Lac de Montbel

Montbel is a man made lake, just 60 minutes from the holiday cottage, set in the middle of the Ariege.

The lake is large,very quiet and relatively undeveloped. Much used as a boating lake ( no motor boats) the water has a brilliant turquoise colour, mainly from the rich clay of the Ariege. Swimming is relatively safe, however supervision is minimal and because of the clay it is better to be careful with youngsters.

The Ariege is a much greener department than the Aude. In some ways like the Dordogne, but much quieter and in the foothills of the Pyrenees.

Just outside Montbel is the small village of Chalabre. This is a real delight, undeveloped and so easy to pass a lazy afternoon watching the world go by.

A little further away is Lavalanet. Large enough to qualify as a town with it's own mill. The countryside is beautiful, Lavalanet is not.

However just 20 minutes further and you reach Montsegur.In 1232 Montsegur became the capital of the banned Cathar Church. However by 1243 the castle was under siege and it finally surrendered in 1244. Out of approximately 500 people in Montsegur there were 225 who refused to renounce their faith. They were burnt on 16th March on the prats dels cramats.

Lac Montbel is approximately 45 minutes from our holiday house in Carcassonne along quiet roads which take you from the Languedoc into the Ariege.

 Here is a short video of the firefighting planes coming in to collect water from Lac de Montbel.

and here is a great evening picture courtesy of malavoda

Some of our own, to us memorable, visits

and finally the Google map for Lac de Montbel