The Revel route follows the N113 out of Carcassonne, then the D629 through Montolieu (17km) and Saissac. MONTOLIEU
, semi-fortified and built on the edge of a ravine, has set itself the
target of becoming France's second-hand book capital, with shops
overflowing with dog-eared and antiquarian tomes. Drop in at the
Librairie Booth, by the bridge over the ravine.
SAISSAC , 8km further on, is much
more an upland village. Conifers and beech wood, interspersed with
patches of rough pasture, surround it, and gardens are terraced down
its steep slopes. Remains of towers and fortifications poke out among
the ancient houses, and on a spur below the village stand the romantic
ruins of its castle and the church of St-Michel.
If you wish to stay in the area, try the rather aged
Hôtel de la Montagne Noire (tel 04.68.24.46.36, fax 04.68.24.46.20; €24-34) on the road through
Saissac, with a good local restaurant open all year (menu from €11.44).
More idyllic accommodation is available north of town at Domaine du Lampy-Neuf (tel 04.68.24.46.07; €34-46), a
chambres d'hôte by the banks of the Bassin du Lampy, which also functions as a gîte . There are also two campsites . If you have your own transport, the best place for miles around and an experience in itself is the
Camping du Bout du Monde (tel 04.68.94.20.92; all year round), at a beautiful tumbledown farm
near Verdun-en-Lauragais, 5km west of Saissac. You camp among the broom
at the edge of the woods.
Some 14km west of Saissac on the D103 (or just a few kilometres southwest of the
Bout du Monde campsite), the ancient village of ST-PAPOUL , with its walls and Benedictine abbey
, makes a gentle side trip. Though it's undergoing long-term
restoration, you can visit the church and its pretty fourteenth-century
cloister on a guided tour in French (daily:
April-June, Sept & Oct 10am-noon & 2-6pm; July & Aug
10am-7pm; €3.05). Back on the "main" D629, the road winds down through
the forest, past the Bassin de St-Férréol, constructed by Riquet to
supply water to the Canal du Midi, and on to REVEL . Revel is a bastide dating from 1342, featuring an attractive arcaded central square with a superb wooden-pillared
halle
in the middle. Now a prosperous market town (market day is Saturday),
it makes an agreeably provincial stopover. The Auberge du Midi at 34 bd
Gambetta (tel 05.61.83.50.50, fax 05.61.83.34.74; €34-46) is set in a
refined old nineteenth-century mansion, and also has the town's best
restaurant (menus from €13.73-27.45). Close by at 7 rue de Taur, you'll
find the Commanderie Hôtel (tel 05.63.46.61.24; €34-46), a good second choice, with an old timber-frame facade and a remodelled interior.
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