The Best French Food Market

This is another of my 'day out in France' hubs where I am going to discuss the very popular farmers market at Revel in the Haute Garronne department of Southern France which is located in the Midi-Pyrenees region.

Revel is very close to the border between Midi-Pyrenees and the Languedoc Roussillon region where we are located. In fact a 20 minute drive from our gite, see French Holidays Aude for details, will see you in the centre of Revel.

Many of our guests have visited the market at Revel and commented on the wonderful selection of local produce that is available there and we all know that food markets are a part of French culture. But it is more than that, of course it is about the food, the fois gras, the French cheeses, the local hams and the vast array of vegetables on offer, but it is also about the ambiance that exists, the buzz of activity, the shouts of the stall holders and the banter that goes on as they try and sell their wares in what must be one of the best outdoor market facilities the South of France has to offer.

So what makes Revel so special, one of the towns most endearing features is its 14th century covered square that is topped by a very impressive bell tower. This facility plays host to the Office de Tourisme (and the public toilets) during normal operating hours, but on a Saturday morning the covered square and town streets see a massive influx of stall holders and not just selling French food.

The square is where you will find food stalls of every variety taking refuge under the covered roof. The outer sections of the square are where you will find the permanent shops and cafes but also more vegetable stalls and gardening stalls selling flowers, shrubs, bulbs and sometimes garden utensils and tools.

As you leave the immediate vicinity of the square into the outer streets you will start to find the clothes stalls, materials, hats, general tools, bric a brac and shoes. In fact, everything you might find in a busy shopping centre you can find catered for by the marketing community, often at bargain prices. We have had many a 5kg bag of French onions for €2, amazing value and often you are making the trade to the sound of a saxophone or some other musical instrument being played in the background.

There is no doubt that anyone visiting this particular market will leave it having noted a very rewarding morning in the South of France.

Before moving on however its is worth having a look around to see what else the town has to offer, for example the eglise Notre Dame (sure I have heard that name somewhere before) or in the Place de la mission, you can find the Statue de Folon and there are plenty of other nice little squares dotted about with a seat to park on for a while.

Revel is also famous for it's Art Meubles and apparently for a liqueur called Get 27 which has been produced in the town since the 18th Century. Wikipedia can fill you in on the details, I need to go to the shops and get a bottle or two, can't believe I didn't know about it.

Just joking, there are plenty of high quality furniture shops in and around the town selling some wonderful products locally produced and the town plays host to a cabinet making school where apprentices can come and train in high quality furniture manufacture and cabinet making (don't think there is a school for manufacturing Get 27, but you can't have everything).

There are also plenty of typical French cafe's, bars and restaurants where you can sit and watch the world go by while you get a bit of sunshine, so take a pause wind down the mania and chill out a bit French style, there is always 'demain' if you need it.

The nice thing about Revel is that while you are visiting the market you can easily collect the ingredients for a really good picnic. All you need is a lovely fresh French loaf, a bit of fois gras maybe, perhaps some Roquefort or a bit of Brie, a few tomato's and or some French onions, and then all you want is a venue.

Le Lac de St Ferreol is less than 10 minutes away and has some very nice woodland picnic places looking over the water alternatively you can just head down to the beach or sit on the rocks, anywhere that takes your fancy. Actually you don't even need your picnic, there are quite a few nice restaurants and cafes around the lake some of which look right across the water giving wonderful viewpoints.

It is also a place of historic interest for the region, find out more on Wikipedia

Another option to consider, particularly being at the gateway to La Montagne Noire and the national park, you can quickly find plenty of picnic places only a short drive from Revel. All you need to do is head out of Revel towards Soreze and Durfort and you will quickly pick up signposts to the mountains and a world of tranquility where you can loose the crowds and enjoy a little bit of quiet, you don't have to but it is a choice that's available to you.

Castelnaudary, which is another lovely little market town that sits on the Canal du Midi and is famous for it's cassoulet is even closer to us at Le Moulin, being only about 10 minutes away. Castelnaudary has it's market day on a Monday and I have to say it could be argued that it is equally as good a market as Revel, they are certainly similar in size and both extend their produce beyond the traditional food markets to include clothes, materials, plants and ready cooked food for immediate consumption or to take home for later.

If you buy Rick Stein's 'French Odyssey' there is a fantastic recipe for French onion soup with crusty French bread and cheese on top, plus amongst many other recipes there is also a Bull Fighters stew well worth a cooking session.

That came from the Camargue which is about 2 hours from us but is absolutely fabulous as Edina Monsoon would say, or was it Patsy. Rick floated past us down the Canal du Midi when he was making the BBC series of the same name as the book putting a few recipes together as went, not sure if it is gourmet food or not but it's pretty tasty.

You can find more information about Le Moulin and the surroundings areas on the French Holidays Aude Blog. In particular a little bit about the restaurants and more places to visit in the area, including where there are other great markets going on for pretty much every day of the week.

For flights to France and Europe take a look at Skyscanner for the cheapest flights and listings from all the low cost budget airlines