Languedoc-Roussillon, Aude, Azille, France

In a small, quiet street near the church, the front of the house faces south, and the rear faces the garden of approximately 150m². One enters by the carved double doors, into a large L-shaped entrance hall (30m²) with a glazed door, the original grey and white tiles and windows onto the garden. From here, a smart pellet-burning stove heats the house.

To the left is a large reception room of 30m² with two large windows facing south, a real old parquet floor, and a wonderful marble fireplace. Two pairs of double doors lead to another room at the end of the house, which is not yet renovated. This has a window and used to have a separate entrance (now blocked).

To the right is a charming dining room of 18m² with two large south-facing windows and traditional decorated floor tiles. This leads to the unfitted kitchen (30m²) with its timber beams, traditional cooking range, marble sink and door to a large storeroom (17m²).

The garden is a haven of peace, with an olive tree, a fig tree, albizzia, oleander, bamboo, irises, roses and violets, giving ambiance to the lovely outside sitting and eating area. The rear of the house has been re-rendered, the roof has been replaced and about half the windows in the house have been replaced with double-glazed ones.

Inside, the stone and tiled staircase leads up from the hallway to a half-landing which gives access to the master suite, with a bedroom of 28.5m², plus a dressing area and elegant shower room bringing the area up to 47m² in total.

At the top of the stairway is a landing of 15m², with two large windows overlooking the garden. Off this is a gorgeous bedroom of 28.5m² with two large windows looking south. Next to this is a room of 11m² which is waiting to become a bathroom, (all the equipment is available) and at the end is a large room of 30m² with a magnificent marble fireplace and overmantel and two windows looking south (also to be renovated). All this area has terracotta floor tiles, as do the last two rooms, both with double panelled doors, totalling 13.6m².

On the half-landing on the way up to the second floor is an attic room of approx 47m² with 3 windows, and the top landing gives access to three small south-facing bedrooms, two of which have masonry bed-frames which were used for the teachers' rooms when the building was a school.

At the end of the landing, which has two windows overlooking the garden and the village church and roofs, there is a room of 30m² with two windows and a velux roof light, with two small rooms beyond. All the rooms on this floor are still to be renovated.

Azille has a café/bar, a butcher's shop/épicerie/bank, a dépôt de pain, a pizzeria/café, a pharmacy, a post office, a Friday market, 2 resturants, a curry house and a doctor. It is 7 km from Olonzac which has all amenities, 30 km from Carcassonne, 35 km from Narbonne, 50 km from Béziers, 50km from the sea and 128 km from Spain (an hour and a half).