Location
The village of Tuchan lies at the foot of Mont Tauch, a mountain
which offers not only a striking visual backdrop, but many opportunities
for walking, climbing, cycling, horse-riding, drives, picnics - as
well as the village's several springs, which provide both drinking
water and irrigation for the gardens.
The countryside flourishes despite its dryness. It is an aromatic
landscape - wild fennel, lavender, mint, parsley, rosemary and thyme
mix with fig, almond, apricot and mimosa trees amidst the vines. In
spring, wild flowers dominate; in autumn, the vineyards' changing
colours blaze in the sun.
Tuchan is a working village in a landscape of outstanding rugged beauty,
and one of the two famous FITOU wine-producing areas in the
Languedoc region of southwest France. The Cave Cooperative
offers free wine-tasting (dégustation).
Local Ameneties
Village amenities include la boulangerie which offers a variety
of regional, traditional and healthy breads as well as pastries, in
addition to the popular baguette and flute. There are two supermarkets.
le tabac, chemist, two doctors, two nurses, a chiropodist,
dentist, hairdresser, bank, post office, cafe & two restaurants.
The supervised municipal swimming pool, with separate baby/toddler
pool is open in the school summer holidays.
There are tennis courts, and boule is played in the shade of
the avenue of established plane trees on the Rue de la Promenade.
This large, sociable space also includes a children's play area with
slide and climbing frame.
The petrol station is on the edge of the village; a garage / car mechanic
is situated on the road to the nearest village of Paziols.
There is a second swimming pool in open countryside, about ten minutes
walk from the house. This is part of La Peirière, which
also includes a bar and restaurant, and regular live music in the
evenings.
The daily open-air markets in front of La Mairie offer a wide
variety of locally grown fruit and veg, as well as home-made jams. One morning a week
a mobile boulangerie sells bread, (almond) croissants, flans,
etc; and one evening a week, a pizza van with a wood-fired oven bakes
a variety of freshly made pizzas to order at affordable prices.
Areas Of Natural Beauty & Historic Interest
River swimming in beautiful local locations is popular. The nearest
is under ten minutes by car, on the outskirts of the next village,
Paziols. Nearby Tautavel also offers river swimming, as well as being
the site of the famous European Centre of Prehistory, with its imaginative
exhibitions of the era 'Tautavel Man' (one of the oldest inhabitants
of Europe).
Cathar history pervades the region. The remains of Cathar castles
punctuate the landscape, from the awe-inspiring Peyreperteuse,
high in the mountainous hinterland, the breath-taking vistas of Queribus,
to the more modest Château d'Aguilar, which overlooks
Tuchan and can be seen from the sitting room windows on the first
floor of the house. Places of great natural / historic / cultural
interest abound in the region.
Favourite beaches are La Franqui-Plage and Leucate Plage,
both under an hour to the east by car, To the south-east, the old
fishing ports of the Côte Vermeille, between Perpignan
and the Spanish border, with their striking cliff coastlines and turquoise
sea (popular with dolphins), combine village life with (in the summer)
a lively tourist atmosphere.