About Villa Alarelle

Villa Alarelle is situated in the middle of the small hilltop village of Montouliers in the Minervois. The primary attraction in the village are the local vineyards as well as a Church dating back to the 10th Century and small traditional boutiques providing bread, cheese and other basic groceries.

Along with local village stores there is a large supermarket in the town of Capestang about 10 minutes drive away. The historic towns and cities of Carcassonnne, Beziers, Narbonne and Montpellier are all within 30 minutes to an hour drive from the Villa and the nearby motorway leads quickly south to Barcelona and east to Provence.

As well as located in the wine growing area of Montouliers, Villa Alarelle is also close to some of the finest restaurants in the Languedoc Region. There are a number of restaurants, many offering al fresco dining, within 10 minutes drive. A little further away in the larger towns of Carcassonne, Narbonne and Beziers there are a wide range of restaurants, bars and nightclubs. The larger towns offer extensive shopping facilities within their picturesque town centres, as well as modern out-of-town shopping centrals. Our particular favourite is Montpellier. The town is about an hour drive away but the shopping opprtunities are amongst the best in France and the architecture is magnificent.

The nearest beach to Villa Alarelle is in the town of Gruissan, about 30 minutes drive away. Gruissan is a rather unusual resort with an extensive beach area and a large number of stilted beach chalets made famous in the film Betty Blue. Valras Plage is another more traditional French resort just south of Beziers, which is well worth of a visit. However, the whole coastline between the Spanish border and the Camargue is made up of sweeping sandy beaches interrupted by lagoons, fishing villages and occasional resorts. This along with the historic countryside and hills of Cathar country gives countless opportunities to explore around the Villa Alarelle.