Fantastic 5 Bedroom Chateau with 25 Acres of Wonderful Views, Pool and Tennis Court in South Toulouse

The Neighborhood

Less than an hour south of Toulouse, in the Ariège department near the border with Haute-Garonne, stands the beautiful Château Ariège. It’s surrounded by its own woods and parkland in complete privacy, just set back from the main road south leading to the Pyrenees mountains. The local village, just under 5km away, has a useful supermarket and there are a couple of local restaurants within a short drive from the château. This region is a wonderfully bucolic area which stretches away from the cosmopolitan sophistication of Toulouse down to the rising peaks of the Pyrenees, which are topped with ice and snow even in the late spring. The faraway mountain range, behind which Andorra nestles, serves as a constant point of orientation to the south, dipping in and out of view as you wind your way around the rising and falling lanes. Walking through the meadows filled with wild flowers in the late spring and summer is a pure joy. Other activities in the Pyrenees include mountain biking, white-water rafting and of course snow-sports in the winter. Heading back up north, the vibrant city of Toulouse is a fantastic place to visit. It’s named ‘La Ville Rose’ because of the stunning red-brick buildings across the city and the pretty shades of pink that can be found in the narrow lanes of the old town. There are many great restaurants serving regional cuisine, picturesque bars by the Garonne river as well as tapas bars across the city. For a change of scene, visit the enchanting bastide town of Mirepoix (55km), where the solidly elegant cathedral of St Maurice - its nave the second widest in Europe - gazes down on the medieval square bordered by half-timbered houses fronted by a delightful wooden arcade. The Monday morning market is a particular delight and should not be missed. From here it is only a 90-minute drive south east to the stunning walled city of Carcassonne (108km), now a UNESCO World Heritage site and an amazing place to visit for the day. Albi 134km) is another incredible UNESCO World Heritage site with a beautiful setting on the River Tarn, as is Auch (88km) with its magnificent old town perched up high; make sure you visit an Armagnac vineyard as well. Slightly closer to home in Haute-Garonne, discover pretty villages and towns such as Carbonne (17km), Le Cazères (33km) and Fousseret (38km). A little further, Saint Bertrand de Comminges (95km) is thought to be one of France’s most idyllic villages in a wonderful setting looking over the Pyrenees.