Julia Stagg is the author of the Fogas Chronicles, novels set in the Ariège region of the French Pyrenees. Her latest book, Last Chance in the Pyrenees, is available now (Hodder & Stoughton £7.99).
www.jstagg.com; Twitter: @juliastagg
https://www.facebook.com/staggjulia
WIN A COPY OF Julia Stagg's latest book: Last Chance in the Pyrenees see page 66
When the jostling and crowding have grown too much, we amble up the hill to the historic site of Saint-Lizier, its imposing 14th century Bishops’ Palace towering above us.
Officially classified as one of the most beautiful villages in France, it is an oasis of calm. Narrow cobbled streets twist around medieval half-timbered houses, alleyways which meander out of sight entice the curious visitor and then, somehow, you’re not sure how, you suddenly emerge at the top of the town, beneath the thick stone walls of the Bishops’ Palace. And the view! It takes your breath away.
But this being France, there is always a café around the corner where you can grab a seat and recover, taking in the scenery as you linger over a long lunch in this place that lives life very much in the slow lane.