Around And About The Languedoc

Where but in France would you get 250 people in a tent in mid winter eating black turnips? This is the legendary “Fệte des Navets Noirs” held in Pardailhan, a small village in the hills near St Chinian .The navet noir is only grown in and around the village, and the fête is to ensure that this particular type of turnip with a black skin, as the name would suggest, continues to be survive. Somewhat less bitter than the normal turnip, it was served for lunch with pậté de campagne and then with a wild boar stew, needless to say washed down with copious quantities of local wine. Part of the delight of living in the Languedoc is the sheer variety and one might say eccentricity of some of the local festivals!

The somewhat curiously named but highly informative monthly magazine “BlahBlahBlah” sponsored a Christmas market at the Chậteau de Cassan near Pézenas which featured 25 stands offering products from local artisans together with some traditional British and French seasonal delicacies, a winetasting, and a visit from Father Christmas in the afternoon.

Now that it has been announced that Ryanair will start flights from Bristol in May from the newly extended airfield in Béziers, it is hoped that flights from London will follow as the current 6am flight from Stansted to Montpellier is exceptionally inconvenient unless you happen to live within a few miles of the airport. While the Languedoc is well served with flights in the summer those living near Montpellier have little choice in winter, and the train becomes a more attractive proposition particularly for those who hold Senior Cards!

Those fortunate souls who have holiday homes in the area often ask permanent residents in wonder “You spent the winter here?” as though one is living at the North Pole! In fact the winter is very pleasant here, with last years November and December being fine examples as there was plenty of sunshine and although the nights got down to freezing and sometimes below, it was possible to have lunch outside on occasions. What makes the winter more tolerable is that although there are grey damp days, you can almost be sure that you will get sunshine the following day at least for a time. Those seemingly endless days without a glimpse of the sun are a thing of the past.

This article was kindly provided by Patrick Cameron who provides a house hunting service in the Hérault for those who do not have the time for a detailed search. For more information visit www.primelanguedoc.com

For those thinking of making a move over to France and the Languedoc region why not try contacting the Luxury French Property experts or completing our french property finder form and let us do the finding for you?