Ariège

Ariège is in the Occitanie region of France. It is a little known area that stretches from Haute-Garonne in the west, to the Principality of Andorra in the south, and borders the Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales in the east. It is a stunning area, well worth visiting for a huge variety of outdoor activities as well as sightseeing and exploring Cathar History. Neil Lands, author of History, People and Places in the French Pyrenees (1980), wrote that Ariege was probably his favourite region in the whole Pyrenees, "mainly because it is full of little hidden valleys with those castles and towers which I happen to like very much". It remains generally very under-visited (except for July and August when the French are on holiday) and fairly under-populated, giving those who come here a great feeling of space and tranquility.