a town like an open book
there are fifteen old bookstores, artists and crafts, a museum of book arts and crafts, the museum of raw and individual art, the ‘coopérative-musée cérès-franco, but also numerous shops and restaurants for a nice day.
in this village, perched on the foothills of the montagne noire, surrounded by cabardès wines, thousands of visitors a year enter a giant library where the narrow streets are the corridors and the shops are the various rooms and hidden corners.
You are reading: Montolieu france city of books
In Montolieu, pause in a painter’s studio before enjoying a meal on a restaurant terrace. again undertakes the search for one of the paper treasures on the shelves of a bookstore. Here, time stops and art comes to life in all its forms.
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our highlights
- Discover or sell an old book, a special edition comic book, a simple paperback, a poster or a 19th-century newspaper at one of 16 bookstores.
- travel far and wide with the works of art in one of the many galleries, temporary workshops, the musée des arts & métiers du livre and the cooperative – musée cérès franco
- try the graphic arts in a museum workshop
- stroll through the streets, adorned with flowers, visit the church of saint-andré, with its unusual dimensions, stroll through the former royal factory of woolen cloth and its factory, and enjoy a breathtaking view from the place de l ‘espérou
- cool off, next to the alzeau riverat the foot of the village and admire the 18th century bridge, 30 m high, that crosses it.
- Go up the hill to the chapelle saint-roch (exit the car park when entering Montolieu from Carcassonne) to admire a unique panorama, a mysterious chapel and some cypresses, some of which are more than a century old and are classified as remarkable trees. a family walk of about 6 km crosses/goes around the hill
montolieu or mount of olives
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The singer Nino Ferrer sang that in Montolieu, ‘you would say the south…’. The town’s name means ‘Mount of Olives’ in Occitan, and it was built on a promontory overlooking the Alzeau and Dure gorges. olive trees, cypresses, different varieties of cacti and flowering shrubs enhance the beauty of the landscape.
Once upon a time, there was a town of books…
The happy history of this town of 800 inhabitants and books would not have been written without the desire, charisma and enthusiasm of Michel Braibant, a Belgian bookbinder who lived in carcassonne, who sadly died just two years after completing his lifelong mission in 1992. aware of the concept of ‘book cities’ in europe, he decided to create a new book town ofmontolieu , which would house bookstores and artisans, as well as a conservatory of book arts and crafts.
thanks to michel braibant’s personal collection of books, objects and some rare and old tools, along with the donation and purchase of large machinery, the museum opened its doors in 1991. since its creation in the early 1990s, The Montolieu village of the Livre et des Arts association has organized numerous events around books: an old book fair, bruit de page book readings, informative workshops, conferences, meetings, exhibitions, etc.
Most of thebookshops are located in charming old town houses. In Montolieu, only second-hand books are sold, some of which are very old or rare. Collectors are sure to find something they like. the general public can also discover a paperback, a comic or a book with a certain theme (cinema, arts, gardening, cooking, esotericism, philosophy, poetry…).
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Some of the bookstores have their own specialty (comics, children’s, art, magazines, old newspapers…). some also sell vinyl records and posters or have temporary exhibitions. Montolieu lives to the rhythm of the seasons. the bookstores are almost all open all year round. half are closed on Mondays, the other half on Tuesdays, so you will always find at least eight open bookstores. they are open every day during school holidays and in summer, of course.
… and amp; arts
download Montolieu: heritage and history
the key events
- antique and second-hand book fair, easter
- world art days in april
- the annual exhibition at the coopérative – musée collection cérès franco
- pages de jazz festival in July
- jazz en l’apostrophe every Friday during the summer
- ‘aude aux arts’ in August
- literary back to school in September
- comic book festival in October
- ‘leaving free’ in spring
- treasure hunt at the tourist office during the school holidays
on the site
bakery, grocery store, pharmacy, kiosk, post office 24h organic vegetable vending machine, doctor, tennis court, swimming pool in summer fruit and vegetable sale, Monday night, les ares verts
number of residents 800 altitude 200 m postal code 11700 tourist information 1, place jean guéhenno 33 (0)4 68 24 80 80 town hall: 33 (0)4 68 24 84 03 website www.montolieu-livre.fr
how to get there
from carcassonne (20 minutes): follow the signs to toulouse, then right towards moussoulens from castelnaudary (35 minutes), go to carcassonne and turn right, then left out of alzonne car parks: 2 opposite to the school, in front and behind the church (3 minutes on foot), in the direction of saissac, parking 150 m from the tourist information office, in the direction of saint denis, parking 200 m from the tourist information office long vehicles: coach parking route de fraisse bus line: d (carcassonne – saissac)
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