Location
| Rue Caterine is located in the Village of Brissac Le Haut. Brissac is a great holiday location, with a variety of things to do coupled with Mediterranean weather and beautiful surroundings. |
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The regional centre is Montpellier, once home to Nostradamus and Rabelais, and now renowned as France's ville surdouée or `supergifted city'. Montpellier Airport to Brissac is an hour's drive. Brissac and its region are drenched in history. It was a Roman province, later under Visigoth rule. Languedoc was central to the 12th-century troubadour culture. Brissac has direct local links with the Holy Grail legend ... the Templars ... and the Cathar War, which overthrew the civilization that produced troubadours and the Courts of Love. Brissac Castle (Private residence of the owners) was the home of the family which founded Montpellier in the 10th century. |
Local Attractions
- Canoeing: The Herault has half a dozen canoe hire spots between Ganges and St Guilhelm le Desert, offering placid water to gentle rapids – a very pleasant way to spend a hot summer afternoon.
- Courses in a beautiful location: L'Atelier de la Vis offers specialist woodworking courses throught the year.
- Cycling: The area offers both great road and mountain biking. The Tour de France passes within cycling distance of Brissac in mid July
- Eating Out: Whether in cities such as Montpellier or in the local restaurants a range of styles and prices are found in the area. Brissac village has a nice nouveaux cuisine restaurant which doesn't require a drive, and there are innumerable restaurants in the local towns and villages – everything from a cafes that do great pizzas to superb four star restaurants.
- Fishing: The cool, quiet rivers to be found locally offer some interesting fishing.
- Gliding: with glider / hang glider / paraglider. Nearest suitable airport: Pic St Loup, also a local beauty spot. South on road towards Montpellier.
- Hiking: Locally down the Herault river's valley and gorges, more strenuously in the Cévennes National Park, gently in the hills and valleys near Brissac, or along the dunes on the beach - pretty much anywhere is good. Pick up a map, and take your pick.
- Horse riding: A choice of centres locally.
- Markets: Nearly every town and village has a market at least once a week. For the real foodies you could go to one in a different place every day. Ganges market on Friday mornings is particularly large, filling the town, with traders coming from over a hundred km. You can find everything from a huge variety of food, street musicians, clothing, pottery, live animals, and everything else necessary for country life in southern France.
- Nature watching: The more you know, the more you see. The cottages have basic nature identification books in their libraries.
- Vineyards: The wine in Hérault, previously famed for cooperative plonk, has been improving steadily for the last 20 years. There are plenty of vineyards to visit and test out, and maybe pick up a bottle or two to take home... Local vineyards fall within the Languedoc - Rousillon AOC, the closest one being part of the Terasses de Larzac.
- Climbing: Local hills, and the Cévenne mountains are both challenging and within easy reach.
- Show Caves: Several can be found in the area; the best known 'Grotte des Demoiselles' is just a few miles away across the river Hérault.
Brissac Village
Brissac village is split into two parts. Brissac-le-Haut and Brissac-le-Bas.
Brissac-le-Haut, as given in its name, is built on a small hill. With a population of approximately 50, it is a quiet residential area. The bread van comes up every day except Monday in summer and the fish van on Saturdays, but otherwise there are no shops or facilities here. Its a peaceful, sleepy village with the only sounds being the wildlife like the crickets in the garrigue and the birds in the air. Time is marked by the chimes of the bell tower on the half hour, so no need to wear a watch during your stay. The bell tower clock is accurate to within 20 minutes of “world time,” which perfectly suits the lifestyle in Brissac.
Brissac-le-Bas is the lower village built on the valley floor. It is a larger village with a population of approximately 350. There is a Boulangerie (where you can get your daily bread, and extras like postcards and milk), a butcher's shop (with limited groceries), a post office, and a restaurant.
The green roofed church is at the centre of the village, next to the parking (for those who don't want to walk for their morning croissants) and the village green and tree shaded 'Sources': natural springs, which cool the area in the summer heat and have been the source of Brissac's prosperity for many thousands of years.
Travel Information and Recommendations
There is no public transportation to Brissac. Visitors will need a car.
Directions to Brissac-le-Haut will be included with your booking confirmation.
By car from the UK
Driving time from the Le Shuttle terminal at Calais is about ten or eleven hours - a solo driver needs to break the journey overnight. Total driving distance within France can be reduced somewhat by using one of the longer ferry crossings to Caen or St Malo, and driving down the west side of the country.
By air
The nearest airport is Montpellier Méditerranée (airport code MPL) which is served by direct flights from:
- Paris Orly airport (almost hourly service operated by Air Inter);
- Paris Charles De Gaulle airport (twice daily service operated by Air Inter);
- London Stansted (operated by Ryanair);
- London Gatwick or London Luton (operated by easyJet);
- and other major European cities.
Other possibilities are to fly to Nîmes (Ryanair or via Paris) an hour and a quarter's drive, or to fly to Carcassone (2 hours), Toulouse (3 hours), Marseilles (3 hours). All are approximate driving times to Brissac.
By rail
Travel direct from London
to Avignon on Eurostar with no changes and a journey time of six hours and
fifteen minutes (according to Eurostar). It takes approximately two hours
to drive to Brissac from Avignon.
Alternatively
for even less driving time; travel on Eurostar and change to French TGV
(high-speed train). London to Montpellier takes about eight hours with one
change at Lille. It is less than an hours drive from Montpellier station to
Brissac.
Visitors traveling by air or rail are recommended to make their car-hire arrangements in advance.
We are affiliated with Auto Europe, who appear to give good value deals with a price which usually includes two drivers, unlimited mileage and basic insurance. If you use them via our site they give commision which all goes into the chateau restoration fund.