Les Violettes

Les Violettes occupies a wooded 2.7-hectare site in Deyme, in Haute-Garonne, at 17 RD 813. Toulouse is about 15 minutes away, the centre of Castanet-Tolosan 4 km, a shopping centre 1 km and the Canal du Midi 800 metres. From the A61, leave the motorway at exit 19 Montgiscard, then follow the main road for three kilometres.

The site is an independent 3-star campsite run by its owners, on the scale of a small family-run site. It holds the Home Vélo label, which explains the attention paid to cycle tourists: a dedicated rate for solo hikers, stopover chalets and a lounge area open day and night. The accommodation includes mobile homes for 4 to 6 people, canvas lodges and small chalets for one or two people, in addition to pitches for tents, caravans, vans and motorhomes.

As for opening dates, the campsite announces continuous opening from 1 January to 31 December, with no annual closure: rental accommodation and pitches can therefore be booked in winter as well as in summer. Reception has reduced hours in the off-season (9am to 12pm, then 2pm to 6pm). The website specifies that its rentals are intended for tourists and that business guests must phone; it also describes a place where holidaymakers, workers and students live side by side.

The location makes it easy to explore around Toulouse, the Lauragais and the Canal des Deux Mers, with the Canal du Midi towpath less than a kilometre away for a walk or a bike ride.

Bike rides or walks along the Canal du Midi, 800 m away, and visits to Toulouse, 15 minutes by car.

Reception also serves as a small convenience shop, with regional products and souvenirs, open the same hours as reception. A laundry with a tumble dryer runs on tokens or coins, and bread and pastries baked on site can be ordered in the mid and high season. Wi-Fi is available across the site, but it is paid, by package. A storage service lets you leave a car, motorbike or motorhome safely.

On site, a lounge area open day and night offers a TV room and books. Reception lends games equipment, including rackets and balls, against ID or a deposit. For an extra charge, you can hire a baby kit, bed linen, towels or a fridge. The mobile homes let to tourists are air-conditioned and fitted with a plancha, garden furniture and a full kitchen; the canvas lodges come with or without washroom facilities, and the stopover chalets share a communal kitchen.

The campsite gives no information on heating in its washrooms or rental accommodation in winter: it is best to ask at reception before booking off-season. As for water, the outdoor pool has slides for children and sun loungers; it is reserved for guests staying on site, day visitors cannot use it, and the opening dates of the pool are not published. These visitors pay €3 per person per day to enter the site.

In high season, from mid-July to mid-August, themed evenings take place every night: karaoke, music quizzes and a mini disco with the campsite’s mascot, a rabbit named Lapinou. The rest of the year, the offer comes down to the site’s facilities: a multi-sports pitch for football and basketball, a fitness circuit, a trampoline, a table tennis table, a pétanque court, table football and a play area with swings, slides and a roundabout.

The campsite is above all a starting point. The Canal du Midi, 800 metres away, can be followed on foot or by bike, and the routes of the Canal des Deux Mers (V80), the Trans-Garona (V86) and the Piémont pyrénéen cycle route (V81) pass nearby. The Saint-Ferréol leisure area, with its beach supervised in season, is good for paddleboarding and pedalos. Rieux-Volvestre, Saint-Félix-Lauragais and Carbonne are towns with character less than an hour away.

With children, the campsite recommends the Cité de l’Espace, Animaparc Occitanie in Le Burgaud, the Bouconne forest and the parc de la Ramée. Toulouse, Albi, Carcassonne and Revel are covered in visitor sheets on its website. Off-season, it is mainly bike rides and city visits in Toulouse that remain practical; entertainment and water games are for summer.