As always we are available to personally answer your emails and phone calls. However we have just added a shopping cart for your convenience.
A Perfect Gift for wine enthusiasts:
BUY NOW and save 10% on all purchase over €100.
O’Vineyards offers an array of Food & Wine Experiences. Click to read the TripAdvisor travelers reviews about our Wine, Food and Lodging.
Tonton Marcel, a French and German guide to agritourism, dropped by O’Vineyards toward the end of harvest. They’re on the lookout for the unpretentious, country relation of Mr. and Mrs. Smith who also runs accommodations on the farm. 😀
Photos they took while here
Tonton Marcel separates the wheat from the chaff
I think this is a guide that needed to exist. One of the big problems with agritourism is that you’re never sure if you’re getting a cool, modern farm experience or a cheap little cot in a hayloft with a farmer who seems to dislike visitors. This second group is often a historical artifact resulting from the way farmers used to make a little spare cash.
There was a time when your horses got tired and you’d ask one of the locals if there were any pensions before the next big town. A place where you could tie up your horses and shut your eyes until morning. Those places still exist. A lot of farms and vineyards run their chambres d’hotes or gites in a similar manner. You show up, get the key, and then they’ll avoid you at all cost for the rest of your stay. The room is located on a farm, but otherwise you’re as separated from the farm experience as possible. These places also tend to be a little run down. A little rusticity can be charming, but people also expect a certain level of comfort.
Modern agritourism, especially in wine, can result in massive investments like four star hotels with a view on the vines. Every comfort imaginable. But then these accommodations can go a bit too far and you forget you’re even staying at a farm.
Tonton Marcel seems to seek out the special sweetspot between authenticity and modernity. They’re looking for operators like my family. We actually make wine and we’re winemakers before we’re hoteliers. But at the same time, we understand that you should show your guests a bit of hospitality and we’re savvy enough to include them in the winemaking process when we can. Guests at O’Vineyards will almost definitely remember the winemakers as they look back fondly on their stay.
So the guide finds farms like mine. And I think a lot of kids my age are looking for this sort of experience. I say kids because the average age of our B&B guests so far is about 35. That’s exceptionally low for a B&B. It’s eye opening for a lot of operators who think that only older couples are interested in the bed and breakfast concept.
So here’s hoping that Tonton Marcel becomes as much a household name as Mr & Mrs Smith.
This post is about charming Bed & Breakfast rooms available in Carcassonne.
Obviously, I’d love for you to come and stay with me at O’Vineyards B&B, but we’re not very close to the castle. So if you like slurping red wine and you’re going to have a car, you can come sleep at our place. Otherwise, here are some excellent options that are walking distance to the medieval Cité de Carcassonne.
B&B Walking Distance from the Castle
On the Canal
Péniche Mirage –
28 rue du Canal
Ecluse d’Herminis
11090 CARCASSONNE
33 (0)6 16 46 28 67
info@mirage-hotes.fr
Stay on a barge on the Canal du Midi. This has been fully outfitted as a charming B&B / houseboat. The owners are onboard to take care of you. There’s also a jacuzzi on top of the boat. Prices range a lot depending on how much luxury you want on the peniche. Children have to know how to swim if you want to stay on the boat.
In the castle
L’echappee Belle –
5 Rue Raymond Roger Trencavel
La Cite 11000 Carcassonne
33 (0)4 68 25 33 40
info@lechappeebelle.co.uk
This B&B is notable because it’s actually in the medieval citadel. A lot of people don’t realize just how big the castle is. Hundreds of people live within those ramparts. There’s a school, dozens of restaurants and shops, 2 hotels, a hostel, and a B&B.
At the foot of the ramparts
Côté Cité –
81, Street Trivalle
11000 CARCASSONNE
33 (0)6 89 35 61 51
info@cotecite.com
A B&B at the foot of the castle, just outside the remparts.
Other accomodations
For a full list of accomodations, check out Trip Advisor’s Carcassonne Hotel page. Whether or not you trust the reviews, it’s a pretty complete list of lodging options in and around Carcassonne.
O’Vineyards – Villemoustaussou
4 elegantly furnished B&B rooms with direct view on the vines. You’ll be sharing the building with us, a Franco-American family with a small vineyard and winery just north of Carcassonne. We’re very happy to host, and we have a full range of high end red wines.
The Cabardes is a gorgeous region of France that is very close to the historic medieval castle of Carcassonne. Proximity to the Cité makes the Cabardes a perfect vacation area because it means you can visit the Cité de Carcassonne, the Canal du Midi, and benefit from all the amenities of Carcassonne. There’s a train station and an International airport (almost exclusively RyanAir flights though). You’re less than hour’s drive from the Mediterranean coast, about an hour from Toulouse, about an hour and a half from Montpellier, and a couple of hours from the Pyrenees.
I should also mention you’ll be surrounded by delicious wine!! 🙂
The Cabardes AOC is small, dominated by independent wine producers, and features a unique blend of Mediterranean and Atlantic grape varietals.
