Maison De Maitre for Sale in La Promenade, Saissac, Aude, France

Elegant Period House Near Carcassonne with Views of Pyrenees

Elegant professionally restored period house (370m2) in a beautiful hillside village with all amenities.
Magnificent panoramic views of the Pyrenees.

Outstanding reception room for entertaining.

Beautiful landscaped gardens with swimming pool.

5/6 bedrooms plus possible gite or granny flat.

Located in the Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon. 25 mins from Carcassonne Airport, 1 hour from Toulouse Airport and the Mediterranean beaches.

This beautiful, large "Maison de Maitre" was built in about 1860 and stands in 6500 m2 of landscaped gardens and woodland. It is located in a village 450m above sea level in the unspoilt countryside of the Aude. The village of about 900 inhabitants has all amenities including a baker, 2 grocery shops, a butcher, a hairdresser, a hardware/garden supplies shop, pharmacy, two doctors and two vets. There are infant and primary schools, a sports stadium, sports hall, 2 restaurants and a bar.

The house was completely restored in the 1990s to a high specification. It is orientated towards south and west and has magnificent panoramic views of the Pyrenees. Nearly all windows are double-glazed and there is a fully programmable gas fired central heating system. There are two large paved and shaded terraces and numerous places for sitting out in the garden.

On the main floor, is the impressive panelled reception room (8.90m x 7.90m). It has a large marble fireplace with working chimney, the original decorated floor tiles, corner cupboards with curved doors, a secret door and huge 19th century oil paintings on canvas fixed to the walls. From it, a door leads to the orangerie (4.70m x 3.10m) and double doors lead to the main south and west facing terrace which has stunning views of the garden, village and mountains, and a shady wisteria covered wrought iron pergola.

Also on this floor is a fully fitted kitchen (4.30m x 3.00m) a back kitchen with original stone sink, a cellar, boiler room, breakfast room (3.90m x 3.70m), bedroom 1 (3.90m x 3.70m), bathroom 1 (3.70 x 3.00m) with white bath, WC, bidet and basin, tiled floor and trompe-l'oeil decoration.

On the lower floor is a dining room (7.80m x 4.70m) with terracotta tiled floor, a fireplace with insert wood-burning fire, three pairs of French windows leading to a west facing, wisteria covered terrace with balustrade. A second room (5.80m x 3.50m) has a tiled floor and door to the terrace and leads to a laundry room (3.3m x 1.8m) with tiled floor, sink and plumbing for a washer. There is also a wine store and a storeroom.

Note: This floor could be converted into a self-contained, two bedroom gite or granny flat.

On the first floor is a library (5.8m x 4.7m) with marble fireplace and insert wood-burning fire. Study/bedroom 2 (4.9m x 3.8m) with marble fireplace. Bedroom 3 (3.6m x 3.0m) with marble fireplace. Shower room (2.4m x 2 2m) with white WC, bidet, basin and shower. Inner hall. Bedroom 4 (4.4m x 4.3m) marble fireplace, parquet floor, French windows to balcony with views over village and mountains. Bedroom 5(4.3m x 3.7m) with marble fireplace, parquet floor, French windows to balcony also with views over village to the Pyrenees. Bedroom 6(4.4m x 3.5m) currently used as a dressing room, with marble fireplace and parquet floor. Bathroom 2 (3.7m x 2.6m) with white bath, basin, WC and bidet and trompe-l'oeil decoration.

Stairs lead up to an attic (9.1m x 7.4m) which is fully insulated, heated and floored, and has a triple window overlooking the village and mountains.

Outside: Two-car garage with electrically operated up and over door. Swimming pool (9.8m x 4.0m) including Roman steps and with a paved terrace. Summerhouse (5.5m x 2.1m), Gardener’s toilet. Workshop/garden store (4.80x 2.5m).

Garden: The house is set in around 6500m2 of land with many trees: chestnut, fig, walnut, magnolia and two magnificent centuries-old cedars. About one half is landscaped garden planted with rosemary, lavender, thyme, roses, hydrangeas, magnolias, camellias and rhododendrons. The other half, which is on a slope, has been left as natural woodland. The garden contains a 19th century grotto, a waterfall, an irrigation canal (free water for the garden, very important!), four fishponds, an aviary for peacocks, ducks and chickens, and outside lighting.

Languedoc-Roussillon is the southern most region of France and Aude is a department within it. Its capital is Carcassonne which offers two World Heritage sites, La Cité (a fairytale fortified town) and the Canal du Midi which links, by waterway, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and was built in the mid 1600s

The house is located in a village that lies about 20km north-west of Carcassonne. It is a beautiful village with its old stone houses ranged on the hillsides above the church and the 800-year-old ruined Cathar castle. In summer the streets echo to the sound of splashing water from the two streams that pass through and the click of the boules from the shady pitches by the Mairie. There are many lakes in the area and these are wonderful places for swimming and picnics. A 20 km drive through the peaceful forest covered slopes of the Montagne Noire, brings you to the small town of Revel with its wonderful Saturday market. The picturesque market was featured in the TV series “French Leave”. This route also takes you past Lake St Ferreol where water-sports of all sorts are available.

Aude is a place of forests and lakes, vineyards and sunflowers, medieval villages and ruined castles, walking and fishing, boating and swimming and outside the main towns, there is very little traffic.
Perpignan and Narbonne, and the beaches of the Mediterranean, are within easy reach of the village, as are the ski resorts of the Pyrenees. Spain is under 2 hours away.

Carcassonne, the nearest airport, is 25 minutes by car and has flights from Stansted, East Midlands, Liverpool, Dublin, Shannon and Brussels via Ryanair.

Toulouse International Airport is about 1 hour away and is served by amongst others; Easyjet, Flybe, BMIbaby, Air France and BA with flights from Birmingham, Belfast, Dublin, Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow and Southampton and East Midlands airports.

Perpignan is about 90 minutes by car and has flights to Birmingham, Southampton and Manchester via Flybe and BMI.