The house:
Brand new for 2006, three minutes from fresh bread in the village square, garage, parking,
ice maker, fenced pool, spa/jacuzzi, by stream, no through road, BBQ.
Out and About - activities around Octon:
Cycling is the French national sport, so cyclists are welcomed everywhere. You are at liberty to dress up in lycra cycling uniforms identical to those worn by the other 50 members of your cycling club, and no Frenchman will find you at all humorous. Normal mortals can hire bicycles in many towns.
Canoeing - there are many places where you can hire a canoe or kayak and paddle gently downstream, and then get driven back upstream to collect your car. Great way to spend a day.
Golf - there are good courses in Montpellier, Beziers, Cap d'Agde and La Grand Motte, all within an hour's drive, and a nine-holer at Lamalou les Bains is an easy 30 minutes away.
Windsurfers, dinghies and catamarans can all be hired five minutes away at the Lac du Salagou, or on the other side of the lake at the sailing centre in Clermont l'Herault.
Walking - there are some 6000 kilometres of maintained, marked out pathways in the Languedoc. No excuses!
Out and About - food and drink:
The area is particularly rich in in traditional foods of the region, and has borrowed freely from the cuisines of Aragon and northern Italy, and to a lesser extent Spain and Morocco. There is also of course a strong Mediterranean influence, even here, forty minutes inland - merchants bring fresh fish to inland markets and fishmongers every day. The Languedoc is becoming a respected producer of quality wines. Many domains already produce wines that command high prices. As you drive around the area, you will see numerous signs reading 'dégustation'. The word originally denoted the art of recognising a wine, its place of origin, quality, and age just from the taste, but now it just means free tasting. You can stop and taste wines at these places, and if you like what you taste you buy direct from the producer, sometimes at a significant discount.
