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Description

Our house is located in a bustling village in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Just 200 metres from the village centre, the four-storey house has a garage, a small courtyard garden at the back and a beautiful roof terrace with magnificent mountain views. Ceret is known for its wonderful Modern Art Museum and its charming Saturday market. Over time, it has been home to artists such as Picasso, Juan Gris, Chagall, Soutine and many others. The village is ideally situated for visits to Spain, the Pyrenees, and the Mediterranean, all of which are within a 1/2 hour drive. The village itself is steeped in history and has a beautiful old walled area, as well as all modern conveniences, including bakeries, food shops, a library, banks, and a medical clinic. There is an open air swimming pool two blocks from our house, and a beautiful lake about 10 minutes drive away. There is something for everyone, from magical walks to more sedentary activities like sitting sipping coffee or wine in one of the many cafes.

There are year-round activities and things to do in Ceret, but the village is most alive in the summer, when there is everything from bull fights to wonderful local Catalan dancing in the streets (the Sardane festival occurs annually in July.) In addition there is often jazz or classical music either free in the streets and squares, or concerts in the medieval church.

Bedrooms

The ground floor has a room with 2 single beds which children might enjoy, as it leads out to the garden. On the second floor, there are 3 double bedrooms and a small study and the possibility of sleeping on a comfortable sofa bed that opens to a double bed. The top floor is a self-contained studio flat with a sofa bed, shower room and kitchenette and access to the roof terrace. Although it is possible to sleep up to 12 people comfortably, we prefer to restrict lettings to groups of up to eight people.

Bathrooms

There is a proper WC with hand basin in the garden, which is convenient when watching TV or using the laundry facilities on the ground floor.

On the first floor, there is a brand new, modern bathroom, with WC, bath and shower attachment. The second floor has a shower room with a double sink and there’s a separate WC with hand basin adjacent to the shower room.
The top (third) floor has a modern shower room, with basin and loo.

Living room

At the back of the house is a large living room with a leather sofa, comfortable chairs and bookshelves containing lots of books, maps and guides of the local areas. There is an electronic keyboard, and a CD-player along with a collection of CDs. There is an exposed stone wall, and large windows with lovely views.

Kitchen

The kitchen is a large family-sized day room divided in two by a granite topped kitchen island. One side of the room is the dining area, with a large oak table and six chairs (but the table extends to seat up to 12 people and there are additional chairs available.)

The kitchen has an induction hob, a built in ‘Teppanyaki’ grill and an eye-level electric oven with a rotisserie. There is also a waist high dishwasher adjacent to the sink and a built-in, full size larder fridge. In a small extension ‘pantry’ there is a side-by-side American style fridge-freezer, and shelves for storing food.

At the front of the kitchen are glass-panelled doors leading to a wall of windows looking out on a mountain view of houses and fields. This area is a suntrap and a pleasant place to sit and read a book.

Other rooms

There is a laundry room on the ground floor at the back of the garage. This is equipped with a modern washing machine and condenser dryer (though we usually prefer ‘sundried clothes’ hung on the retractable line in the garden.) The garden room has a TV which receives British TV stations via satellite. There is also a DVD player.

Each of the two front double bedrooms on the 2nd floor has a small balcony that overlooks a beautiful view. The back master bedroom has an exposed stone wall and, along with the study, has lovely views of the Pyrennean foothills.

The top floor has a self contained studio flat with exposed stone walls, a large Velux window and double doors onto the large roof terrace, which has marble tables that can easily accommodate 8 people. There is also a gas barbecue on the terrace, and a microwave, kettle, sink, fridge and dishwasher in the studio’s kitchenette.

Description of amenities

The house is fully equipped with linens, towels and beach towels. There are plenty of dishes, glasses, bowls and kitchen equipment, both in the main kitchen and in the upstairs kitchen (both of which have dishwashers), so that it is possible to organise meals in either area.

A local woman will clean the house before and after guests leave; the cleaning charge (see pricing below) is NOT included in the rent, and we ask guests to leave this on the kitchen table.

Suitability

The house has three flights of stairs and is therefore not suited for very young children or people with mobility problems.

We request that people do not smoke in the house, but there is a garden and roof terrace where smoking is permitted.

No pets are permitted.