Lagrasse, situated on the banks of the river Orbieu is one of the most beautiful villages in the Corbieres. The abbey of Lagrasse, founded in the 8th century, is shared between a closed religious order www.chanoines-lagrasse.com, and the state and both sides are open to the public. The name Lagrasse simply means The Fat, maybe a reference to the fact that the Abbey profited greatly from the Cathar crusades and controlled much of the land in the Corbieres.
Lagrasse is the Cantonal centre- the Canton of Lagrasse includes Montlaur, Ribaute, the Val Dagne, St Pierre and St. Martin across to Talairan. For the moment it is where the local DDE is based, who look after the planning permission for the Canton. There are plans to close down the DDE and move everything to Carcassonne. Lagrasse itself is a protected village and all planning permission must be approved from Carcassonne, roof terraces are usually forbidden so people tend to try and circumnavigate the law, which can lead to fines or an order to repair the building to its original state. Worth checking when buying to see if that beautiful terrace you fell in love with actually had planning permission.
Lagrasse also has a post office, and if La Poste has its way it is soon to be the only post office in the Canton as all the others are scheduled to close in the next two years. The Tresoir Public is also based in Lagrasse to sort out all your tax payments, the headquarters is at the Prefecture in Carcassonne where you need to go if you need to change or challenge any of the tax demands.

Accommodation in Lagrasse
There is an abundance of holiday homes and chambre d'hotes in and around Lagrasse, the Lagrasse Tourist Office has a complete list or see their site www.lagrasse.com . Midi-life.com has to declare an interest here, Caroline is the Vice-President of the Lagrasse Tourist office and I did some training with the staff on web design and helped the office get funding for a new computer, so I apologize in advance for the quality of the site.
I can recommend Kate and Roger Sampson's holiday apartmentshttp://www.holidays-lagrasse.com/ as well as Chris and Ann Rielly's next door http://lagrasseorg.instaccount.net/index.htm .
Shona and David Craig have just launched a new site, stay-in-lagrasse.com which has number of holiday homes and gites to rent in Lagrasse, the site is well designed and gives some solid info on what is interesting to do when you are down here, well priced holiday accommodation for Lagrasse.
In Ribaute just down the river Orbieu (5 minutes and a million miles from Lagrasse) have a look at Ken and Johns holiday apartment,and also Bill's holiday home Ribaute, unlike Lagrasse, Ribaute is a small, living Corbieres village and not an expat dominated, over-priced fantasy of the South of France- but hey maybe I am bias.

Restaurants and Shops in Lagrasse
There are a number of restaurants ranging from the great Hostelerie des Corbieres, run by Lindsey and Jean-Marc, which provides superb cuisine at reasonable prices, le Temps du Courges, which specializes in using local bio produce, to L'Affinage on the main promenade (Always check your change I think the owner is a little dyslexic), and a take away pizza place. Thierry's bar, again on the promenade is a great place to sit and watch the world go by, he also serves snacks and sandwiches at lunchtime.
There is a superb restaurant, La Fargo, 5 minutes drive at St.Pierre and the Auberge du Papillon near Montlaur.
There is a great grocers next to the bar which sells most of what you need, and a local produce shop under the Lagrasse Tourist Office.
Lagrasse is home to many artists, wood workers and potters and it is a pleasure to visit the many shops scattered throughout the tiny streets.
Festivals in Lagrasse
There are a wide range of festivals every year held in the village from the world famous Book Fair to a weekend of magic for the young and not so young- check with the Lagrasse Tourist Office for a timetable.
There is a car boot sale every month during the summer. However Lagrasse is Lagrasse and if you are looking for bargains look somewhere else- anywhere else in fact.
Every Saturday there is a small local market held in Les Halles with bio vegetables from Ribaute, olives, local cheeses, and of course the odd bottle of wine.
House prices in Lagrasse reflect the uniqueness of the village, expect to pay a premium price should you want to buy here.
Politics in Lagrasse
The Canton of Lagrasse is the power base of Marcel Renaud, who is President of the Aude Department and lives over in Talairan. Like most of the villages of the Canton of Lagrasse the Mayor is vaguely Socialist, with a few Greens and independents. In recent Departmental elections Marcel Renaud swept the board with the nearest opposition being from the Communist Party who got 15%, the Right hardly bother standing candidates. The Front National have absolutely no support in Lagrasse, unlike some of the other small villages of the Canton.

Related articles
Lagrasse-Caveat venditor by Simon Pleasance