| Montolieu | |
| Commune Status: | Commune |
| Image Coat Of Arms: | Blason ville fr Montolieu (Aude).svg |
| Arrondissement: | Carcassonne |
| Canton: | La Malepère à la Montagne Noire |
| Insee: | 11253 |
| Postal Code: | 11170 |
| Mayor: | Bernard Lauret[1] |
| Term: | 2020–2026 |
| Intercommunality: | Carcassonne Agglo |
| Coordinates: | 43.31°N 2.2158°W |
| Elevation M: | 200 |
| Elevation Min M: | 123 |
| Elevation Max M: | 407 |
| Area Km2: | 23.65 |
Montolieu (pronounced as /fr/; oc|Montoliu) is a commune in the Aude department of southern France.
Sometimes referred to as the "Village of Books", Montolieu contains fifteen bookshops, mostly specializing in secondhand and antique books.[2] [3] Many artists also live and work in Montolieu, with five workshops and galleries of painters and sculptors and three photographers' studios. The commune also contains a cactus garden, the Cactuseraie d'Escaïre-Figue. In 1990, Michel Braibant, a bookbinder in Carcassonne, came up with the idea of a Village of Books in Montolieu, inspired by the Welsh Hay-on-Wye. He created the association Montolieu Village du Livre and founded the Musée des Arts & Métiers du Livre ("museum of book arts & crafts).
