Villa Arc-en-ciel, Cazouls Les Beziers, 34370
 

Nestling between the Cevennes and the sparkling azure mediterranean sea, this colourful interior-designed 4 bed, 3 bathroom villa is on the edge of a charming ancient village (3mins walk), with café bars, restaurants, village market and small shops, large Carrefore & Leaderprice supermarkets 3 mins drive. Only 15/20 minutes drive to miles of uncrowded, spotlessly clean, sandy beaches, 7 minutes from the magical city of Beziers, 5 minutes from the beautiful Regional Parc du Haut Languedoc, (UNESCO World Heritage Site & a designated “area of outstanding natural beauty”), with canoeing, rivers, walks etc. So much to do in the area, 2 weeks is not long enough!

The villa has a large 5m x 11 m swimming pool enclosed by fencing and a locked gate, set in large sunny Mediterranean gardens with a beautiful Pergola, with round stone table & benches for al fresco eating or early evening cocktails! Uninterrupted sun from sunrise to sunset. Sleeping 8 + cot there are 4 large double bedrooms – 1 king-size, 1 double, 1 triple-bedded (3rd full size single bed slots out from 2nd single) & 1 twin-bedded. All beds are new, including a new Iron Company Kingsize bed, with an ortheopaedic firm mattress. Large floor standing cooling fans in all rooms (including lounge). 2 bathrooms – one with large corner bath and separate shower cubicle ( + separate toilet), bathroom 2 has a self contained shower cubicle & toilet.

The kitchen is fully equipped with everything you’ll need to cook at home, or if you prefer you can eat Al fresco on the terrace or under the Pergola with it’s circular stone table & benches, there's even cookery books!   

Decorated and furnished to a high standard, the main very large living room includes lounge with leather sofas & chairs, large flat screen TV, video, DVD, hi fi and CD player. SKY TV giving UK terrestial stations & radio.  2nd TV with video & DVD in twin bedroom. Lots of board games, plus a book library. Dining area with large rustic table and chairs (not that you’ll ever eat inside!). Large floor standing fans in all rooms to keep you cool.   Kitchen with hand painted interior-designed island unit & bar chairs, eye level fan oven, gas hob, dishwasher, fridge freezer, kettle, toaster, cafetiers etc. Under floor heating throughout villa.

The villa is light and airy, with casement doors to front garden in lounge area and large patio doors from the kitchen to the colourful terrace with BBQ, pizza oven, large patio table & chairs. Steps down to large Mediterranean garden, and 5 x 11m swimming pool surrounded by a large terrace made with local stone with sunloungers. Large Sunny garden with fragrant mediterranean trees, plants & herbs, oleanders, palms, fir, cypress & pine trees etc. Large wrought iron pergola with beautiful large round stone table & benches, perfect for al fresco eating or early evening cocktails!

 The ancient village of Cazouls Les Beziers founded by the Romans in the 1st Century,  has everything you need to make your stay comfortable, with bars, restaurants, takeaways,  a choice of 3 patisseries for your daily fresh bread, croissant and other regional favourites like Tart au Pinot (pine nut tart) 2 wine tasting shops (and domains within 5 mins drive), local shops as well as a typical village square (with a yummy chicken rotisserie take out shop!), an ancient church well worth a visit, various fetes throughout the year and on the edge of the village a large  Carrefore supermarket.    There is a local market in the Town Square once a week (see pic).   Cazouls Les Beziers is a wine growing village and it retains it’s character of a traditional working village.   Although not a “tourist” village, they welcome the many tourists to the area with open arms and are very proud that their village attracts so many visitors throughout the year. The village centre is a short and easy walk from the villa  (about 4 minutes).   Take a right out of the villa, walk a few yards to tyhe pathway on the right (between houses), follow this and then go up a slight hill, left at the top, follow this and you’re in the village centre. 

On your walk in to the village, notice the wonderful old houses, some dating back to the 13th century and look out for the bullet marks on some of the older houses, left there from the 2nd World War, where the Languedoc  region  was heavy with the French Resistance, where the inevitable gun battles with the Nazis ensued.   It’s a little known fact that the South of France was heavily involved in the Resistance movement and the French are surprisingly reluctant to talk about this, but there are a few books on this out now. See Cazouls Les Beziers website for more information about the history of the South.
Or take a left out of the house and you’ll be in the middle of vineyards and hillside walks within a couple of minutes.   A lovely walk is to walk left out of the villa, left again at the end of the road and keep going up the hill, where you’ll find the most spectacular views and the Table D’Orientation .  Then take a right to miles and miles of vineyards (nearly destroyed in 2009 by bush fires).


Situated just 10 minutes drive from Béziers town the property is also convenient for the various cultural events available here. These include 'the Féria' in mid August, and the Fete Occitane celebrations in June to mark the 'Occitan', the ancient and still used local language and culture.    The  Languedoc has a long history, far too much to discuss here, but get some books out of the Library to give you a flavour of this rich and fascinating area.  Also a “must- read” is brilliant The Labryinth by Kate Mosse, a fictional set in medieval & present day,  about the rich history of this wonderful area and the persecution of the Cathars in the 12/13th Centuries by Simon de Montfort.   Cazouls gets a mention!  Kate Mosse has a house in Carcassonne, where she writes her books about the Languedoc region.  

The countryside around Cazouls is stunning and offers many opportunities as well, being ideal for cycling, rambling, fishing, climbing in the hills of the Languedoc, skiing in the Pyrénnées just 2 hours drive away, or canoeing and swimming practically on the doorstep at Réals on the River Orb.
The Canal du Midi is also within a short drive and as well as boats and picnics provides an ideal place for walking and cycling on its towpaths. Golf is available at St Thomas near Béziers or Lamalou the spa town in the nearby Languedoc National Park.

Cazouls is a 20 minute drive to the beaches and a 30 drive towards the Orb Valley road and more serious walking (the Espinouse Mountain Range and the High Languedoc National Park).   Take a left out of the road and it’s a 5 minute drive to Reals (or a 20 minute walk).   Follow signs to Reals (take a right at a very sharp bend)  to the beautiful fast flowing, glistening crystal clear River Orb, where there is a canoe centre and cafe, and further along, river swimming.   You can tailor your canoeing trip to suit your skills, they cater for children, really easy canoeing trips to very advanced  trips.   Just up above that is the Auberge de Reals, where you can have lunch or dinner from a varied menu (open all year).   Follow that road on to another ancient and pretty  (circulade) village Murveils Les Beziers.

The tourist information centre is on the main road going out of Cazouls, towards Béziers. The staff are very friendly and there are often many impromptu events to join in with. Look at the posters on the patisserie windows and booklets and brochures in the patisseries and shops, for news of all forthcoming events.

Get a tourist information leaflet on the local sights. Easy walking to the table of orientation set amongst the vineyards. On clear days it is easy to see the Pyrénées and the sparkling azure Mediterranean sea.    On the way you will pass the Parapluie, the remains of an ancient Roman hot spring used until fairly recently. You will also pass a winery; knock on the door and buy a bottle or two!     Visit the beautiful Abbey Fontcaude,  just 5 mins from the villa, set in the ancient hamlet  of Cazardnes, a beautiful  medieval Abbey and visitors centre.    Go out of Lottissement Les Tonnelles and take a left,  follow the road a couple of miles and take the left road to Cazedarnes, well worth a visit.


(Below - Cazouls Les Beziers village square)

A 3 minute walk into the ancient village of Cazouls les Beziers with it’s ancient church, bars/cafes, 2 restaurants, chicken rotisserie takeaway, Pizza & Kebab takeaway, 3 Patisseries, local shops and large Carrefore Supermarket (a 3 min drive away). There are several wine caves in the village, notably Domain Castan and Domain de Trois Angles.  Domain Castan has a large shop on the high street, selling his wines (of course) and a selection of local arts & crafts and local produce.   Cazouls les Beziers hosts many festivities throughout the year, including the 6-15 July Village Festival week with outdoor concerts, summer balls and fireworks, and the 5-21 October Cultural fortnight. In and around the village, you can try the famous local wines at the numerous Caves and Chateaux (Corbieres, Minervois, Faugeres and Cotesdu Roussillon among others) .