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| Sunshells |
St.Nazaire is a pretty little village situated between the river Aude and the
famous Midi Canal. This property has been creatively refurbished to a high standard and offers
an excellent base from which to explore this historic region.
It is situated on a
quiet street off the main road through the village and offers good access and easy parking. |
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| N.B. The highlighted words open extra windows with more photos. |
The accommodation comprises:
The front door opens into
an entrance hall, from which doors lead to two
twin bedrooms and a
shower/utility room with shower, basin, wc,
washing machine and ironing board. On the first floor there is a
lounge/dining room with satellite TV, video,
and radio; double bedroom and
bathroom with bath, bidet, basin and wc. The
kitchen is bright and spacious and has a
breakfast bar, gas cooker, fridge/freezer, microwave, and leads out onto a delightful roof
terrace.
The house is on the
outskirts of St Nazaire, which has a
café/bar, tabac, boulangerie, restaurant
and general store. There is also a tennis court in the village. Nearby at Mirepeisset is a lovely
lake for swimming, boating and fishing also a bar/restaurant serving snacks and local
specialities. The surrounding park is a delightful spot with a children's playground, and in
French school holidays, pedalos and pony rides. The nearby Canal du Midi is perfect for a lazy
day's boating and the long sandy beaches of the Mediterranean are close by.
The
area is ideal for family holidays with something for absolutely everyone to enjoy. Meals and
wine are inexpensive, the local attitude, warm & friendly, and children are welcome just about
everywhere. |
WEEKLY PRICES
Please note : Sunday changeover! |
| May 2, 2004 to June 13 |
US$ 475 |
| June 13 to July 11 |
US$ 615 |
| July 11 to August 29 |
US$ 855 |
| August 29 to October 24 |
US$ 525 |
Prices include gas, electricity, water and linen hire.
“The southern crossroads of Europe”, so read the signs when you arrive by car. This
slogan is just as valid today as it was during Roman times when the town was founded.
Narbonne, the closest town, is the oldest Roman colony on Gallic soil and was founded in
118 BC at the meeting point of the routes for Aquitaine, Spain and Italy. Hence it gained a
significance that it might not otherwise have had. It became the seat of a powerful Archbishop,
and it is amongst the remaining buildings of his palace that you will find the town hall (and
the tourist office). |
| A small section of this ancient
road has been uncovered in the square in front of the town hall, you can still see the ruts
made by the wagon wheels over two thousand years ago, and ponder upon what those wagons carried
and to where. (Interestingly the width between these ruts is 4'8½" (1m43) which was the
gauge adopted for the railways in Britain, the USA, and many other countries, but that's
another story!). |
| Behind the walls of the Town Hall lie the main
courtyard and beyond, the
cloisters and the
cathedral, which was never finished. In fact they only
ever built the nave, the unfinished transept of St.Eutrope
stands testament to the decline that Narbonne suffered towards the end of the 14th
century, caused in part by wars and in part by epidemics. During the French Revolution the seat
of the Archbishop was withdrawn and it was not to be until the arrival of the railways at the
end of the nineteenth century that Narbonne's fortunes would recover. Today, Narbonne is a
medium sized town which has a go-ahead leadership in the Mayor and his staff, and which has
built hugely on tourism, partly the enormous interest in holidays on the canal which passes
through the very heart of the town under a bridge which
dates from Roman times, and partly on the vast wealth of Roman remains such as the bridge and
the Via Domitia which crosses it. |
The canal beneath this bridge is the canal de la
Robine, and joins Narbonne to Port La Nouvelle, this
connection permitted Narbonne to become one of the major Mediterranean ports during the 12th
century.
In the other direction the canal connects with the
Aude river (formally the "Atax") and then, via the canal
de Jonction, to the canal du Midi, which in turn joins Toulouse and Sète.
Alongside the canal in the town centre are Les Halles, a
covered market open every morning of everyday of the year, except Christmas day, for the
sale of local fresh produce. Cheeses, Fish, Vegetables, Fruit and Meat in abundance.
On the Townhall, there is a Webcam which gives a general
view of the square in front of the townhall, and in the centre is the exposed section of the
old Roman road, the "Via Domitia".
Narbonne is also supposed to be the birthplace
of St.Sebastian, and there is a small church dedicated to him not far from the town hall. |
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