Domaine Piquet

Thirty acres at the edge of Cathar country. A stone farmhouse apartment in the Aude, southern France.

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The Apartment

Old stone walls. Wooden beams. A kitchen stocked for real cooking. Two bedrooms sleeping four, with the garden and the Pyrenees beyond the windows.

This is a renovated farmhouse apartment, warm, modern, and genuinely quiet. Your own entrance, your own terrace, and thirty acres of private grounds to wander at will.

Sleeps 4 · 2 bedrooms · Private terrace · 30 acres

A cozy bedroom with wooden walls and ceiling, a large window with pink curtains, a bed with blue and white striped bedding, neatly folded towels on the bed, a wooden shelf on the wall with decorative items, and a small table with a black and white ta
Rustic kitchen with wooden ceiling, stone and white walls, wooden cabinets, and open shelves. Contains a stove, kettle, dishes, utensils, and hanging pots and pans, with a red and white floral curtain under the sink area.
Small bathroom with a shower, white sink, blue bookshelf, and miscellaneous toiletries.
A bedroom with a bed covered with a patterned blanket and a gray pillow, a nightstand with a lamp, a window with wooden trim and colorful curtains, and wooden beams on the ceiling.
Outdoor patio with a rectangular table covered by a red and yellow checkered tablecloth, surrounded by five black chairs, two of which have white cushions, with a large green patio umbrella providing shade, and a small round glass table to the left.
An outdoor backyard scene with a small above-ground pool, white patio chairs, a white table, a ladder, trees, a clothesline with cloth, and sunny weather.

Step into stillness.

This self-contained apartment sits within an old stone farmhouse above the village of Hounoux, in the ancient Razès, one of the least visited, most quietly astonishing corners of southern France.

Inside you'll find two bedrooms sleeping four, a kitchen genuinely stocked for cooking, thick walls that stay cool in summer, and the kind of quiet that takes a day to get used to. The apartment has its own entrance, its own terrace, entirely separate from the rest of the farmhouse.

Outside, the grounds open in every direction. Open fields stretch out in one direction. In the other, a private forest with a running stream threading through it. Thirty acres of land, yours alone for the duration of your stay. Sit on the terrace with something local in a glass and watch the light change over the Pyrenees. The Razès asks very little of you, and gives a great deal back.

Please note that the accommodation is not suitable for noisy evenings. The calm of this place must be respected in order to preserve the tranquility of the other occupants. Pets are not permitted.

Fields, forest and a stream.

Wake up to the Pyrenees on the horizon, their peaks catching the first light of the morning. Watch the mist roll through the valley below. Listen to nothing but birdsong and wind. As the day slows, the sky turns. Sunsets here are the kind that stop you mid-sentence.

There is genuinely no noise. Only the sounds of nature. Just the land, the light, and the changing weather over the hills.

The grounds are yours for the duration of your stay. Bring walking boots. Bring a book. Or just enjoy the silence and the freedom.

Street signs on a pole reading 'Domaine de Piquet' and 'Chemin de Piquet' in a rural landscape with trees and blue sky.
Scenic view of fog covering the rolling hills and trees under a bright blue sky with streaks of clouds.
A landscape view of rolling hills and distant trees at sunset, with the sky painted in soft pastel colors of pink and blue.
A landscape with a grassy foreground, leafless trees, rolling hills in the background, and a blue sky with some clouds.
A wide view of rolling hills and distant mountains under a partly cloudy sky.
A landscape view of a grassy field with scattered trees and a hill in the distance under a blue sky with wispy clouds.
A gravel pathway runs through a grassy field with leafless trees on both sides on a sunny day with a blue sky.
A large, leafless tree with several smaller evergreen trees around it. The sky is bright blue and sunny, with shadows cast on the grassy ground.

Explore - Eight centuries of history on the doorstep.

The Razès is one of the most historically layered landscapes in France, and Domaine Piquet sits at the heart of it.

Mirepoix — 11 km. One of the finest medieval bastide towns in the southwest, with perfectly preserved 13th-century arcaded galleries and a market square that hasn't changed much in 700 years.

Carcassonne — 40 km. The most complete fortified medieval city in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Best visited early morning before the crowds arrive.

Rennes-le-Château — 40 km. A hilltop village with one of the great unsolved mysteries of the modern era. In 1885 a village priest began spending money nobody could account for. Nobody has explained it since. The story inspired Holy Blood, Holy Grail — the book that in turn inspired The Da Vinci Code.

Rennes-les-Bains — 45 km. The quieter sister village, set in a wooded valley along the Sals river. A natural thermal spa town since Roman times, with warm springs you can still bathe in today. Deeply peaceful and largely undiscovered.

Pic de Bugarach — 50 km. The highest peak in the Corbières, with geology so strange the mountain appears to have been turned upside down. Sacred site, legendary hike, extraordinary views.

Montségur — 1 hr. The last stronghold of the Cathars, besieged for ten months before it fell in 1244. The ruins sit at over 1,000 metres and the views are worth the climb alone.

Camon — 12 km. A fortified village listed as one of the most beautiful in France. Worth an afternoon.

Limoux — 20 km. Home of Blanquette de Limoux — the oldest sparkling wine in the world, predating Champagne by over a century. Limoux also hosts the world's longest carnival, running every weekend from January to March, with masked processions and music filling the streets since the 16th century.

Colorful storefronts with outdoor seating, umbrellas, and pedestrians under a clear blue sky in a lively street scene.
A medieval castle with multiple towers on a hill, with a stone bridge over a river in the foreground and a park with trees and a path.
Scenic view of a castle with stone walls and towers surrounded by greenery, with mountains in the background and a colorful sky at dusk.
A peaceful creek flowing through a forest with green foliage, rocks, and a small waterfall.
A person climbing and standing on large rocky mountain terrain with a mountain range and blue sky in the background.
A mountain covered in snow, with a forested valley below during sunset.
Ancient stone castle ruins on a hilltop at sunset, overlooking green mountains and valleys.
A narrow street in a small village with flowers and buildings with blue shutters, leading to a stone church with a clock, statue, and bell tower, under a blue sky.
Night view of historic buildings and a bridge over a river, illuminated by streetlights and the buildings' lights, with a clear starry sky above.
People dressed as white-faced masks and red costumes participating in a parade, with one person holding a stick with decorations, and snow-like confetti in the air.

Getting there

Carcassonne Airport — 40 minutes by car. Direct flights from London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Dublin and other UK and European cities throughout the season.

Toulouse-Blagnac Airport — 1 hour 20 minutes. International connections worldwide.

By train — TGV from Paris to Carcassonne in under 5 hours, then car.

A car is essential once you arrive, the roads through the Razès are worth it.

Address: Piquet, 11240 Hounoux, France

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