Welcome to Les Contes — our family-run sanctuary and Bed & Breakfast nestled in the wild beauty of the Occitan Pyrenees, beneath the sacred gaze of Montségur.
A Sanctuary of Living Waters, Story, and Sacred Revival
Once a Catholic children’s summer home in the 1930s, this gleaming white haven now hums with a new life — a place where ancient waters rise again, where animals roam freely, and where spirit, story, and nature intertwine.
The name Les Contes means “the tales”, born from the days when local women gathered by the river to wash clothes and share news. Today, the conversation continues — not in gossip, but in sacred inquiry, spiritual remembrance, and healing dialogue. Appearing on Channel 4’s Help! We Bought a Village, our transformation has been broadcast to many. But to truly understand Les Contes, you must feel it. The place does not just host guests — it welcomes souls.
What You’ll Find Here
- 19 uniquely decorated guest rooms, alive with original features and adorned with artwork from renowned and local artists
- A mystical chapel, permaculture gardens, and a fun-filled animal sanctuary
- Red Rose Café (seasonal, vegan/vegetarian) and shared kitchen to foster community
- A peaceful library with open fire, perfect for quiet retreat
- Healing waters, with springs flowing directly from Pic de Soulerac, the Cathar Holy Mountain
- Unplugged rest in a rare “White Zone” — no mobile signals, no EMF smog. Our fibre-optic internet supports wellbeing and connection without disruption
- Access to riverside gardens, forest trails, and ancient Cathar paths, gorges, and caves
Aletheia and Pete lovingly care for the land, walking daily with their goats, growing their food, and tending a rich network of relationships with the spirit of the place. The land moves quickly here — and things happen. People come to rest… and leave changed.
A Living Threshold
Les Contes lies within walking distance of three sacred sites:
- Château de Montségur – A beacon of Cathar memory and spiritual resilience
- Les Gorges de la Frau – Part of the Chemin des Bonshommes, linked to the legendary Cathar treasure trail
- La Fontaine de Fontestorbes – A mysterious, intermittently flowing spring where fairies once beat gold cloth in the moonlight
Beneath your feet, living water runs, carrying ancient memory. Myth, geology, and lineage pulse together through stones, caves, and hidden tunnels — many of which await your arrival, as if they always knew you were coming.
Welcome to Daniela, our new front-of-house presence at Les Contes!
Daniela brings a beautiful international spirit with her. She speaks Portuguese, Spanish, French, and English, and has worked in hotels and spas across different parts of the world. Through these experiences she has developed a natural sense of hospitality, the quiet art of helping people feel at ease, seen, and cared for. And yet, what we love most about Daniela is something deeper.
Despite her earlier life travelling and working internationally, Daniela has chosen the Pyrenees as the place where she wants to live and contribute. She values the slower rhythm of mountain life, the closeness to land and animals, and the simple dignity of communities that still honour the natural order of things. This makes her a wonderful fit for Les Contes.
Our intention here has never been to become a busy hotel or a place filled for the sake of being full. Les Contes is, and will remain, a sanctuary, a place where people, animals, land, and water can exist in a more balanced way. A place where hospitality is offered with care rather than haste.
Daniela understands this spirit. She joins us not to change the rhythm of the place, but to help support the sacred order of life that is quietly growing here.
We are very grateful to have her with us.
Our Ethos
We believe in home, not hotel.
We welcome children, animals, and all paths of the heart.
We serve breakfast overlooking the enchanted garden, where squirrels, eagles, and herons greet the day.
We offer vegan, vegetarian, gluten- and dairy-free options to care for all bodies and beliefs.
We walk with sustainability, reverence, and hospitality.
And in the years ahead, we will expand to include treehouses, yurts, cabins, and bell tents, deep in the forest — for those who long to sleep beneath stars and wake with birdsong.
If you came to Les Contes and never left the valley, you would still return home forever changed. This land carries a rhythm that speaks to the soul — a gateway to the Other World, and a resting place for those remembering who they are.
