House  to  rent - southern France, Languedoc region

Nestled just inside the national park of the Haut -Languedoc lies the picturesque village of Hérépian. Its church tower is visible on the skyline as you approach the village with its mostly soft-coloured stone houses with their tiled roofs. All around are the vineyards that have been the lifeblood of the place for centuries. Herepian lies on the Orb river and is close to the spa town of Lamalou les Bains with its many facilities. Herepian is proud of its bell foundry (fonderie des cloches) that was founded in 1580 and the adjacent modern bell museum.

In the village are doctors, a dentist, and a pharmacy. There is a newsagent/tabac, two boulangeries, several hairdressers, beauty salon, two florists, an electrical appliance/whitegoods shop, fishing/outdoor shop and a jeweller. The charcouterie in Herepian is featured in Rick Stein's French Odyssey TV programme. It sells excellent cuts of meat as well as cooked and cured smallgoods. A small grocery/general store is open 6 days a week. Nearby (1km) is a large hypermarket and large hardware store both with extended hours together with a McDonalds fastfood outlet.

In the village is a Tavern and another small bar serving beers, wine and great coffee and Sergio's Pizzeria with wood-fired pizzas as well as other great dishes. L'Ocre Rouge restaurant is one of the region's best ,matching palate-picked wines to the individual dishes on its menu of local specialties. In the nearby(3km) village of Valmagne is a highly regarded restaurant, L'Auberge de L'Abbaye, serving fresh regional cuisine for around €40-50 a head- wine included. The nearby (1km) 9-hole picturesque golf course clubhouse has a terrace restaurant ,La capitelle, providing quality meals for lunch and dinner every day except Sunday night.

90 minutes Montpellier Airport, 45 minutes Beziers Airport, 30 minutes mediterranean sea. You can catch the train from Paris to Bezier (35 mins from House) or Bederieux (5 mins from House).

Thermal baths, fishing, golf, historical sites, casino, hiking, vineyards, climbing, forests, canoeing, swimming, mountain biking / cycling, boules, cinema, hunting, theatre