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Listing Owner

Member Since 2015

Trust Score (53)
Academic Faculty or Staff
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Listing Owner

Member Since 2015

Trust Score (53)
Academic Faculty or Staff
Matched Member
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Maison Canadienne

Rivel, Occitanie, France
Rates from EUR €850 | Monthly

House | Entire Home
Available Dates:
From November 1, 2023

Description

This ancient stone house offers a warm, spacious, and contemplative sabbatical retreat. It presents an ideal location for relaxing, hiking, exploring, and generally mulling things over. It's a great place to kick back, read, or write a book (we have done all three). The house and village are adorable, quiet, quirky, yet close enough to restaurants and shops. If walking/hiking inspires you, start by marching right out the front door. We are tucked away in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The church up the street is nearly a thousand years old. When the Cathar inquisition sacked the village in 1210, the church was spared but the village and castle were abandoned and moved to the present site, about a half mile away. In fact, the medieval village walls stood literally outside the front door. You can still walk up to the old castle too, a 10-15 minute scramble away. We offer three large double bedrooms on the second floor, each with an armoire (two), area rug, and chest of drawers (one). The master also has a Juliette balcony. The third floor consists of one rustic bedroom (suitable for an adventurous kid or a cranky uncle). The house has two full bathrooms (main floor with shower, toilet, bidet, and sink; second floor with soaker tub, separate shower, sink, and toilet; and the half bathroom is a toilet situated off the inner courtyard). On the main floor there’s a typical French kitchen (including gas range and a full-sized fridge), separate dining room with pellet stove, living room with large leather sofa, chairs, DVD, i-Dock music player, wifi, board games, etc. A washer and dryer sit in the attached single car garage. In addition to the pellet stove, the house is warmed with wall-mounted electric heaters. The home includes flights of 18 stairs each to reach the second floor and third floors. Parking is at the front door. Outdoor sitting area and bench rest in front of the house. The externally lit (glass ceiling) large interior courtyard reaches upward three full stories for those outdoor/indoor moments that allow one to escape the vagaries of winter weather. The area boasts terrific restaurants (it’s the home of foie gras), outstanding wines (the Maury region has recently been "discovered" and Limoux is where sparkling wine was first created), numerous castles, hiking paths, bike trails, medieval villages, and early Christian historical sites. The coast is about 75 minutes by car, Carcassonne 45 minutes, Toulouse 90 minutes, Andorra 60 minutes, and Spain 90 minutes (toward Barcelona). Food and drink are as close as three minutes by car. Chalabre is four km away and offers two taverns, a bakery, a butcher shop, pharmacy, ATM, choice restaurant (Hotel de France) and excellent small grocery store. It’s an easy walk along a pathway built upon an old rail bed, since removed. Foothills accurately imply that we are located in rolling hills, great for walks/hikes/picnics, subject to sudden storms, and brilliant nights with starry skies. For sun lovers and kids, nearby beaches at Lac Montbel and Puivert Lake are only a few minutes away. Meanwhile, less than an hour away the stunning cave art at Niaux dates back 20,000 years. There’s also an 18-hole golf course in Caracassonne. Twenty minutes away you will find an awesome go-cart track with an international reputation. Skiing in the Pyrenees is also superb. A number of resorts are as close as an hour by car. For a real work out, join cyclists on some of the Tour de France routes in the area. Rivel is 40 minutes from Carcassonne (airport served by Ryan Air), 90 minutes from Toulouse and Perpignan airports, and three hours from Barcelona. To fully enjoy the area, you really need a car. Please note that summer rates are higher but that we open to negotiation, especially for longer stays.

Bedrooms
3

Bathrooms
2

Offices
0

Size
2,000 ft2

Suited For
6

Property Type
House

Availability

From November 1, 2023

Minimum Stay

1 Week | Dates are flexible for this listing

Comments: It's easy to feel that you've entered another century. The village is ancient, yet our house has all the modern amenities. The night skies are perfect for star gazing--no light pollution whatsoever. The nearby cuisine is sumptuous.

Location

House in Rivel, Occitanie, France

Closest University

University of Toulouse

Comments: Lovely village; deep in Cathar country; snug in the Pyrenees foothills; friendly; relaxed; close to shops and restaurants; hiking out the door; sandy beaches are minutes away.

Explore the Area

Surroundings

  • Off Campus
  • Countryside
  • Writer's Sanctuary
  • Historic Home
  • Near Ocean or Lake
  • Near Mountains
  • Near Woods
  • Near Restaurants
  • Near Shops

Rental Rates and Terms

Rates from EUR €850 Monthly | Negotiable

Utilities are not included

A cleaning service is not included

Comments: October-April long-term rate is negotiable; summer rates are available. July and August tend to fill up quickly because the nearby beaches are great.

Considerations

The home is suitable for young kids

Ask about bringing pets

Smoking is not allowed

A car is not available

Comments: Most of our guests have rented a car at the Toulouse airport. You can obtain much better long-term rates, btw, from Peugoet's Open Europe.

Features

Interior

Furnished

Connectivity

High Speed Internet

Wi-Fi

TV

Printer

Exterior

Dedicated Parking

Accessibility

Stairs

Appliances

Oven

Stove

Microwave

Refrigerator

Washer

Dryer

Comments: A pellet stove; warms the downstairs and electric heaters are found in each bedroom; the expansive interior courtyard reaches up three floor and is especially nice on rainy days; it's good for lunching or inviting friends over for a glass...

Reviews

3
Listing Owner user icon

Listing Owner

Member Since 2015

Trust Score (53)
Academic Faculty or Staff
Matched Member

Listing Owner

Member Since 2015

Trust Score (53)
Academic Faculty or Staff
Matched Member
Listing Owner user icon