AMB Cote d'Azur

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.