Our nearest town, the focus of Mirepoix is its magnificent centuries-old medieval square bordered with vast wooden columns topped with half timbered facades above arcaded shops, an area known as the 'couverts'.

The town dates from the 13th century and is a 'gem' for tourists with over 20 restaurants ranging from bistros, brasseries and pizzerias to 4 star gastronomic excellence. There are many cafes and bars and an excellent weekly market held in the square on Monday morning all year round. On market days the cafes and bars rub shoulders with the stallholders and you can sip a coffee while watching a world of trade that has not changed in centuries.

Mirepoix has a super-U supermarket, but also retains specialist bakeries, butchers, fishmongers and the essentials of pharmacies, gift shops, hairdressers, hardware, antiques and even a computer shop.

The photos show the town square and some of the events that take place in Mirepoix throughout the year.

• The first photo shows a view of part of the medieval square and the Mairie in the centre of town, the tourist office is on the ground floor of the Mairie.
• The cathedral overlooks the square as shown in the second photo, taken during the weekly market day with the town square bustling with sellers of traditional fresh French produce.
• The next photo was taken on the annual flower festival held on Pentecost weekend - this varies in line with Easter, falling between mid-May and early-June. This weekend also coincides with an antiques and collectables fair held under the couverts.
• The next three photos are from the annual 'medievals' festival, held over the weekend nearest to 20th July. This is the biggest festival of the year including several parades and torchlit processions; an artisanal market held under 'the couverts' around the square; usually with displays of medieval crafts, demonstrations of pottery, metalworking, weaving, thatching etc. Farm animals to meet and pet, and other activities for children and adults alike.
• During two days in August Mirepoix hosts a pottery market, with traditional hand-thrown work displayed by artisans from across South West France shown in the next photo.
• On several Thursdays during the summer, when the nights are sultry and the evenings are long, there is a 'nocturnal' market held under the couverts with artisanal sellers of jewellery, clothing, leather goods, artwork and other crafts. The town gathers under the covered hall (shown in front of the cathedral on the second photo) for 'moules-frites' - mussels freshly brought up from the mediterranean served with piping hot chips, and the mairie provides several jazz bands who move around the square playing for everyone's enjoyment.
• The final photo is the last big festival of the year - in mid October there is a weekend apple festival with everything 'apple' - themed sculpture as shown in the last photo from the year when the theme was 'the sea'; fresh apples for sale by the bagload; apple cakes, pies, tarts, toffee-apples; distillers of apple brandy, sellers of apple juice, demonstrations of apple pressing...