The call of the South! Five Indian summer getaways

In order to forget back to school, school supplies, rain and noise, our selection of places to no longer feel cramped and enjoy the last rays of sunshine.

Taste the life of a castle at the Hermitage de Combas

Leave the Big Blue behind you, cross Pézenas, the town of Molière and Bobby Lapointe, then drive through the vineyards, as far as the eye can see. There, at the end of a small road, hides the splendid Château Hermitage de Combas, in Servian (Hérault).

Erected around 1260 on a Roman villa of the Ier century, the building has a Moorish air, with its pink facade surrounded by huge palm trees. Behind the courtyard and the French garden, we discover pretty patios, terraces and balconies that serve several apartments, from the most classic to the most luxurious.

Beautiful high ceilings, period furniture, exposed stones, fitted kitchen… life in a château has its merits. Especially since on the other side of the road, after pushing a large gate, we discover a magnificent orchard (pomegranate, mulberry, apple trees), and at the end a tennis court and a (very) large swimming pool. Send the cicadas!

Château Hermitage de Combas, apartment for two to four people from € 120 per night for a classic and € 180 for the superiors and deluxe.

Immerse yourself in the Middle Ages in Carcassonne

Tour de la Pinte Carrée at dusk, Carcassonne citadel.

Arriving by the Old Bridge which spans the Aude, the medieval city of Carcassonne reveals itself, with its 52 towers, its fortified enclosures and its three kilometers of ramparts, like coming out of a fairy tale. Once past the Narbonnaise gate, we are a little disillusioned. The tourists are (too) numerous to hurry in the narrow streets, the junk shops far from being authentic.

Certainly, but all this does not detract from the beauty of this medieval village still inhabited, erected in the 13th century.e century, restored in the XIXe by Viollet-le-Duc. To really enjoy it, you have to stay there in the evening, when the flow of visitors is leaving.

We sleep at the Best Western Plus-Le Donjon, a few steps from the Count’s castle and the Basilica. We love the pleasant (and unexpected) patio garden and the very affordable family rooms. At nightfall, we climb the ramparts which light up to rediscover the city, which has become silent. Teleportation to the Middle Ages guaranteed.

Best Western Plus-Le Donjon, double room from € 100, family room from € 150.

Go blue in Sète

A quiet terrace to enjoy the last rays of the sun.

2021 rhymes with Sète (Hérault)! A lively, welcoming city, without any preparation, where it is good to take the pulse of the Mediterranean for a weekend. We will first pay homage to the two great “children” of the city, Brassens, whose centenary is being celebrated, and Paul Valéry, the 150th anniversary of his birth. On the banks of the Etang de Thau, for the singer anar, and on the heights of Mont Saint-Clair, for the poet, thinker and academician. You will then have to go for a walk to the Pointe Courte with its fishermen’s houses of odds and ends, have lunch at a tielle near Les Halles, spend the afternoon on the sand and dine at the Cabanon de la Plage.

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