Les Boulbenes

My family of 4 spent a glorious week at les Boulbenes. We risked going to France when it was declared safe to do so during the Covid crisis and les Boulbenes proved to be a great place to unwind, completely in the middle of nowhere. It was the first time the house had been let in this unusual year.
The house is well-appointed, the grounds spacious and the pool is private and a very good size with good shade, which was welcome at times in the heat.
We were able to use the owners' bikes and went for a few rides, which were either flat alongside the Rigole du Canal du Midi, a man made stream that feeds water from the Montagne Noire to the Canal du Midi, or hilly on local roads.
The Rigole route was great for running alongside stunning fields of sunflowers and to the foot of the hill which has a memorial to local Cathar people killed in the Crusades, or to a local lake, lac de Lenclas.
Due to Covid, the places we visited were very quiet and lifeless - Revel and Castelnaudary - good for supermarkets, but not much else, which may be unfair due to the the circumstances. We didn't venture further afield, so probably missed a lot of good places. St Felix-Lauragais is pretty and has a good bakery and stunning views to the Pyrenees mountains. We went to lac de Ferreol for a day and hired a pedalo, which was fun.
Overall, it was an excellent place to stay, highly recommended.

We stayed here for a week and I believe we found a pocket of heaven! We, as a family, love privacy and a rural setting. Les Boulbenes provides this perfectly. The cottage itself is full of character and the kitchen has everything you could need for someone who likes to cook well on holiday. We BBQd almost every evening and enjoyed the outside space (of which there is a lot) and the swimming pool is absolutely delightful in its own private setting. It is about a 15 minute drive to the large supermarket at Revel and around 45 minutes to the beautiful town of Carcassone. We also visited Bassin de Saint-Ferreol which is around 20 minutes by car. This is a perfect location for complete tranquility and although there are bikes on site, a car is a necessity for getting anywhere. We will definitely visit again!

This is a lovely cottage in a very peaceful and tranquil location. Approximately 20 minutes drive to the nearest towns. The cottage is very well equipped with a lovely private garden and swimming pool area. There are lovely views from the cottage. We would love to visit again sometime.