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Self catering cottage (gîte) for holiday letting
St-Ferriol, Aude, Languedoc, South of France - Testimonial

Testimonials

Extracts from our Visitors' Book:

The Pyrenees remain a profound part of my life. It makes me very happy that such a delightful couple have made it a dream to restore and make available this lovely gîte ...The area abounds with unforgettable scenery and walks and picnics. Do explore the small villages & local cafes and do cross over the mountain to Belcaire & its villages. This is a place of beauty and mystery. Thanks ever so much.

PS. Breath everything in. You won't find it elsewhere!

Marilyn - California - May 2007

We have really enjoyed our stay at Sophie's gîte in St Ferriol. So much history ... Visited many of the castles and villages mentioned in previous pages and found them charming. The castle at Villerouge was most well restored and easy access. The narrow winding road to Château Termes was the most "heart stopping". Our favourite place for lunch - Auberge du Faby in Rouvenac.

Wine, baguettes and cheese for dinner at home! All in all an unforgettable holiday!

Elissa & john, Marjory & Brock - Vancouver, Canada - April / May 2007

We have had a lovely stay at Sophie's gîte in St-Ferriol. Three and a half days was not long enough to fully explore this interesting out-of-the-way area but we did our best.

Day One - Château de Queribus

Day Two - Drove to Axat and on through the Gorge de Galamus. Lunch in Rouffiac de Corbiéres at the lovely little Auberge de Peyrepetuse at the foot of the fortress. Hiked up to the Château de Peyrepertuse - not to be missed! Drove back via Bugerach, Rennes-les-Bains and Couiza.

Day Three - Carcassonne

Day Four - Morning walk to Granès. Rennes-le-Château. Roman aqueduct south of St Paul de Fenouillet in Ansignan. Picnic supper at a beautiful spot just east of and below the Col St. Louis on a back road between Quillan and the D117 (going SE)

Thank you!

Alison and Dick - Massachusetts, USA - April 2007

A really lovely week spent in this very tasteful gite! Apart from the obvious "must see" trips to Carcassonne & Mirepoix we visited gorgeous Collioure, just under two hours' drive from here on the Côte Vermeille. Also had one day of mountain sightseeing - taking the road from Quillan to Ax-les-Thermes, picnicking at Col de Chioula before briefly stopping at Ax-les-Thermes and driving back along the spectacular (if nerve-racking) D256 + D107! (Yellow road?!! Mmm).

Another lovely day was simply spent visiting the villages in the local area - Rennes-le-Château, Arques, Rennes-les-Bains, Château de Peyrepertuse etc.

Not one lost day, all successful, just fantastic!

Really jolly lady in the pizzeria approaching Quillan, but make sure you're hungry" Very Good food.

Glad we found you!

Andy, Jacqui & Gwen - UK - April 2007

The sky was blue and the sun shone
The air was warm and fresh and cleared our minds
The beds were comfy providing great rest ...

Meg & Peter - Australia/NZ - October 2006

We loved your gite.It was comfortable and beautiful - very beautiful - incredible design.

Bob & Andrew - LA, USA - October 2006

Thank you for giving us the chance to stay at the Maison de l'Église – it was a wonderful pied-à-terre for our week in the area… For your future guests, here are our recommendations:

Gorges de Galamus: incredible drive. If you have the time, take an extra hour & walk to the ermitage carved out of the gorge

Rennes-le-Chateau: For you Da Vinci Code fans, a must see, but still interesting for those who missed out

Châteaux Peyreperteuse & Queribus: bring good footwear as the very old stones are very slippery. Beautiful vistas of the valleys

Carcassonne the château tour in the old "cité" is worth it

Mirepoix: Quaint medieval town with well priced shops

Caves de Niaux. Make a reservation. It is one of the last caves open in France & Spain

Cucugnan. Lovely little town which can easily be missed

The Hotel Moderne et Pigeon in Limoux. Excellent gourmet food with outstanding service

The poissonerie in Quillan Very fresh. The fishmonger will recommend local fish.

We enjoyed our stay, hope to see you again

Ken & Muriel, Diane & Granger – Canada – August-September 2006

…we enjoyed our stay in St Ferriol. Highlights included

Meals at La Chaumiere [a restaurant in Quillan]

Alet-les-Bains

Chateau de Peyreperteuse

Rennes-les-Bains

L'Auberge at Rouvenac

Cliff, Martin & John - August 2006

We had an absolutely fabulous time and we want to live in this area now! We loved Camon, we had a great time kayaking. The views are simply amazing. Lovely comfortable pretty gite. Sophie's herbs and blackberries are delicious – try them

Nicky & Teri - England - August 2006

Had a lovely stay – Lovely landscape, eccentric chateau … summer time is tops here. May have time after the vide grenier today to go to the outdoor swimming baths at the foothills of Axat. Must come over for a longer stay: this time was too short to see all this great area.

Andie, Cathy and Sadie - England - August 2006

Great week. Great House. Great region. Many thanks for everything. Wine, Flowers and even writing paper all unexpected luxuries.

Jake & Jasmine - Australia - July 2006

It was such a privilege to stay in La Maison d’Eglise – the house is delightful, comfortable and beautifully finished. I had such a productive two weeks working [painting] in the landscapes…

Wendy Winfield - July 2006

We've enjoyed a wonderful week of mountain villages + walk, sybaritic living and thermal pools. The perfect rest-cure!

Rennes-le Château: most spectacular views in this pretty mountaintop village

Alet-les-Bains: Medieval town beside the river - wonderful hotel gardens to mellow out in, a trip back in time.

St-Ferriol: delightful mountain walks on good tracks. Sophie kindly lent us her girls [three dogs] for a perfect outing to the ruins of an older chateau - a round trip.

Esperaza: Excellent patisserie ... great fun at the hat factory ... Fernando of the main square serves`excellent food & wine and is a most charming host

Lapradelle-Puilaurens: amazing chateau perched on a hilltop. Worth seeing.

Gorges de St-George...Thrilling

Axat: like a Swiss village. Lovely river garden.

Thank you for the warm welcome and kindness…

Helena and Lorcan - County Meath, Ireland - July 2006

Unexpected luxury! Such a fantastic house. And what an amazing area! So much to do, so much to see. Thank you so much for the best holiday of our lives!

Penny and John - UK - 2006

We have had a wonderful week relaxing, discovering,, shopping and cooking in this great southern part of the province. ... We record the following points that may be of assistance to future guests:

Esperaza: Sunday market - particularly if the "Oompah" band is playing - they were fantastic! ...market had lovely dips & jambon

Miropoix: Monday market spoils the town. Go another day to enjoy this Tudor town.

Carcassonne: The old walled city is definitely worth a visit ...

Caman: We all enjoye walking around this walled town - it's very picturesque.

Rennes-les-Bains. Took the thermal baths ...

Rennes-le Chateau: amazing hill top town. If you into the Da Vinci Code or conspiracy theories this may be the town for you. Appears`to have a very good book shop on religions and esoteric subjects.

Lagrasse: A really cute town... The town square was delightful as were the abbey and the fish in the river.

We enjoyed the walks around Saint Ferriol and the generosity of our neighbours – Mme XXX gave us a huge bunch of parsley and XXX showed us around his farm. The cow bell tinkling had intrigued us from day one !

Hayden and Jane and Simon and Ngaire - New Zealand - 2006

Contact

Contact Sophie McDonald about renting the cottage.

You can reach them at + 33 468.20.11.42:

04.68.20.11.42 from France,
00 33 468.20.11.42 from the UK
011 33 468.20.11.42 from the US

or by e-mail. Once you have checked availability, and agreed your reservation, you will need to check our terms and conditions and then print off and fill out a booking form.

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The Aude (Cathar Country)