Olonzac is the perfect centre to visit:
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Lakes, castles, Mediterranean beaches, mountains, abbeys, chateaux, cathedrals, vineyards - see the links below - then return to eat and drink at the many cafes, restaurants and bars a short walk from the house, or eat at home in your fully-equipped house, or use the little outside patio.
Olonzac has many shops, boulangeries, a boucherie, banks, cash machines, post office, hairdressers, pharmacies, a wine cave, tabac, mini-market, supermarket, take-aways, and more...
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These Olonzac restaurants, bars and cafes are a short walk away:
Cafe De La Poste, 3, Allée Général de Gaulle, 34210 Olonzac
Côté Brasserie, 5, boulevard Gambetta, 34210 Olonzac
Le Ty Zac restaurant, 6, Allée du Général de Gaulle, 34210 Olonzac
La Citadelle restaurant, 11 Grand rue, 34210 Olonzac
Restaurant du Minervois "bel", 2, Rue des Écoles, 34210 Olonzac
O Portail O restaurant, 6, Place du Portail Haut, 34210 Olonzac
Bar le France, 10, avenue de Beziers, 34210 Olonzac
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More restaurants and bars are a short distance away in Homps (2.7 km) on the Canal Du Midi, and in other villages very close to Olonzac. The more cosmopolitan cities of Narbonne (30 km), Carcassonne (38 km) and Beziers (44 km) are a short drive, and the major cities of Toulouse (131 km) and Albi (122 km) are both a day trip away. Toulouse is 90 minutes by car on the A61 Autoroute.
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Places to visit near to Olonzac:
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1. Cité de Carcassonne - stunning medieval citadel full of restaurants and shops located in Carcassonne (37 km) http://www.remparts-carcassonne.fr/en/
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2. Abbaye de Fontfroide - Narbonne (32 km) - beautiful abbey, cafe, restauarant and gardens
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3. Lagrasse town and Abbaye de Lagrasse (38 km) - small and beautiful town with arts and crafts shops around a small market square, and an ancient bridge to walk across the river to the abbey - http://www.abbayedelagrasse.com/
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4. Chateau de Pennautier and the Lorgeril wine estates (40 km), a beautiful chateau and wine estates http://www.lorgeril.wine/
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5. Cavern and grottos of the Gouffre Geant de Cabrespine (31 km) - a huge underground cavern with easy, safe access and a short guided tour of the spectaular large cavern, or the option of a much longer tour into the depths of this cavern http://www.gouffre-de-cabrespine.com/en
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6. Les 4 chateaux de Lastours (36 km) - a lovely walk up the hills to the four ancient towers of Lastours http://www.chateauxdelastours.fr/topic/index.html
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7. Moulin a vente (27 km) - a restored ancient working windmill, set in and part of the Bezaneth vineyards - http://www.moulin-benazeth.fr/site/eng/
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8. Lac de Jouarres (4 km) - a local swimming lake you can walk to from Olonzac. http://www.audetourisme.com/diffusio/en/activities/leisure/azille/lac-de-jouarres_TFOLOILAR011V500ATR.php
Peaceful lake with trees and vinyards around, close to Port Minervois, Homps on the Canal du Midi. Grass and pebbled beach, lifeguard in July and August, canoe, sailing, fishing, lakeside cafe, bar and restaurant
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9. The tiny but beautiful and historic city of Minerve (12 km) with a superb restaurant with a stunning view (https://www.relaischantovent-minerve.fr/en/ - booking advised) - http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/en/minerve
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10. Gruissan village, Gruissan Port, Gruissan Plage. (44 km) - A historic village with many restaurants dominated by a ruined castle, the nearby superb sandy beach with many watersports, cafes and two restaurants, and large marina, the 'port', surrounded by restaurants http://gruissan-mediterranee.com/a-decouvrir/les-quartiers-de-gruissan/
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11. Windsurfing, kite-surfing, paddle-boarding, jet skiing catamarans, funboats, at Gruissan plage (44km) https://polenautique-gruissan.com/en/
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12. Jet ski, Flyboard, Raptor water sports at Gruissan plage (44km) http://www.jetxtreme11.com/home
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13. Narbonne city (30 km) - a beautiful centre with an imposing cathedral, the Archbishop's palace, museums, the Canal du Robine running through the centre, and the eonderful Les Halles food markets every morning (you can shop and eat there) - http://www.narbonne-tourism.co.uk/discover
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14. Narbonne Plage (47 km) - a superb sandy beach with restaurants and shops on the front - http://www.narbonne-tourism.co.uk/discover/the-sea/the-beach
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15. Beziers (43 km) - a cathedral with a beautiful view over the region, especially if you climb to the top of the tower, the famous nine locks of the Canal du Midi - http://uk.beziers-mediterranee.com/discover
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16. Abbaye de Caunes-Minervois (18km) - at the foot of the Montagne Noire, Caunes Minervois is a village built around its Benedictine abbey. Caunes is renowned for its marble - since antiquity this red marble has adorned the most beautiful palaces of Europe. Some quarries are still in operation: http://www.caunes-minervois.org/
17. L'Oulibo (13km) an olive plantation, olive mill and lovely shop selling all things olive that does tours: http://www.odyssea.eu/oulibo/
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18. Ensérune (39 km) - visit this impressive historic hilltop site and museum, dating from 575 BC, and one of the most important Gallic villages in the South of France, with a stunning hilltop museum as at: http://www.enserune.fr/en/
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19. Next to Ensérune view the Etang de Montady (39km) below the hill, an ancient and spectacular drainage system of an old lagoon, and the nearby Malpas Tunnel, or tunnels, where the Canal Du Midi goes through a tunnel under Ensérune, as does a railway tunnel and drainage tunnel, as at: http://www.destination-languedoc.co.uk/articles/the-etang-de-montady-605-2.html
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20. Wine tasting! While visiting you will see countless vineyards, Domaines, Caves, Caveaux offering mostly free wine-tasting, but also some gourmet wine-tasting events. Just drop in at any of them, or look at the official Oenotourisme site which covers the whole Languedoc region, listing places that welcome visitors as at: http://www.oenotourisme-languedoc.com/wp/visites-et-degustations-2/
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Things to do and places to visit within Olonzac:
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1. Please see the list of Olonzac’s restaurant, cafes and bars above, but there is a lot more in Olonzac:
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2. Olonzac Tuesday morning street market is a must see in Olonzac, open all year for the large food market section, as well as the clothes market, brocante and many other stalls. Beware the road closures from very early on Tuesday mornings.
3. Play tennis at the ‘Tennis Club Minerve’ in Olonzac’s lovely public park which has three good tennis courts and is open to non-members, for prices and information: http://tennis-club-minervois.e-monsite.com/ The park is in the centre of Olonzac on the Avenue d’Homps, 34210 Olonzac, and also has an area to play boules.
4. Visit the lovely Coin d’Art, and art and crafts gallery, as at: https://lecoindart.wordpress.com/ Open Tuesday mornings 9.30-12.00 and Sundays 10.00-12.00 and 15.00-17.00. 23, Grand rue, 34210 Olonzac.
5. Visit the Cour des Arts, Olonzac as at: https://www.facebook.com/courdesarts/ and http://www.courdesarts.eu/index_e.html 4, place de l’Église, 34210 Olonzac (to the right-hand side of the church).
6. Olonzac has a small but excellent museum displaying local archaeological discoveries going back thousands of years as at: http://www.musee-olonzac.fr/ 9,boulevard Pasteur, 34210, Olonzac. Open from Tuesday to Friday 10.00 to 12.00 and 15.00 – 18.00.
7. Olonzac church, the church of the Assumption de Notre Dame is in the centre of the old town near the Marie (the Hotel de Ville or Mayor’s office), and has regular church services, but is also worth visiting in its own right.
8. Les Celliers d’Onairac is a friendly wine-tasting tasting cellar, and has a selection of local artisanal products. http://www.lescelliersdonairac.com/ Cave Coopérative, Les Celliers d'Onairac,
6, rue Pierre Betorz, 34210 Olonzac.
9. Hire excellent bicycles delivered to your door in Olonzac, to cycle many quiet off-road routes from Olonzac among the vineyards and along the Canal Du Midi – contact the nearby Mellow Velos at: http://mellowvelos.com/hire/en/
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10. If cycling take a look at the excellent free maps, free resources, and useful web links for cyclists at the CanalDuMidi.bike web site. This site has the best maps of the Canal Du Midi for cyclists or anyone else that I've seen.
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Other attractions:
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The whole of the Minervois wine region and other wine regions nearby - you are in the centre of one of France's largest and famous wine regions, with countless different local vineyards, domaines and wine producers. A short trip to Ventenac and Paraza very close on the Canal Du Midi is a local delight.
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The whole of the Canal du Midi - from Sete on the Mediterranean coast to Toulouse - miles of beautiful waterways, punctuated by villages, cities and canal-side restaurants
Many, many chateaux and wine domains for wine tastings and gastronomic days out
Other Mediterranean beaches
The Montagne Noir or Black Mountain
The Midi-Pyrenees mountains and resorts
Spain is so close - Gerona (185 km) and Barcelona (280 km)
Please send suggestions of useful tourist information to be added here free of charge, please email Martin Davies at: martindvz@aol.com or use the contact form on the Contact page
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