that would best suit us in retirement, we did by train.
It was on our return journey, while sitting in the train’s upper deck, that excellent views of the passing landscape and beautiful scenery made us aware of the vastness of France. It beckoned verdant and scenic through flat planes of vineyards, poppy fields, farmland, little villages; changing to undulating hills and forests, through tunnels and under bridges or with rugged mountain ranges in the distance.
This second trip was to re-evaluate in more depth the impressions, likes and dislikes, pros and cons of the towns and districts we had already seen and visited, and to discover others. We spent our first night in Montpellier, a busy, in places very modern university town, alive with students and tourists. The city continues to charm and fascinate. It is well laid out, clean and easy to navigate. Centre town is really only accessible on foot, by tram or bus. Its modern structures blend in well with the typically French architecture of yester-year; the main boulevards and the small side streets are full of lovely boutiques and clothing shops.
Montpellier has been a university town since the 13th century when teachers of medicine formed a Universitas Medicorum, attracting students from all over Europe. It was supplemented in 1250 by a Stadium of law, both of which were given a seal of approval in 1289 by the Pope Nicholas IV. Its central and main square, Place de la Comédie hosts cafés, restaurants and bistros, which can also be found in the smaller squares situated around the city. The “terrace” culture continues to thrive in the French way of life!
After a good night’s rest we picked up our rental car and drove off to Clermont l’Herault. Like a lot of small French towns, Clermont l’Herault offers a central ‘place’ with café terraces, and along its main street are well-stocked clothing shops, pharmacies, boutiques, a few boulangers (bakers) and pattisiers, and of course the bouchers (butchers). We decided to visit an estate agent who informed us that since the markets have become more volatile, house prices in France have fallen since the beginning of the year, and in her opinion are expected to stabilize at the present level for the next year or two. 
Housing is surprisingly affordable in this region, for example a reasonably sized plot of land surrounding a house of 2 – 3 – 4 bedrooms can have a starting price of Euro 250,000. Clermont l’Herault’s larger supermarkets (Géant, Auchan), DIY and other big stores are situated on its outskirts. The estate agent mentioned, however, that with Montpellier ever expanding, Clermont l’Herault was fast attracting those who do not wish to live in a busy city. It provides an easy commute; cp Pézenas to the south (of which more later).
An underlying factor of our trip was also the region’s climate, an aspect we are taking into account more seriously with a view to our increasing age, ie since we are not getting younger, would we find summer temperatures of 26°C + too warm, unbearable even? Indeed, we are seeking more sunshine and definitely a more temperate climate in winter (preferably not penetratingly damp and grey), but how hot is too hot in summer?
Thus we were determined to trek more inland and discover the possibilities this held.
We drove up into the hills to visit Lodève. It was “in the clouds”, which the sun that day had not succeeded in dissipating. The town itself we found limited (ie butcher, baker – no “candlestick maker” – as the rhyme goes) and singularly uninviting. We continued on to Bédarieux. As with our first trip, and despite a very hospitable restaurant staff who served us an excellent salad lunch, we found it void of atmosphere.
Thus we turned towards the Mediterranean and on to Narbonne, where we stopped in the same Ibis hotel as two years ago. Different staff, but always predictable: clean, and friendly, competent service. Narbonne hails as a symbol for the eclipse of the Midi and its culture. Languedoc’s capital and metropolis since Roman times, its own particular symbol is the majestic, unfinished cathedral, Cathédral St. Just. Although its economy is mainly fuelled by wine – from nearby Corbières and other vineyards – the city has slowly become an industrial center and its outskirts have developed accordingly.
Cathédral St. Just was first a basilica from the reign of Emperor Constantine. It then had a Carolingian rebuilding in AD 890. The present church was begun in 1272, its cornerstone sent by Pope Clement IV, a former Archbishop of Narbonne. To extend the new cathedral to its planned length, however, it would have been necessary to rebuild a section of the city wall and in 1340 a lawsuit over this broke out between the city and the Church, which put an end to construction forever. Nevertheless, this one-third of a cathedral is by any measure the finest in the Midi.
In contrast to our first visit we found Narbonne to have lost some of its vitality. Since both our visits were in the month of May we did not think it was due to the time of year, although it could be put down to a later budding of the usual warm climate – or was it more due to our own awareness of the present-day lacklustre economy? Needless to say its renowned covered market, the splendour of its Palais des Archevêques, and the charming, albeit expensive boutiques just off the canal that runs through the city, remain the same.
Next on our itinerary was Lézignan-Corbières. Our initial impression of a very busy and friendly town was not altered. It has all the mod-cons, centrally or on the outskirts of town. The main thoroughfare is well frequented. It is at easy distance from Narbonne, but, in our opinion, it is just too much of a thoroughfare. We subsequently headed north west into the country, coming upon La Redorte on the Canal du Midi - a very nice village with all appropriate and useful shops, situated in beautiful countryside. We continued through Rieux-Minervois, which merges into Peyriac-Minervois. A lot of the housing is new-build and very close together, with small gardens or none at all (one of the criteria in our search being a reasonable-sized garden!). These villages are situated with a spectacular backdrop of the foothills of the Montagne Noire.
Heading towards Carcassonne, our route wound through the villages of Villegly and Villalier. Especially Villalier came across as a commuter town (baker – butcher only; other victuals are supposedly brought along from Carcassonne). We side-tracked to Malves-en-Minervois and drove through Trèbes, also situated on the Canal du Midi. Built somewhat into the hills, Trèbes is a lovely town, with adequate shops and amenities and picturesque surroundings, but perhaps too near to Carcassonne for our liking.
We decided to by-pass Carcassonne, heading to Limoux for lunch. In the two years since our first visit Limoux, it gave us the impression of having been put on the map: the presence of more tourists; signs at ‘l’Immobiliers’ were bi-lingual (French-English). That day the town’s streets had been closed off for a local flea market, and a few of the stands were owned by English couples selling their books and other bric-à-bracs.
Our day not yet at an end, we drove on to Castelnaudary, which also lies along the Canal du Midi. The town contains a large mooring basin for boaters to stop off, replenish their stocks or have a break from boating and the canal. It is a good-size town with a large variety of shops, again bi-lingual real-estate agents (French-English) and good housing availability in the area at both reasonable and expensive-end prices. It is a friendly town and despite a more austere center and lacking the typical square and church, will attract a good array of future inhabitants looking for either a second home abroad or a retirement home.
We now progressed to Carcassonne for the night, dining in the Bistro Florian on Place Carnot. Carcassonne’s center, also know as La Ville Basse, or Lower City with its renowned grid-layout of streets is impressively historic and atmospheric. Along with the other part of Carcassonne, La Cite, the city attracts a lot of tourism.
Naturally we visited la Cité again enjoying its obvious historic past combined with its ever-present lure to tourism. Afterwards we took the autoroute heading towards the west, exiting at Bram. We ambled alongside the Canal du Midi at times, passing two vast fields of red poppies – breath-taking! – and another look at Castelnaudary. The countryside in this region really is lovely. After a morning coffee in Castelnaudary, we headed north to Revel. Revel stands out in a class of its own: Its octagonal shape and original grid street pattern is nearly unique in France as a perfect example of a bastide (a fortified town constructed in the south-west of France during the 100 Years' War, much like La Ville Basse of Carcassonne). At the heart of the town the market square is bordered by medieval houses with galleries under the first floors. In the centre of the square a large tiled roof, supported by a forest of ancient oak pillars and beams, is topped by a belfry, once a watchtower. It is well known in the region for an excellent Saturday market.
The next town, Soual, towards Castres, is as attractive as Revel with good but less expensive housing. Beautiful, undulating countryside, somewhat reminiscent of Devonshire, lies along the route between the two towns, with small hills in the distance. We side-tracked into Saïx, on the outskirts of Castres; a town that looked deceptively smaller than it is and which illicited an uninspiring first impression. However, surrounded by hills it offers great potential, taking into account its closeness to beautiful Castres (7 kms). Castres deserves a visit, above all for the houses along the Agout river – a very pretty stretch of houses that overhang the river and many of which were once home to the leather tanneries, the ‘peyrats’ (weavers) and the cloth-dying industries. It has been a center for the woollen trade since the 14th century, continuing the tradition today, being the leading center in France for carded wool and after Roubaix-Tourcoing the second most prominent center for the woollen industry.
The town also has narrow streets to explore, with a general buzz of activity. It is a laid-back, self-confident town that was home to Jean Jaurès, the founder of Socialism. There are many references to this political genius throughout the town. Its worthy museums include the Musée Goya (housing its well-known print ‘Los Caprichos’) and another place of interest is the immaculately laid-out gardens (of box and yew hedges) at the Bishop’s Palace.
Heading out of Castres one is spoiled for choice between the Sidobre region, the Lacaune mountains and the Montagne Noire. We ventured towards the Montagne Noire through Ausillon and Mazamet, both highly industrial towns nestled against the Montagne Noire, past a ‘Base de Loisirs’ on the D118, literally descending towards Carcassonne. In the process one crosses from the department of the Tarn into the Aude. Cuxac-Cabardes is situated along the route, a very French town on the edge of the coastal plane north of Carcassonne, with a lot of new housing development and village life at the foot of the mountain range. Worth exploring, along with other hamlets such as Villardonnel – the vineyards of Cabardis bordering onto the man throughfare – and into Villegailhenc or Villemoustaussou. As we gradually approached Carcassonne we came upon one of the flights of locks on the Canal du Midi, and stopped off to watch boats being locked through: one up and three down.
We returned to Carcassone on a quiet Sunday evening with only one café terrace still open on one of the main squares in La Bastide St-Louis (ie La Ville Basse, or Lower City). La Cité was more populated and we had a lovely meal at the Auberge de Plo. The following day we took another look at Trèbes and its attractive location on the Canal du Midi, considering its useful proximity to Carcassonne. Thereafter we revisited Olonzac and concluded the same as on our first trip: too much new-build, built too near each other, and small gardens. Houses on the town’s outskirts were the exception.
Villadagne is better and nicer with larger, modern homes and larger gardens. The surrounding hills drop down into Narbonne.
At this juncture of our trip we were beginning to feel a bit bum-weary of the car and gave ourselves the day off to spend once again on Narbonne Plage, a bright, modern and fairly characterless seaside resort with full complement of seaside amusements. To our huge disappointment the weather did not cooperate and, although the skies were blue and it was bright and sunny, a very cool north westerly wind blew the sand across the beach. Nevertheless, we braved the winds by installing ourselves against the beach wall and thus managed to slightly tan our sallow, winter skins.
Relaxed by the change of itinerary we headed off in the car once more for another look at Clermont l’Herault. We availed ourselves of the autoroute to fast track north of Béziers and drove through the villages of Boujon sur Libron, Espondeilhan, and Pouzolles.
Pouzolles is worth a visit – due to its testimony of Roman occupation. As of the 11th century Pouzolles is mentioned in a number of charters and would mean “oil well”, probably because of the presence of sources of oil in the area. A chateau dominates the village with its two turrets and by a church built at the site of the ramparts. One of the vestiges, the gate St Martin, is still visible. Vineyards and wine growing are now the town’s main activity. The wine growers reorganised the vineyards and through the contribution of new types of vines/grapes the cooperative Cellar, “Les Vignerons de Pouzolles-Margon, produces local wines of excellent quality (“Pays des Côtes de Thongue").
Pouzolles was followed by Roujon, Neffiès (half new-build, half older homes) but neither with a real heart to its villages; and subsequently Cabrières, which is very attractively positioned at the foot of the Massif.
We thus approached Clermont l’Herault from a more northern angle, coming into its suburbs first, which gave us a much better impression of how indeed this town was becoming a commuter town to Montpellier. The outlying housing estates, all newly built, once again with limited garden space, and very much one on top of the other, did not inspire us to consider the area. Canet on the outskirts of Clermont l’Herault, however, proved a complete contrast and the surrounding country roads are easily navigable. The same holds for Ceyras and St André-de-Sangonis, although we fear that in the future the space between Clermont l’H. and Pézenas will become increasingly built up.
One cannot but help fall in love with Pézenas! A very busy, quintessentially French town, full of curio and antique shops along myriad narrow streets, friendly towns folk, an attractive town centre and lots of ‘cafe-terrasses’. A veritable tourist attraction, yet not intrusively so. We were told Pézenas attracts quite a number of expats from different corners of Europe and its moderate winter climate is certainly one of the reasons for this, as well as its proximity to Montpellier (cp Clermont l’Herault). We enjoyed our visit immensely.
In order to scout the area better and have another respite from the car we opted to stay two nights in Béziers. Thus we headed for Serignan Plage, which represents a fairly tacky collection of snack-huts on the road leading to the beach. The beach is a long arcing bay of unspoilt, magnificent sand dunes providing an ideal resort for swimming and sun-bathing. But for the time of year it was quite desolate and we decided to go to Valras Plage instead. Valras Plage resembles Narbonne Plage a lot, although more ‘green’ in that it has shut off its beach showers due to water wastage when too many children use them to play games under. The weather continued cool and windy but we enjoyed our time basking in the sun. However, in the afternoon we returned to our hotel and made use of the pool there.
Sadly, our holiday was coming to its end. We treated ourselves to the best meal yet at La Potinière in Béziers (rue Alfred de Musset) and the following day meandered along the coast, admiring the beauty of Sete along the way, to return our rental car in Montpellier and make our journey back by train to the UK.
This trip has whetted a deeper interest in the area around Castres as well as west of Castres, towards Toulouse, for a next exploratory trip towards finding the right town and house for our retirement.
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Photo Credits : Ineke van Mackelenbergh
