L'Appartement de la Riviere
L'Appartement de la Riviere (Riverside Apartment) is a completely independent self contained flat on the ground floor of the owner's house. As the name suggests, it looks out over La Courbiere river, one of the best trout streams in the Ariege and a haven for wildlife. A three tiered private terrace allows you to experience the beautiful river setting. L'Appartement de la Riviere is situated a few minutes from the town of Tarascon-sur-ariege, which nestles in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the south west of France. The departement of Ariege, one of the smallest in France and some say the least discovered, is an hour and a half from the Mediterranean, 45 minutes to Andorra, an hour from Toulouse and Carcassone airports and an hour from Spain.
This location provides stunning landscapes with lush vegetation with warm sunny summers and winters that provide some of the finest skiing and winter activities in France.
The apartment is a fully renovated one bedroom apartment sleeping three with a bed settee in the lounge area. Extending to 56m, the apartment consists of an open plan lounge, dining area and kitchen, a large bedroom with seating area and a shower room. The kitchen has extensive storage, a fridge, a four ring electric hob, oven and microwave. The lounge dining area has a table and four chairs, a bed settee and other seating and is complete with a TV, stereo and DVD player with a selection of discs. Off the lounge there is a large storage cupboard.
The bathroom has a shower, sink, WC and washing machine.
The bedroom has beautiful views of La Courbiere river from the patio doors, which open onto the terrace. The bedroom has a king size bed, seating area and a large walk in wardrobe. The secluded terrace has a bench and table and chairs providing the perfect setting for eating and relaxing outside. A BBQ is provided.
Montsegur Castle
Activities
L'Appartement de la Riviere is the perfect location to enjoy the variety of activities available in the area. These range from hill walking, cycling, thermal springs and history through to many winter sports. Ariege has a host of opportunities for the active minded including canoeing, water skiing and hiking (www.ariegerandonee.com). You can even hire a donkey or llama to carry your bags.
Given the beautiful landscape with its mountains and lakes you are surrounded by nature and wildlife. While walking you can experience the Pyrenean wild flowers and butterflies as well as catch sight of marmots and vultures. There is a wolf reserve near Ax-les-thermes
(www.maisondesloups.com) and an eagle display centre at Lordat as well as many pony trekking and fishing opportunities.
This part of the Ariege often hosts Tour de France stages with many summits or cols nearby to challenge you. For those cyclists keen on lesser gradients there are many lovely valleys to explore with mountain and road bike hire readily available. (www.locacyclesmassat.com L'Appartement de la Riviere provides secure storage for bikes as well as equipment for simple repairs and maintenance.
In winter the Ariege transforms itself into a snowy playground. A range of activities exist on your doorstep from the extensive Ax -Les- 3 Domaines downhill ski centre to several other smaller resorts and Plateau de Beille the biggest cross country ski station in France. You can even attend dog sledging school (www.angaka.free.fr), go snow shoeing or spend a night in your own igloo.
To ease your aching limbs you can pamper yourself in one of the thermal spring stations in the area. The same geology that has provided the hot springs has left a legacy of grottes and caves to visit. Fontesforbes has an intermittent river every 20 minutes. Many caves are open to the public including Lombrives the largest in Europe ( www.cathares.org/lombrives.html).
Labouiche contains an underground river with boat trips and Niaux has the renowned prehistoric cave paintings ( www.sesta.fr).
If you prefer your history a little more recent this strategically important locality has left a legacy of many castles and fortified settlements. Many of the castles are linked to the Cathar religion including Montsegur ( www.montsegur.fr) and Roquefixade.
To complement the many historical sites in the area there are numerous museums to visit including Les Forges De Pyrene which examines 450 years of Pyrenean life.
No visit to the Ariege would be complete without sampling the wonderful local cuisine and visiting the local markets to sample the local cheeses, sausages and honey.
Ariege likes to party and has many fetes and festivals throughout the year such as the Foix Jazz Festival and the Latin America Festival at Tarascon each July.
If you would like to book L'Appartement de la Riviere or if you have any queries please contact Donna Stewart on 0033 561 65 19 21 (outside France) or 05 61 65 19 21 (within France)
or e-mail donna.stewart@wanadoo.fr English and French spoken.