House near Caixas , Pyrénées-Orientales

Garden furniture and BBQ.

Electric oven with a gas hob, microwave, fridge etc and in the laundry room there is a large freezer, washing machine and ironing facilities.

The Pyrenees Orientales is a wonderful place to spend a holiday with its warm seas, sandy beaches and fresh mountain air. Carlitte Peak is the highest mountain but Mont Canigou is the most remarkable as it stands out above the plain showing very clearly the differing vegetation zones of juniper and orange groves, oleander, aloe, pomegranate, olive vines growing to over 600 metres, huge chestnut, pine and birch trees and rhododendrons over 300 metres high. The department of Pyrenees Orientales conceals many treasures: varied landscapes of rich beauty, an important architectural heritage, and traditions and a culture that have lasted for centuries. Five of the villages within the Pyrenees Orientales have been granted the classification of "Most beautiful villages of France" (Have, Evol, Mosset, Castelnou and Villefranche-of-Conflent). Many artists, in particular painters, were seduced by the particular luminosity and colors which bathe the Pyrenees. Matisse and Derain, for example elected residence in Collioure in 1905. If you want total rest and relaxation then you have an amazing choice of baths and springs. Amelie-les-Bains offers chalybeate or sulphurous hot springs. Perpignan is the capital of the Pyrenees-Orientales department and only 40km from the Spanish border and 13km from the Mediterranean sea. Perpignan is a wonderful old historic city and a fascinating place to explore. There are some fabulous beaches a short distance from Perpignan. Canet Plage is one of the jewels of the Catalan coast. There is a busy yachting harbour and excellent water sports facilities including sailing, diving, water skiing, jet skiing and windsurfing. Outdoor activities Canet Plage include beach clubs, an Olympic swimming pool, tennis courts, a riding centre and cycle trails. There is Sea World Aquarium. Leucate Plage has 1 km of fine golden sand with calm waters and a shore which shelves gently into the sea making it a safe place to bathe and popular with families. The beautiful St Cyprien Golf Course is just south of Perpignan, half a mile from the beach and with the Pyrenees as its backdrop.

The Pyrenees Orientales is in the Languedoc-Roussillon area in south west France which borders Spain and the Mediterranean. Its position means it has a temperate climate, with very mild winters and hot dry summers with temperatures reaching between 85º and 95º between July and September.

Set in spectacular countryside with the Mediterranean to the east, Catalonia to the south and Andorra to the west, the Pyrenees Orientales borders are formed by mountain peaks.

The property is located in the village of Caixas in the countryside near the Pyrenees and 30 km to the Mediterranean Beaches of Collioure, Argeles, Port Vendres..
Many of the beaches are separated from the sea by belts of sand forming lagoons.

This house set in a peaceful village is only 20 mn to the larger village of Thuir and commodities.
Perpignan Airport is 30 km

The Maison de la Place

Is so called because it opens to the little round ‘place’ that it shares with the Mairie and the Apartment. The tree in the centre is so very French and is actually very charming. It is a very recently restored Catalan cottage and built of warm local stone - all very comfortable and nicely authentic with thick walls and an open fireplace.

The house has 3 bedrooms, one with a double four-poster and fresh white drapes, a room with 2 single beds and the third with a single bed and 2 bathrooms.

All rooms have superb views and receive the morning’s first sunshine rays or the afternoon sun. In fact, the ‘place’ looks down over open country to the mountains in the distance and also to the sea - it’s a cosy house for the winter also, as there is electric heating in all rooms as well as an open fire.

The kitchen has an electric oven with a gas hob, microwave, fridge etc and in the laundry room there is a large freezer, washing machine and ironing facilities.

Some metres away is an area suitable for BBQ and outdoor eating that actually belongs to the Mairie and is used for the big village summer barbeques. When not in use in this way (perhaps 3 times during the summer) it becomes available for occupants of the Maison de la Place.

Shared pool when the rest of the property CAIX101 is not totally rented.

Please note that the summer is the season of ‘fetes’ and so too at Caixas. It has to be said that for the most part we live in tranquillity but during the period of June 20 th to August 21st this can be set aside and there are several events that celebrate life in general. Such things therefore, as village ‘grillades’ and ‘fetes’ will take place on the ‘place’ some metres away.

This will particularly and obviously involve anyone staying in the Maison de la Place as you are direct onto the ‘place’ where the action takes place but, in any case, you with all other people, will be invited. Please also note that these events can go on after midnight with the usual casual bustle and the (for some) dubious French music that is ‘of the south’. They are very good natured and friendly and give a sense of fiesta that perhaps we have lost in England - so either join in and enjoy or join other crowds at the coast.