May

The annual Fête de la Vigne et du Vin takes place across France, offering a chance for producers, restaurateurs and wine enthusiasts to get together at countless vineyards and cellar doors to talk terroir and compare vintages. During May many wine domaines near Le Couvent have Open Door events where you can take a stroll in their vines, learn about grapes and wine-making and taste a drop too. For more information about the wines of the Languedoc take a look at the official site - lots of good stuff and a quiz too.
Roses, wisteria, poppies, broom, honeysuckle, wild cherries - the countryside of the Languedoc is pure therapy for the senses at this time of year. We have descriptions and maps of lots of walks so you can stroll across the hills (and flat bits) to your soul's content. Look out for the Aphyllante de Montpellier (pictured right) which gives the local countryside a blue hue.
The 14th & 15th May 2010 sees Les Caritats, the medieval festival of Beziers in full swing. Tons to see, eat, listen to and dance along with.

 

June

At Le Grand Café in Roujan - 17 June, Ray Evritt et Le Jazz Club du Grand Café

The Festival des Très Courts (Festival of Short Shorts), held at cinemas across France, offers an original programme of some 50 short films, each lasting less than three minutes. If your attention span is limited, it's a must! Participating cities Montpellier, just forty minutes from Le Couvent. The programme spans film, video and animation, and the under-three-minute rule means that filmmakers are obliged to go straight to the heart of the matter, often leading to some poetic and innovative results. It also means that amateur filmmakers can express their vision once they have grasped the basics.

July

Bastille Day - Practically every Languedoc village, town and city marks the French national holiday of July 14 – Bastille Day - with some kind of celebration, and many have a firework display - including Roujan which spends a merry fortune to produce a spectacular display - and it's all free to watch.

At Le Grand Café in Roujan:

6 July - Tombstone rock group

13 July - Memories (Rock)

20 July - Time Machine (Rock & Pop)

27 July - Ray Evritt et Le Jazz Club du Grand Café

August

Water jousting in the Venice of the South

Les Joutes Nautiques de Sète is a series of events held annually in the centre of France’s second-largest sea port. Water jousters armed with a lance and a wooden shield sail in 8 metre long, round-bottomed boats equipped with a platform on which they perch, high above the water. The aim of the exercise is to push your opponent into the water without touching the platform with hands, knees or elbows. Each vessel has 10 rowers and a captain; crowds pack the canal side and roar encouragement, yelling with delight whenever someone takes a tumble into the canal.

At Le Grand Cafe in Roujan:

3 August - Duo'smoz - (Rock & Pop)

10 August - Tombstone (Rock)

12 August - Victor Brox et Le Jazz Club du Grand Café

17 August - Elyanour (Chanson Francaise)

24 August - Heayen (Soul, rock, pop, jazz)

31 August - Soliloquai - (Rock & pop)

September

Les Vendanges - the grape harvest September equals harvest time throughout the Languedoc. You can watch millions of tons of grapes being picked by hand and machine, then see the wine in production. If you're staying at Le Couvent you can take part in our very own harvest at Chateau Mal Au Dos.