Location

The villa is situated on the edge of the charming mediaeval wine producing village of Autignac, one of the major villages of the Faugeres wine appellation (AOC). The village centre, with shops and café etc., is just a few minutes walk. For larger shops and an excellent supermarket the town of Magalas is just a few minutes drive.

The villa overlooks numerous vineyards and the whole area is famous for its wine, with Autignac being very close to several other excellent wine appellations, including Saint Chinian and Minervois, as well as being part of Faugeres. There are numerous local wineries that are only too pleased to spend time to introduce you to their produce.

Activities

Autignac is very well situated for every kind of activity. The vast choice of sandy Mediterranean beaches are just 30 minutes drive away, including Marseillan Plage and Serignan Plage and the fashionable resorts of Sete and Cap d`Agde. The beaches range from very busy, offering water sports, beach front sea food cafes and restaurants and night life, to almost deserted. A short distance to the west lies the beautiful Orb Valley with the spectacular town of Roquebrun.

Languedoc’s diversity caters for all tastes, from mountaineering to wind surfing, from bird watching to sunbathing, from canoeing the rapids to diving. The fascinating medieval towns of Beziers (famous for its flower market on Fridays and the annual “Feria”), Pezenas (with its wonderful Saturday market) and the African Wildlife Reserve at Sigean are just a short distance away. There are numbers of mediaeval towns nearby and as it is an area that has suffered a turbulent history there are a wealth of historical sites to explore, including the magnificent Abbeys of Frontfroide and Lagrasse, the Cathar castles in Peyrepertuse and Queribus and the fortified town of Carcasonne. Inland there are many opportunities for hill walking amongst astounding scenery, the grottes of Clamouse, Deveze and Demoiselles and Lake Salagou for fresh water swimming and water sports.

Also nearby is the  picturesque Canal du Midi, featured in the TV series “Rick Stein’s French Odyssey”, which  passes by fascinating countryside and has beautiful flat walks and cycle rides along its towpaths.

Just outside the village lies the impressive ‘Chateau de Grezan’ – a superb chateau hidden by vineyards and trees which was until recently owned by the Lanson Champagne family. Here you’ll find a very fine wine cave. Also nearby are the Paul Ricard caves in Bessan and the museum and caves of Noilly Prat in the pretty harbour side village of Marseillan.

In addition to the possibilities mentioned above and of course just chilling around the pool, here are a few other local activities of which we are aware.

• Tennis. There is a tennis court in the village which we believe can be hired by visiting the Marie.
• Painting. Watercolour tuition is availble in the pretty nearby village of Pouzolles from Englishman Simon Roberts.
  Visit http://www.painting-in-france.com/
• Hill Walking. There are a number of excellent walks close to the village and many more in the hills to the north. For those interested in serious walking we would recommend the book Walking in the Languedoc by John Cross.
• Canoing. There are several canoeing centres on the river Orb and also further afield to the north on the Herault. Not far from the villa is the centre at Reals.
  Visit http://www.base-reals.com/