Maison Laurent is located in the historical, hillside village of Pieusse.  Pieusse has a restaurant, weekly fruit/veg stall, jazz club, daily boulangerie deliveries and playground/sports ground. It is noted for connections to Catharism, writer Joseph Delteil, visitors such as the jazz singer Josephine Baker, and the notable French-Irish Archbishop Dillon. As its privately owned, it doesn't appear on tourist literature- but Pieusse has its own chateau which is the most representative Cathar castle still standing anywhere. The village has a walking tradition. The Oratory marks a historical part of the way to the Santiago Compestela; tourists and local walkers visit, enroute from places such as St. Hilaire and Limoux; and vineyard walks are popular, the most notable taking place in October.  Maison Laurent can suggest walking options during bookings and it may be possible to join a local village walk.  There are two historical churches in the area - Pieusse village church with its impressive organ (a Cavaillé-Coll from 1866) and where important restoration works were carried over the last 20 years.  The Basilica of Notre Dame de Marceille is an impressive gothic building outside of Pieusse, on the way to Limoux.

 

The Aude river-side market town of Limoux is only 2.5km downhill.  It offers restaurants, shops, art classes, music festivals, markets and museums. Train access to Carcassonne is only €1 from Limoux.  Even nearer to Maison Laurent is a small shopping centre and a new hypermarket LeClerc with fabulous French foods and even a respectable international section.  

 

Maison Laurent is within striking distance of towns and villages such as Castelnaudry (famous for its Cassoulet), Lagrasse, Rennes-le-Chateau (made famous by the Da Vinci Code), Perpignan, Narbonne and the stunning beaches of the Mediterranean.  Maison Laurent also provides the perfect base for exploring the beautiful, unspoilt region of the Occitanie, its vineyards, Cathar Castles and the Canal du Midi.  The fortified city of Carcassonne cannot be missed - in 2018 celebrating its 20th year as a UNESCO world heritage site. Carcassonne offers many cultural events and concerts throughout the year and attracts sporting events such as the Tour de France in 2018.

Even in winter, Carcassonne is busy with its Christmas Market and Festival and the nearest ski-slope  from Maison Laurent is only 45 mins away.  The world’s longest running Carnival takes place in Limoux from January.

 

Getting Here, Getting Around

Maison Laurent is just 25 minutes’ drive from Carcassonne and its airport. Ryanair flies here from Cork, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London Stansted, Manchester, East Midlands, Brussels Charleroi and Porto; with many onward connecting flights. Other accessible airports include Perpignan, Beziers, Montpellier.

 

Toulouse is 1hr 20 minutes away, with a larger International Airport servicing even more destinations. There are also TGV train links to Narbonne and Barcelona with local connections to Carcassonne and Limoux.

 

Driving here is easy with motorway access to Carcassonne so it helps to have a car to get around.  The nearest car hire is best at Carcassonne airport, airlines or through rentalcars.com.