Local facilities include good restaurants, bars, supermarkets, large public indoor and outdoor swimming pools, (one of 50m).

The main square of Pamiers, Place de la Republique is paved in red marble and a lovely place to sit with a drink and watch the world go by. Every week, 3 large open air farmers markets are held on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, plus a "flea" market every Sunday morning. Nearby you will find the old Tour of the Cordeliars and the large Church of Notre-Dame-Du-Champ.

Pamiers lies in an ancient alluvial plain of the Ariege River in the area called La Basse Ariege. Here there is a rich fertile soil ideal for agriculture which is evident all around. Pamiers has 16,000 inhabitants and is the most important town in the department as it is the economical capital of the Ariege.

The town itself dates back to the 5th century and its name was derived from the fact that the land around the Ariege River at this point was divided into six sectors based on a measurement called "Pams" (from the Latin "pannium" meaning pieces). Originally it was called "Ville de Pams" - you often hear the word "Appamee" relating to Pamiers! In the 18th century a plural stance on the word was introduced making the name "Apamias" derived from ecclesiastical language and also similar to the Occitan language. The name "Pamias" still exists today on the town sign, alongside the French name Pamiers as you enter the town via the old route from Toulouse, RN20.

St Victor Rouzaud

The village of St Victor Rouzaud has a large 15th century church and a thriving community situated 13 minutes outside Pamiers and 5 minutes from St Victor du Fau. The "Chemin St Jacques de Compostelle" (The Way of St James) runs straight through the village on towards Montegut-Plantaurel. This was a pilgrims route to Spain. Using the GR78 route (national footpath) from Pamiers, it would take approximately 2.5 hours to get to St Victor Rouzaud.

A fortified village and Hugenot citadel situated on the top of a hill between the Rivers of the Leze and the Dourne and at the mouth of the Arize. One of its most famous inhabitants was the philosopher, Pierre Bayle. The views of the surrounding valleys from this village are wonderful. Surrounding the bastide village are ancient and beautiful ramparts and equally stunning houses. Carla Bayle is famous for its inhabitants who are mainly artists and crafts people. Many arts and crafts exhibitions are held there throughout the year.   There is a superb man-made lake just below the village which is open all year round.  It is set on 12 hectares and facilities include, swimming, sailboarding, fishing & canoeing.  The lake also has a picnic area.

Carla Bayle has a market each Sunday morning.

St Martin D'Oydes is situated 16km NW of Pamiers and is a medieval circular bastide. It was built like this mainly for the defence of the inhabitants; the houses surround the church. In the 19th century a moat was built as a 3rd line of defence for the church but was later covered because of the stench of polluted and stagnant water. If both the moat and houses were breached by attackers, the inhabitants took refuge in the clock tower. This is also where Tony Blair (ex-Prime Minister of Great Britain) and his family had their holiday in summer 2001.

A very pretty 13th century "bastide" (which means hilltop town) town situated adjacent to the Hers River. Gaston de Foix, Duke of Nemons was born there. In 1515 he lost his life at the Battle of Ravenna.

A medieval pageant is held there each summer. Other events include a large open air market each Thursday morning and a tractor fair each Spring.

The village of Vals just off the Mirepoix road is a medieval village with cave dwellings in the rock next to a cave church constructed in the 12th century. Inside it is decorated with Romanesque frescoes. Some archaeologists believe that the village may have been a religious Roman site too.

Like all the area, the town of Saint-Girons (in Ariège) saw a Roman occupation.   St-Girons is situated in the Courserans area of the Ariege and has a long association with cigarette-paper manufacture. The most striking thing about St-Girons is its central pavements, made of a local reddish-pink marble with finely chiselled gutters to take the rainwater from down-pipes. And although there are no other memorable sights, it's a very pleasant town, with a folklore festival in mid-July and a theatre festival in early August.

At the Pont-Vieux, there are picturesque rapids on the River Salat. The bridge leads you towards the old commercial centre of the town on the right bank, with some marvellously old-fashioned shops, their fronts and fittings unchanged for generations. To the right, past the tiny Cathedral, is the Place des Poilus, which hosts the faded elegance of the Grand Hôtel de France and the equally old-fashioned Hôtel de l'Union, where you can still stay. The latter's ground-floor café is a splendid balconied period piece facing the riverside Champ de Mars, a wide gravelled allée of plane trees, which provides the site for a big general market on the second and fourth Monday of every month, and for a regular produce market every Saturday morning.

St-Lizier, totally outranks St Girons in the tourism stakes. It sits on a hilltop, and is full of history; it's walled, arcaded, cobbled, cathedraled, half-timbered, pretty, and lifeless outside of summer.

Architecturally the most interesting building in town is the Cathédrale de St-Lizier (May–Oct daily 10am–noon & 2–7pm; Nov–April Mon–Sat 10am–noon & 2–6pm; admission is free), with its distinctive octagonal tower posing picturesquely against the mountains to the south. Inside are some twelfth-century frescoes faded almost to invisibility, and a fine Romanesque cloister, also twelfth-century, with an array of unique, sculpted column capitals. A second cathedral, Nôtre-Dame-de-Sède, within the grounds of the bishop's palace, is closed indefinitely for renovation, though the palace is also home to the Musée Départmentale de l'Ariège on the first floor (April–June, Sept & Oct Tues–Sun 2–5.30pm; July & Aug daily 10am–12.30pm & 2–6.30pm; €4), which contains a permanent ethnographic collection devoted to the Vallée du Bethmale.  It is, however, worth walking up to the palace anyway, for views over St-Lizier, and continuing on round the old ramparts (same hours; free admission).

Lakes & Rivers

There is canoeing, kayaking, canyoning, caving, a bison farm, an animal park, a prehistoric park and an adventure park all within an hours drive. Riding is available within 5 minutes drive. There are a number of fresh water lakes, where one can walk or swim. The nearest one is at Carla Bayle or another Lac de Mondely and a little further afield towards Mirepoix is Lac Montbel.

At Mercus part of the river Ariege is set aside for swimming, windsurfing and water ski-ing.  There is also a beach where people can sit and picnic.  This is a 25 minute drive from St Victor du Fau.

Fishing

Fishing is possible at Sabarat or Lac de Carla-Bayle, a 20 minute drive from us, plus at Lac Mondely & Lac Montbel. A fishing permit for holidays cost 30 Euros. Please see the site "fishing locally"  or "trout fishing" above for further details.