Occitanie Holiday Cottages

Occitanie is in the south of France and so is very warm. It has the Pyreness to the south with their 2500m high peaks and is underpopulated with a number of beautiful old cities which include Toulouse, Carcassonne, Castres, Revel and others. It has hills and flat plains with a dry Mediterranean part on the east side and an Atlantic influence on the west. There are maquis, and forests, and rugged mountains, fields of golden wheat and mile after mile of sunflowers. It has a varied history with castles galore, mostly stemming from the Cathar era, the troublesome time when a rival group with a different interpretation of Christianity challenged the Avignon based Pope, and were slaughtered.
You should try the delightful Relais de Mirepoix where you can eat in style or make a sortie to the Abbaye at Camon to dine in a sublime setting and to Gayda, a magnificent vineyard with a first class restaurant. Or alternatively just drop into one of the simple restaurants in Mirepoix for a good meal and lots of atmosphere.

Cycling is very popular as the roads are very good with some challenging hills or try the off-road mountain biking.. There are local adventure parks which rarely have queues. The more daring could sign up for a parachuting course at Les Pujols or try go-karting on an international circuit. Other activities include kayaking, rafting, sailing, fishing and tennis. In summer there are concerts galore.
There are vineyards, dozens of them, mostly owner run and producing some wonderful wines. You are welcomed and treated as a guest and are encouraged to taste their wines. Historically wines from the Languedoc were coarse and strong, used for bulking up the thinner Bordeaux wines. Now they are producing some minor miracles, at a fraction of the price of some expensive Claret and Burgundy wines. Corbiere and Boutenac, a sub-division of Corbieres, will prove a nice surprise.