The house, some sections of which date back to the 12th century, is built into the side of a mountain with local stone and chestnut wood. The original structure was a weaver’s (a Cathar) house, which was expanded over the centuries by a very wealthy landowner and his family to include neighboring houses and streets. Thus it became a very large manor house, or, in French, a Maison de Maitre.
All the bedrooms have original fireplaces, mouldings, and terra cotta tile floors. The corridor that runs the full length of the front of the house also has windows overlooking the village lane. The bedrooms have high ceilings, original details such as Caunes marble windowsills and fireplaces, and doppled window panes.
The building fronts onto Rue de la Place, a tiny road that leads only to the lower part of the village, and carries hardly any traffic. The bedroom windows, library and kitchen all open onto the garden and valley from the back of the house, where there is no road or traffic, and no other houses.
Attendees enter La Muse through the garden gate and terrace doors into the kitchen and dining area, or the library. To access the bedrooms, attendees climb one flight of stairs for Clio and Calliope, or two flights of stairs for Erato, Euterpe, Thalia and Melpomene.
La Muse is spread out, so a great feeling of space is found inside the house and into the valley.