Grand Gite
a 2 en-suite bed rooms (plus mezzanine sleeping area) 110 square metre holiday apartment within Belvianes Maison

All around the area are castles, mountains, historic abbeys, churches, gorges, grottoes and spas. The town lies in the very heart of Cathar Country, the location of some of the most important and portentous events of medieval Europe, vestiges of which can be seen everywhere. Many of the most famous Cathar sites are only a short drive or cycle ride away. It is less than a 30 minute drive away to the hilltop village of Rennes-le-Château, the mystery village of the Languedoc, a site of continuing mysteries surrounding the discovery of vast treasures by the local priest over a century ago.
(There are bookshops in the village entirely dedicated the Cathars, local Templars and the Rennes-le-Chateau mystery.)

The surrounding countryside is stunning and varied throughout the year. To the South are the foothills of the Pyrenees, then the real Pyrenees, and the Spanish border, just over an hour's drive away. To the East are the Corbières, one of the few remaining wildernesses in Europe, where boar still roam wild, and beyond it the Mediterranean coast, including Perpignan, Collioure and a number of holiday beaches In the winter there there are a number of Skiing and snow boarding resorts between one and two hours' drive away.

Carcassonne with its magnificent medieval fortified 'citie', good shops and Saturday market. Belvianes is 60 kilometers south of the medieval walled city of Carcassonne. Ryanair flies daily from Stansted (Near London in the UK) to Carcassonne, and regularly each week from Liverpool (UK) East Midlands (UK) Dublin (Ireland), Shannon (Ireland), offering cheap flights mid week during the low season. Cars can be hired at the airport. By Road from Carcassonne, head due south down the Aude valley on the D118, through Limoux and Quillan.

Perpignan. Belvianes is 60 kilometres from Perpignan. Ryanair flies daily from Stansted (Near London in the UK) to Perpignan, offering cheap flights mid week during the low season. Cars can be hired at the airport. By Road from Perpignan, take the D117 west towards Quillan.

Rennes-le-Château has been an inexhaustible source of inspiration for two generations of authors and researchers worldwide, resulting in hundreds of books and publications, the best known probably being Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Rennes-le-Château has everything that makes a great mystery: treasure, betrayal, forgery, forbidden love, unsolved murders, rituals and a secret believed so powerful that it could shake the roots of Christianity.

Rennes les Bains is a spa town where you can swim in the thermal waters of the swimming pool or shower al fresco under the waters of the hot spring of the Bain Doux

Mirepoix: Spectacular walled town with gates and beautiful wooden arcaded square with timbered houses, well worth a visit, several eating places in central square . Remarkable church. Excellent market

Limoux: Interesting and picturesque town, Festivals and the home of Blanquette wine.

Alet les Bains: Medieval village

Chalabre: Medieval village and castle, with Montbel lake nearby

Puilaurens

The castle here had belonged to the Abbey of Saint-Michel de Cuxa before it was acquired by the King of Aragon in 1162. As Aragonese property it was outside the territory ravaged by the Crusaders during the Cathar wars. Like Queribus it therefore provided a refuge for those fleeing from the invading forces. Those who took refuge there included both Cathars and faidits, that is to say those who had forfeited their property because of their opposition to the invaders. These faidits included high nobles, such as Guillaume de Peyrepertus

To find the castle head towards Lapradelle between Belvianes and Perpignan.