We provide an excellent base for exploring this fascinating area. The magnificent medieval walled city of Carcassonne is only 30 minutes away and the smaller but very beautiful medieval town of Mirepoix is only 5 minutes away. There is an excellent market at Mirepoix every Monday.
Towards the mountains near Tarascon, there are several interesting caves to visit, including Lombrive which is the largest in all of Europe and the cave at Niaux, made famous by it's prehistoric wall art.
The whole area is obviously steeped in history and recent bestselling books including the Davinci Code and Labyrinth have put the ancient Cathars and Knights Templar in the spotlight. There are many Cathar castles within an hours drive. Perhaps the most famous is Montsegur, where the Cathars made their last stand in 1244. The ruins of the cliff top castle can be seen from the hotel on clear days, framed by the larger mountais of the Pyrenees. Other Cathar castles to visit are Peyreperteuse, Puivert, Lastours and Queribus.
The departmental capital of Ariège, Foix, also has a very good market and an excellent and beautifully restored castle to visit.
The nearest ski resort, les Monts D'Olmes, is 45 minutes away and the larger resort of Ax les Thermes, where there are also thermal baths and a casino, is about an hours drive. A further 30 minutes is the duty free principality of Andorra, where there is a very large skiable area, with several resorts being linked together.
For water sports enthusiasts, we are 20 minutes from the large reservoir at Montbel and just over one hour from the Mediterranean coast.
Other local attractions are an International karting circuit, a parachute centre, canoeing and white water rafting, rock climbing, horse riding, cycling and mountain biking, low or high level walking (in fact the long distance footpath the GR7 The Way of Saint James, passes right past the hotel). The list is practically endless.
The Château de Montségur, lies above the village with the same name, south of the town of Lavelanet in the Languedoc-Roussillion region in France.
Perched upon a 1207 meters high rock, called Pog, stands Montségur Castle. It was built in the first half of the 13th century but the rock had probably been inhabited for many centuries before. At the base of the rock lies the small village of Montségur.
The castle is very famous for it's long and bloody history. It stands at the heart of the history of Catharism. This was a religious movement, connected with the Knights Templar during the Crusades, which had separated itself from the catholic church much to the anger of the pope and the catholic French King; Louis IX. In 1244, during the Inquisition, the castle became the last stronghold of the cathars. It was besieged and when the castle finally surrendered after 10 months, 205 cathars (men and women) died at the stake.
Furthermore there are a lot of mysteries connected with this castle. It is said to be the last known residence of the Holy Grail. According to legend the Grail, together with other treasures of the cathars, was smuggled out of the castle by two women during the siege in 1244 after which it was never seen again.
Also it is thought that the castle may have been a place were sun worship took place. This because the keep and its windows are aligned in such a way that during the summer solstice the first rays of sunlight shine in through the windows on one side, through the keep and out of the windows on the other side.
Whatever its history, the castle itself is beautifully located with magnificent views to the surrounding mountains and valleys. The steep walk up to the castle takes about 45 minutes from the visitor parking area.
Nearby there is also the Château de Roquefixade which is in an equally beautiful setting.
Cycling
We are a cycle friendly hotel and the area is a paradise for cyclists, with fantastic uncrowded roads, superb views of the mountains. The Tour de France often passes close by (in 2006 it passed right by the bottom of our drive) and there is easy access to both plains and mountain routes. There are also lots of off road routes for mountain bikes, including the famous Way of Saint James (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) that runs along the foothills of the Pyrenees and crosses the department of Ariège from Mirepoix to the Col du Portet d'Aspet in the direction of Saint-Bertand-de-Comminges.
We offer excellent accommodation for cyclists as bikes can be stored securely, we offer a kit cleaning service and can provide high carbohydate meals by advance booking. We can also organise cycle hire (both road bikes and mountain bikes).
Guided Cycling available
CYCLING FOR BEGINNERS
For guests at Balestié who would like to try some cycling but perhaps lack the confidence, why not have a trial session with our guide in a protected, flat, off-road environment. Bikes provided.
DAY ROUTES
Staying at Balestié and being an experienced cyclist looking for a fun and rewarding day, let our guide take you on a route showing you some of the best scenery the Ariege has to offer. Bikes provided.
GROUP WEEKS
(Discounts available - contact us for details)
Bring your club or just a bunch of friends and take over our Auberge for your enjoyment. Facilities provided include local guides, safe bike store, kit washing, good food, local transport and massage provision. Other activities are available for non cycling partners. You can choose from the following packages or design your own.
Ariege and Aude Explorer - Spend a week based at Balestie and experience a different ride every day. Various distances and amounts of ascent catered for.
Tour de France Challenge - Test yourself against some of the famous Pyreneen cols with guide/support provided.
Training Camp - For cycling and triathlon clubs, take the Ariege Challenge, a week of seriously demanding riding.
Ariegeois Cyclosportive 2011 - Come for a weeks training to prepare for one of the biggest (and toughest) amateur cycling events in France.
Birdwatching
We have over 40 House Martins nests and from April to September it is an absolute pleasure to watch the birds swooping in and out of the nests.
The lake behind our hotel is an absolute paradise for birdwatchers. There is a small island in the middle of the lake where many Little Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Grey Herons and Night Herons make their nests. There are also Crested Grebe, Coot and Mallard.
Many other birds can be observed around the Auberge including Red Kite, Black Kite, Buzzard, Cuckoo, Black Redstart, Serin, Cirl Bunting.
All bird photographs on this site are courtesy of Ghislaine et Thierry and you can see more of their fabulous photographs at http://sites.google.com/site/nicaiseghithie/
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![Salonnoir[1]](../images/holidays-pyrenees/salonnoir[1]-[400_30].jpg)
