Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
into the village. (A worthwhile path leads from the left of the tower, around the village,
and down to the river—watch your step as you descend; you can re-enter the village from
the riverbed at its lower end.)
Minerve has two cool cafés, one hotel, a nifty little bookshop, a few wine shops, and
a smattering of art galleries. You'll also find two small museums: a prehistory museum
and the compact
Hurepel de Minerve,
with models from the Cathar era that effectively
describe this terrible time (€3, free for children under 14, excellent English explanations,
interesting for kids, daily April-Oct 10:00-13:00 & 14:00-18:00, closed Nov-March, Rue
des Martyrs, tel. 04 68 91 12 26).
Getting to Minerve:
Located between Carcassonne and Béziers, Minerve is nine
miles north of Olonzac and 40 minutes by car from Carcassonne. It makes for a good stop
between Provence and Carcassonne.
Sleeping and Eating in Minerve:
Stay here and melt into southern France (almost
literally, if it's summer).
$ Relais Chantovent
's unpretentious and spotless rooms are de-
signed for those who come to get away from it all, with no phones or TV...and ample quiet
(Sb-€43, Db-€50, breakfast-€7, free Wi-Fi, tel. 04 68 91 14 18,
www.relaischantovent-
minerve.fr
,
sandra.bru@orange.fr
). Its sharp restaurant deserves your business and is pop-
