Villa Josephine: On the hillside overlooking the sea, terrace, pool & tennis

Location on the mountainside above the vineyards overlooking the sea

The house is located in southern France above the sea and vineyards in an oak forest on the steep slopes of the Albères with stunning views over the Roussillon on the Mediterranean Sea to the snow-capped peaks around the Canigou, in southern Roussillon or French Catalonia on the border with Spain.

Plot / garden

The property is, as well as the surrounding area, located on a wooded mountainside and overgrown with cork oaks and holm oaks. There you will find beautiful, partially shady places with a wonderful view over the plain of Perpignan. On the steep slopes of the property grow some interesting Mediterranean plants including aloe vera and wild herbs such as thyme, rosemary or oregano.

terrace

However, you have the most beautiful view from the terrace. Over the treetops of the stone and cork oaks you look to the east to the 12 km distant sea, to the north over the plain of Perpignan to the mountain ranges of the Corbieres and to the west to about 60 km away, mostly snow-capped mountain of the Catalans, the Mont Canigou. The terrace is big. (about 40 square meters) It is tiled with real terracotta and fully covered. There is a comfortable lounge seating area and a garden table with 6 chairs available. In the morning sun is on the terrace from the east. In the midday heat, when the sun is high, enjoy shade, in the late afternoon, the sun comes back from the west back onto the terrace.

Toddlers: Access to the terrace can be secured with a baby grill (available in the house). Thanks to a cast-iron railing surrounding the terrace, the terrace is secured against the steep terrain and separated from the rest of the property so that even a small child can safely move on the terrace while crawling. There it is also protected from the hot midday sun.

flat

The apartment is about 63 square meters and consists of

... a large living-dining room with open kitchen,
... a bedroom with double bed 140x200 cm and view over the plain of Perpignan,
... a second bedroom with two separate beds 90x200 cm (here is the view into the forest),
... a bathroom (with sink, shower, bidet and washing machine)
... a corridor with a small storage room and cloakroom and
... a separate toilet.
It is usually suitable for 4 adults, but if necessary, a baby bed can be placed and in the living room there is also a fold-out sofa bed (140x200cm), which can be booked for the night. The large and bright living-dining room and the spacious well-equipped kitchen can be opened to the terrace with large sliding glass doors and has views over the wide plain of Perpignan.

The kitchen is open to the living room and equipped with a fitted kitchen. In addition to fridge with separate freezer, stove with oven and double sink, it has u. a. It also has a dishwasher, microwave, coffee maker and electric grill. You will also find extensive cookware in the apartment. This is not a typical narrow holiday home kitchen. You can really cook in this kitchen. And you should as well. Benefit from the wide selection of fresh, locally grown food and the wonderful Mediterranean spices, some of which grow in the garden.

swimming pool

The large swimming pool (about 330m as the crow flies from the house) share with the residents of the Domaine-des-Alberes. From the house you can already see it and of course walk, but beware, there are some altitude in between, and you should consider whether you want to run up the mountain again exhausted, or rather take the car. There is also a toilet and a room where you can change clothes.

tennis court

Opposite the swimming pool there is a tennis court, which you can use free of charge together with the inhabitants of the Domaine.

Park

You can park right next to the entrance, above the house on Chemin du Vilar, on a gravel area in front of the house.

reachability

The house is easy to reach. The access to the apartment is at the garden level, but unfortunately not suitable for wheelchairs, as you have to go through a 15-step irregular natural stone staircase (see photos).

Smoke

This house is a Non smoking house. It may only be smoked on the terrace and that only cautiously. Fill the ashtray with 1 cm of water so that the wind does not emit the surrounding trees. (Forest fire)

Mémé Josephine

The house bears the name of an old Catalan, my French "election grandma" Josephine, who lived in Douilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse below the great Kartharrerburg of the same name (see excursion descriptions in the apartment) and there u. a. Wine (including a delicious Macabeu vielle vigne) and vegetables. She was the grandmother of my exchange partner Béatrice and I spent many weeks with her as a child during the summer, while Béa in Avignon buffed for her exams. From her and her daughter, my wonderful host mother Jannine I have been cooked and spoiled in the most delicious way and have learned a lot about the rural life. Apart from her vineyard and the large vegetable garden she also had various chickens and rabbits and dogs and cats. She and Jannine, who still lives with her husband Éli in Douilhac today, taught me many recipes and drew our family's attention to the cultural wealth of the Laroque region, which eventually led to our 35 years ago.

Neighborhood / direct environment

The house is located in the Domaine des Alberes, a part of the still clearly above the medieval village and the castle of Laroque on the slopes of the Alberes and overlooks the vast plain of Perpignan, the mountains behind and the sea. To the left of the house lives a nice elderly French couple with their son, in the cute house on the right side of the Villa Josephine lives a German, also a very dear friend of the family. It is a quiet, tranquil place, but close to the lively coastal towns and beaches, if you want to spend the day on the beach. Since the Chemin du Vilar ends just above the house, there is hardly any traffic. Only mountain bikers can be seen more often, who torture themselves because of the rewarding view up the mountain. (How nice that we just have to sit on the terrace for that ;-)) Above the house there are some walking and hiking trails that lead through the Alberes up to the Noillos, the highest mountain in the Alberes.

The surrounding places St. Genis, Sorede, St. André, Argeles-sur-Mer, Collioure, Port Vendres, Brouilla, Bages, Elne ..... all have medieval town centers and, in addition to the typical wine-growing tradition of contemplative landscape, they also harbor some wonderful cultural treasures.

Famous throughout Europe is the lintel of the monastery of St. Genis in the neighboring village or the Cathedral of Elne from the 10th Century, but also look at the countless small medieval chapels, hermitages and monasteries, about which they almost stumble on almost every walk. Highly recommended is a walk through the medieval streets of Laroque up to the old fortified castle of Laroque, from the 12th century. Century comes.

Another sort of "celebrity" has won the places Collioure and Ceret not far from the house, because thanks to the wonderful light of the "Cote Vermeille" many famous artists of the Impressionism have settled down, who immortalized these places in their pictures. Collioure is considered the birthplace of Fauvism and Ceret the Mecca of Cubism. Some places will surely be familiar to you thanks to the famous paintings of Matisse, André Derain, and Picasso. Even painters such as Georges Braque, Raoul Dufy, Foujita, Othon Friesz, Juan Gris and Albert Marquet spent a lot of time in these places and since they were still poor at the time, many artists often paid for their beer with a picture. (This has paid off for the hosts ... ;-) And speaking of art, on the Spanish side of the Albères, about 30 minutes from the house, you can visit the center of life and the place of action of Dalí. There is hardly a place of art left to visit today, even crazier than his "theater" in Figueras, in which he allowed himself to be walled up after his death.

But even the "activists" come here at your expense. Wonderful walking and hiking trails criss-cross the mountains and a breathtaking coastal hiking trail, which you can access step by step over several days from the house, connecting the coastal towns around the house to the Spanish side. For demanding cyclists it is a dream area, but they should bring stamina, because in this area is also trained for the Tour de France. Water sports enthusiasts enjoy the beautiful marina in Argeles, from where many surfers, the last part of the sandy beach use to start in the southern area off the cliff.

Speaking of the sandy beach: from Argeles to the north you have 40 km long sandy beaches to choose from. As our guests are usually spoiled for choice, you will find in-house information on which beaches are best for which purpose. For small children there are shallow wide-expiring beaches with fine sand and little waves, water sports find wind, snorkel steep beaches with crystal clear water and for partygoers there are of course beaches with restaurants and discos, which last until late at night. There are also naturist beaches and natural less frequented beach sections suitable for long beach walks.