Set in 250 hectares of unspoilt undulating Mediterranean landscape surrounded by a pine forest, wild juniper, lavender, and rosemary-covered hillsides with vineyards, olive groves, and a 25 hectare grassland park opposite a lake, the Domaine de la Veine is one of the largest private estates in the Languedoc-Roussillon region and the biggest in the vicinity of Carcassonne. The estate has been designated as a Natura 2000 wildlife fauna and flora conservation zone, as well as being renowned for its magnificent unspoilt surroundings and spectacular natural views and wildlife, including deer and wild boar in the forest.
The house lies in an idyllic, tranquil setting for friends or family looking for a relaxing and secluded getaway far from the madding crowd, and whose silence is broken by nothing but the harmonious chorus of cicadas during the day and the hooting owls or the song of nightingales after dark. Approached by very long winding east and west drives, it is nevertheless situated only 16 minutes drive from the world-famous cathedral city of Carcassonne.
The house has been beautifully restored in traditional Provençal style and is tastefully decorated throughout. Filled with beautiful 18-19th century Georgian and early Victorian or Regency and French Empire antique furniture, along with landscape oil paintings and inherited family portraits, this is not a house for those who prefer what the owner calls “blank minimalism”!
Adjoined is a charming cottage or old French Bérgerie with a separate kitchen and 3 bedrooms that can sleep a further 6 guests. The rooms are nearly all spacious and bright and have stone-flagged floors or, in the eastern side of the house, old terracotta tiles so the house remains cool during the summer. Nearly all the windows have shutters and in most parts the stone walls are over 80 cm thick.