La Vigne Rousse lies in the heart of the Corbières, a beautiful region of well-nigh inexhaustible interest to the tourist. A quick browse via one of the Internet search engines will convince you. Here is a small selection to make your mouth water.

There is the Mediterranean with its miles and miles of child-friendly beaches and its water sports centres. There are vast beach lakes, rugged mountain chains, peaceful walks, delicious wine routes, the famous cathar strongholds, abbeys of international renown, the Canal du Midi, elegant cities and ravishing nature, museums, exhibitions, festivals and concerts. The majestic Canigou, snow-capped even in summer sometimes, overlooks it all.

Within a range of 12 miles lie the Montagne d’Alaric, the abbey of Fontfroide, beautiful Lagrasse with its Benedictine abbey and its Banquet du Livre, the ermitage de Saint Victor which commands a splendid panorama of the Mediterranean, the Pyrenees and the Montagne Noire, the ruins of Monséret Castle with its sweeping view of the surrounding land, the Lac de Jouarres, and last but not least there is the idyllic Canal du Midi with its quiet walks and boat excursions.

A 30-mile range offers you no end of delight. Very elegant Narbonne and the medieval city of Carcassonne, one of the flagships of the UN’s World Cultural Heritage (both at app. 20 miles), the Lac de Cavayères, the sea with its numerous resorts, the Oppidum d’Ensérune, the Ecluses de Fonsérane and the Etang de Montady, the enchanting Montagne de la Clape, the sea ponds with bicycle routes between them, the rugged Montagne Noire, the Réserve africaine at Sigean, the city of Minerve and the Minervois area. A 70-mile circuit will bring you to the most remote and most renowned cathar castles of Quéribus and Peyrepertuse, and through the Gorges de Galamus and the Pic de Bugarach.

A 70-mile trip and you are in the royal city of Perpignan, the Salses fortress, a remarkably well preserved sample of military architecture, the Pyrenees mountain range, the rugged, rocky coastline from Argelès to the Spanish border, with the very picturesque Collioure.

Day trips can include Toulouse (80 miles), Albi (95 miles), Villefranche-de-Conflent (80 miles) or Vernet-les-Bains (90 miles) from where you can climb the Canigou (2780 m.). Even the Catalan capital Barcelona is a mere two and a half hour’s drive (140 miles) away.