The Pays d’Olmes in the Ariège
Many parts of the Ariège are as yet undiscovered by overseas property buyers. Nearer to the mountains but further from the sea, it can still be accessed via Toulouse and Carcassonne airports.
The fact that this area remains relatively undiscovered means that property prices are lower than in the Aude. And there are also more old stone houses with gardens to be found. Here, a village house with a garden would cost from 120 000 euros and a detached stone house in its own garden from about 180 000 euros.
The towns of Mirepoix, Foix and St Girons are well worth visiting but there are some lovely villages in this rolling countryside where the Pyrenees are ever-present. After the vineyards of the Aude, the green fields of arable and livestock farming come as quite a contrast.
The rainfall is higher and the temperature always a few degrees lower than the neighbouring department of the Aude. But at the height of the summer, this can be a blessing and, in the winter, the skies are cobalt blue.
Ski resorts are never far away, the largest of these being Ax-Bonascre, lying above the spa town of Ax-les-Thermes. The nearby Plateau de Beille has miles and miles of cross-country ski paths.
At the heart of the Pays d’Olmes is the Cathar stronghold of Montsegur and the busy town of Lavelanet, famous for its autumn jazz festival, but once renowned as the centre of the local textile industry.
