MEDIEVAL LANGUEDOC VILLAGE HOUSE
The area
The village is a maze of narrow and interconnecting streets, with a school, a small shop, and café set around the small town square, which features a mairie (town hall) and a church.
One of the two remaining chateaux lies up some cobbled steps to the right of the church and in the lower part of the village there is ample car parking.
Whether you’re into walking, swimming or simply soaking up the local colour, Soubès is an ideal base for exploring the area.
Numerous way-marked walks lead out of the village into the surrounding hills. Driving for 5km in any direction brings you to new and varied landscapes. To the north and east are the high plains of the ancient Plateau de Larzac, the spectacular Cirque de Navacelles and numerous limestone gorges and caverns.
Montpellier and the many Mediterranean beaches including Palavas, Agde, Marseillan and Vias are around an hour’s drive away. Lac du Salagou with its mysterious drowned village, is about 15 minutes' drive from the house and offers swimming, windsurfing, pédalos, camping and numerous mountain bike trails. You can also swim in nearby rivers and streams or at the refurbished open air swimming pool in Lodève, which also offers two large supermarkets and a meaningful museum.
For wine buffs, key wine growing areas including Montpeyroux, Picpoul and Faugères stretch out to the south and east and offer wine tastings. Down near Sète (50km) inland salt lakes are dedicated to cultivating mussels and oysters, which you can sample in many places along the coast, particularly the charming seafront village of Bouzigues.
For those of more spiritual disposition, Lerab Ling, the Tibetan Buddhist retreat centre, set amidst the the hills in Roqueredonde, is a truly breathtaking sight. Led by world-renowned Buddhist teacher from Tibet Sogyal Rinpoche, it lies just 20 minutes’ drive outside Lodève. Crafted by Tibetan artisans and artists, Lerab Ling was inaugurated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2008.