Finding Languedoc

We visited Carcassonne's La Bastide town centre. We were surprised that most of it was closed. It was Monday. It was August. This medium-sized town reportedly has two million visitors a year, most of them during the summer months. But independent shop owners in the town centre consider summer to be the perfect time for them to take their own vacations. For several weeks. Plus they always close on Mondays ... and Sundays, even during the peak tourist season. Fair enough. But then these same shopkeepers complain to the local media the rest of the year that they do not have sufficient trade. They blame edge-of-town shopping malls. But these malls serve their customers by opening daily and for longer hours. So we felt moved to comment.

Our first visit to Carcassonne in southwest France. Not the medieval castle but La Bastide town centre. These were our initial impressions. We loved it there. Enough to persuade us to live there permanently.

Thinking of buying a property in France? Thinking of moving to France? We were. And we were. So we attended a seminar in London organised by French Entree to learn more from experts about what France would be like. We made notes and are sharing them with you. It was a very useful day for us. Some things we knew already. Some things we learned for the first time. Only a few days later, we moved to France permanently. We love it.