AT THE VILLA
At the villa itself you have the use of the pool, pool toys, hammock, badminton set, petanque pitch, a couple of yoga mats, a wide assortment of cards and board games as well as a Netflix enabled smart TV. When it gets dark at night just lying back and star gazing from the outside sofa is pure magic.
IN THE VILLAGE
Los Olivos is nestled among lush vineyards, olive groves and serene pine forests in the beautiful hilltop village of Montouliers, Occitanie.
Ideally located between the mountains and the Mediterranean, Montouliers invites you to wander its winding cobbled lanes, known as “les Calades,” leading to the majestic 12th-century château and church.
If you wander up to the top of the village just beyond the last house you'll be rewarded with views that stretch from the Black Mountains to down to the Med and beyond into Spain bordered by the Pyrenees.
If you wander down you will find La Croisette, a small grocery store at the heart of the village that also serves as a friendly coffee shop, restaurant and bar. Here you can order fresh patisseries in the morning, 3 course lunches daily, wood fired pizzas at the weekend and delicious wine and beer on tap. It's a wonderful place to watch the gentle hum of village life go by and meet a few friendly locals at the bar.
At the village's edge, you'll discover a charming Roman fountain, a local winery offering delightful wine tastings, a public pitch and court for tennis, basketball and football.
The immediate surrounding area is a haven for those who love an active escape. With forest and hillside walks / trailing running off the back of the property, horse riding from the village stables and river swimming in neighbouring Bize Minervois,
IN THE REGION
The local area is rich in history. Explore the bustling 19th Century covered market in Narbonne, the pink salt plains of Gruissan, or visit the stunning village of Minerve and the UNESCO World Heritage City of Carcassonne, both within an hour's drive.
You can also hire mountain, e-bikes or a day boat and cruise the nearby Canal Du Midi and the charming villages along it's winding path.
Watersport lovers will enjoy waterskiing, wake boarding and kite surfing near Narbonne. And if you come in winter, the ski slopes are just under 2 hours away in the Pyrenees.
With Mediterranean beaches just 30-40mins away, Los Olivos is the perfect holiday retreat for both relaxation and adventure.
OUR TOP THINGS TO SEE & DO
Here's some of our favourite things and below some articles well worth a read for further ideas and itineraries that we can't wait to try...
- CULTURE SIGHTS - Carcassonne is a must visit UNESCO medieval city (50 mins away), or if you've been before Lagrasse (50mins / market day Saturday) and Minevere (25mins), voted among the most beautiful villages in France, are well worth a visit too. Narbonne and Beziers (both 35mins) are wonderfully historic cities to explore and Montpellier (75mins) is known as the Paris of the South for good reason.
- WILD SWIMMING / PICNIC - Pack some bread, cheese, saucisson, fruit, water and wine to picnic on the banks of the river Cesse in our beautiful neighbouring village of Bize Minervois (5 min drive or 50 min hike / market day Wednesday). There are many beautiful wild swimming spots along the river, but our favourite is right in the heart of Bize where there is a life guard on duty and places to enjoy beer, bon bons and ice creams after. Further a field, but well worth the wonderful drive. you can swim and or kayak in the stunning hillside village of Roquebrun (40mins / market day Tuesday & Friday).
- BEACH & THE ETANGS / SALT LAKES - There are many beaches in easy access but our favourite is Gruissan's Plage Des Chalets (40 mins / market day Sunday) where you can enjoy the beach clubs, safe swimming, usual water sport rentals, and a wonderful seafood meal at Paparazzo, before or after climbing Gruissan's Tower for a far reaching view of over the sea, the salt lakes (the Etang) and plains. The Salt Plains (Salin de Gruissan) are themselves well worth a visit for the picturesque pink salt lake, amazing fruit de mer restaurant (Le Cambuse du Saunier), shop, museum and the terrace (La Terrace du Salin) to enjoy a glass of wine and oysters at sun down. Beautiful Peyriac-de-Mer and Bages both offer great places to eat and boardwalks that lead out over a network of lagoons - a favoured hangouts of pink flamingos.
- CANAL DU MIDI - There are many ways and spots to enjoy the Canal Du Midi - walking or hiring a bike or boat. Cycling from Capestang to Le Somail a really pretty village along the canal takes 1.5hours or your can go from neighbouring Argeliers to beautiful Homps in 1 hour. Big up cycling in Argeliers, bikes and accessories are delivered to your door. bigupcycling.com
- WINE TASTING - In Homps, along the Canal du Midi, you will find Chateau du Fauzan's wine tasting room. It is free to taste the wne which is one of favourites from the region. Our house manager can also organise a charming and very local wine tasting at Domaine Lou Colombier just next to the Villa. If you'd enjoy more opulent surrounds you can organise a wine tasting experience at sister castles - Château Capitoul (near Narbonne) or Château Les Carrasses (just 12mins away).
- LOCAL FRENCH MARKET DAY - morning markets can be enjoyed by themselves or along side any of the above activities. They are a fantastic way to absorb, taste and find something of hte local culture to take home. The world renowned food halls, "Les Halles" Narbonne and the local markets of nearby. Olonzac and Saint- Chinian are worth a special mention. We also like the laid back beach vibes of the Plage des Chalets market on a Sunday morning.
- Monday - Valras Plage
- Tuesday - Cruzy, Olonzac, Roquebrun, Carcassone,
- Wednesday - Bize Minervois, Quarante, Capestang, Lezignan-Corbieres
- Thursday - Saint-Chinian, Narbonne (Canal), Carcassone
- Friday - Cruzy, Quarante, Roquebrun, Valras Plage
- Saturday - Carcassonne, Lagrasse
- Sunday - Saint-Chinian, Capestang, Narbonne, Plage de Chalets (Gruissan) Perpignan
- RAINY DAY OPTIONS - in the the unlikely chance of rain, other than visiting cultural sights, other than wine, tasting, why not taste the fruits of the land with visit to Les Halles food halls Narbonne; taste and see how Olive oil is made at nearby Olive Oil Coop, L'Oublio; or enjoy a hand crafted beers and a good meal at Oppidum Brewery and Brasserie in Capestang.
READ ABOUT THE REGION
CN Traveller - Why Languedoc is like no where else in France
First-timers often describe the Languedoc as French Tuscany, and at times there is that feel—cypress trees dark against tawny hillsides, acres of spindly grapevines—but here it’s threaded through with the presence of the sea.
The key is to adopt the locals’ pace, avoiding the urge to pack your schedule with a historical hit list and instead making one or maybe two stops between breakfast and a long seafood lunch.
CN Traveller - The Ultimate Guide to Languedoc - This overlooked region in the South of France needs to be on your 2025 must-visit list
Their Recommendations..
Where to Eat
- Biquet Plage and Les Pilotis are two of the best beach spots in Leucate for extralong lunches of oysters, prawns, fish, summer vegetables, frites, and more rosés than you could sample in a sitting.
- Beautifully unfussy La Cambuse du Saunier, just feet from the salt flats in Gruissan, has a similar menu.
- For an alternative to seafood, Carcassonne’s La Table de Norbert does some of the region’s best steak frites. (Their bone marrow starter is also outstanding.)
- You’ll find farmers’ markets where you can assemble your own pâté-and-baguette lunch in the towns of Lagrasse, Limoux, Pézenas, Revel, and Saint-Chinian.
Places to Visit
- After a lunch in Leucate, in the tiny town of Peyriac-de-Mer, visit a modest winery called Les Clos Perdus that has a culty far-flung fan base.
- Visit beautiful Bages on the etang near Narbonne - where boardwalks lead out over a network of lagoons that are favored hangouts of pink flamingos.
- Nearby Chateaux - Château Les Carrasses rising up out of the fields of grenache noir and cabernet franc, a 19th-century wine-making mirage with gabled roofs and pointy turrets. Les Carrasses and its newly opened sister, Château St. Pierre de Serjac, and Chateau Capitol.
Traditional Eats & Drinks
- Aperitifs of cold sparkling wine mixed with a splash of Suze, Pastis, a star anise-flavored liqueur, is another popular choice, as is Kir, a cocktail of white wine and Crème de Cassis.
- A French Monaco. It's a popular beer cocktail in France, consisting of lager, lemonade, and grenadine. enjoyed chilled, especially during the summer months.
- Cassoulet, a Languedoc classic - Creamy white beans, pork belly, and peppery Toulouse sausage fill an earthenware bowl.
- L'éclade de moules is a traditional French dish of mussels cooked over a fire of pine needles. Oysters, Bulots (sea snails wiht garlic mayo) and Loup de mer, also known as Mediterranean seabass