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Things to do The old city is a magic place, and the main gate is less than 5 minutes' walk. Your first 3 days will be spent largely in touring the walls and exploring the labyrinth of windy streets. In the summer, medieval musicians and jugglers add to the atmosphere, and the knights joust every afternoon in the lists; though winter is also a good time to visit, as there are few tourists and the imagination is left free to wander. There are all sorts of strange shops - one sells handmade lace, another sundials, another mystical artefacts. Or you can walk over the Old Bridge into the Bastide St Louis, (the New Town), founded after the Cathar wars in the 13th century, when the inhabitants were chased out of the Old City. This is where most of the bars and clubs are to be found, and in the summer street music and theatre. Or again you can turn left just before the bridge, and take a tour round the Island, a completely unreconstructed piece of countryside between the two cities, with 7 km of walking paths. Your street is the most historic in Carcassonne; the Augustine tollbooth, seen on the 15th century map, is still here, as is the King's Mill (now an old people's home). A 13th century water pump is right outside your door, and the Tourist Office, with many publications in English, is just inside the City gates.
Without a car For a week or less, a car isn't necessary. The grocer, the butcher, the fishmonger, the baker, the paper shop and the chemist are all less than 5 minutes on foot. All the historical attractions, markets, special events and a good 20-30 restaurants are all within easy walking distance.
Countryside, beach, activities and children. The countryside is at the bottom of the street (the Island, see above) and bus no 1 just round the corner takes you in 20 minutes to the Lac de la Cavalyere - a lake with a sand beach and water warm enough for swimming in the afternoons, July and August. I personally prefer the lakes to the Mediterranean beaches, quieter and less crowded. Near the car park is the entrance to the Accro Parc, a sort of army assault course for children from 4 year upwards -it's great fun for adults too, shame it's only open in the summer holidays. .A full list of biking and hiking paths in the area can be found at the Maison de Tourisme Verte in Rue Barbacane at the bottom of the street. Many of them pass your door.Bikes in Carcassonne, unfortunately, are 75€ a week, 15€ a day - bring your own if you can. The local horseriding centre is the Relais de la Cavalyere near the Lake (0678-715814); rides go from 1 hour up to 2 days. Other horseriding centres near the train station at Leuc (10mins, Domaine de Fraisse, 0468-796363) or the one at Verzeille(Domaine de Pommayrac, 0468-694166). There are also serious riding courses in the Stade Albert Domec. The golf course (www;golf-de-carcassonne.com) is 1km away; it comes well recommended by previous clients, as does its' restaurant. Rugby is a local religion; Carcassonne won the Rugby Union cup in 2010, and the League Cup in 2009. Matches are in the Stade Albert Domec, less than 1km to walk, though it's in a rather shabby part of town. The karting circuit is on the road to Bram. For the more studious children, the Musée de la Moyen Age will be interesting - it tells the story of why Carcassonne was one of the most effective castles of its' time. It's by the city gates. Less historically accurate, but more scary, is the Musée de la Torture.
Special Events The town council in Carcassonne spends fortunes every year on entertainment, for their citizens and for the tourists. Paid events tend to be rather expensive, but free events go on all year - so the rich pay for the poor. I think it's a rather good idea! The Carcassonne Festival now starts at the Music Festival on the 21st June and goes on till mid-August.Every 2-3 days there is something going on - famous artists in the theatres, the less well known in the streets. The most wellknown day of the year is Firework Night on the 14 June, whan this small city of 50,000 people suddenly accommodates half a million! Best to wander down to the Island around 6pm, take a hamper and a good supply of wine and wait 5 hours, you'll meet all sorts of people while you're waiting. The 14th&15th August this year hosted a Fete Medievale, which will surely become larger as the years go on. The lists of the Cité fill up with merchants in medieval costume selling medieval cloth, weapons and armour, instruments, leatherwork, wines and spices; the City becomes even more magical ,with the sound of medieval instruments. The Spanish Festival starts around the 22nd August; flamenco, salsa and bandas, dancing in the streets for a week or so. On the 1st September your street suddenly becomes a giant boot sale!The Trivalenc, for at least 600 years, has been where all the Carcassonnais gather to get rid of unwanted goods accumulated over the year. It's one of the last places in France where you will still find genuine secondhand bargains.
And in the 3 weeks before Christmas, the main square of the New Town becomes a giant skating rink.
The Canal du Midi An excellent day out is a cruise down the Canal du Midi, built 300 years ago to join the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Take a boat from the train station down to Homps, taste the best wines of the Minervois at the Chai, and find a strange contradiction - a cordon Bleu French restaurant where the chef is English ( En Bonne Compagnie, closed October - March). Or take the bike - it's only 3 hours of flat cyclepath, and like this you can take a half-hour detour to a beach which is typically almost empty, the Lac de Jouarres. The adventurous can go on another 4 hours via the Canal de la Robine, stay in Narbonne the night and wander round the Parc Nationale du Haut Languedoc on the way back.
The Med, by train For those who want to see the sea, several Mediterranean beaches can be reached by train. The easiest are the large resorts of Agde and of Narbonne Plage, with their casinos and discos. The cities of Narbonne and Agde have a long history; Narbonne was the first Roman colony in France, Agde was founded by the Phoenicians and has striking black-granite buildings. The bus from both from station to beach takes half an hour; Narbonne has a greater proportion of beach to shopping, and the journey is more pleasant, but the bus is difficult to find - it's at the end of Rue Concordel opposite the station. Agde has the original and largest of the grand European waterparks, Aqualand. Bus outside the station, it's 5km and then 10 minutes on foot.
The quiet, clean and easygoing beaches of Leucate, Port Leucate and La Franqui are also available by train, but unfortunately there's only one return a day - be careful with the timetable, and take a bike for the ride to the beach (half an hour by foot). The train is actually the only way to see the traditional resort towns of Banyuls and Port Coullioure, as parking a car now is almost impossible. 4 hours there and back, but the stations are right on the beach.. These are resorts for people who don't swim - go for the atmosphere.
Toulouse The train is also the best way to explore the city of Toulouse - the signposting on the ring road and the parking in the town centre are both a nightmare. Toulouse is a lively place, with the youngest population of any city in the world - 42.5% under 25 . It's enormous, but most of the things worth going for are around the historical centre - museums, theatres, art galleries, gardens, markets, restaurants, night clubs. The Tourist Office is at the Capitole, 20 minutes' walk or a tube ride from the train station. An extraordinary day out, for the children or those with a scientific turn of mind, is the Cité d'Espace. Toulouse is where the Airbus is made, and you can go inside it. It also has full-size replicas of the rocket Ariane 5, the spacecraft Soyuz and the satellite ERS, planetariums and a model of the space station Mir.The control room allows you to prepare the takeoff of a rocket, to fly it and to put a satellite in orbit.
The Blanquette Country A secondary line goes south to Limoux, a friendly, bucolic and very beautiful little town which actually produced the first champagne in the world - it is thought that the technique for stopping the fermentation process to produce the bubbles, was discovered by the monks in the Abbey of St Hilaire in the 8th century. It's also home to the longest Carnival in the world, which goes on from January to March. It's a lovely place to spend an afternoon sliding down a chair, and the churches merit a visit - all the saints have a contented air, and even Jesus carrying the Cross looks like he's only suffering from a mild hangover. For those who prefer tea, the little tea shop in the Rue des Augustins has an extraordinary collection. The town centre is 10 minutes walk from the station. The line further south has been closed for a while, but on Sundays continue on the bus to the market at Esperaza, a wild mix of conservative local tradition and alternative culture. Buy olive or anchovy paste, nettle jam, handmade sausages - or extremely colourful clothing.
With a car you can
Explore some of our beautiful countryside Visit country fairs, colourful markets, wineries, historic towns and villages, and the Cathar castles. Arrive at the beach easily in an hour, or be sking in the Pyrennées in two hours.
The countryside around Carcassonne is a meeting-place between the Northern Temperate and the Mediterranean climates; drive 10 minutes and you're in a completely different landscape. Towards the north and west the countryside is somewhat like our own, but south and east it's completely different, natural forests of evergreen oak and the rolling hills of the grapefields. The area is particularly beautiful in May when the spring flowers come out, and in October when the vine plantations change colour, from purple through to scarlet, orange and yellow.
Mirepoix (Mondays) is probably the most unmissable of the local markets, and it's not reachable from Carcassonne by public transport. The 15th century arcade covers stalls selling live poultry, homegrown vegetables and honey, chainsaws, spicy olives, handmade clothing.
The Cathar castles The Cathar wars of the 13th century have been documented by Kate Moss in her bestselling novel Labyrinth. After the victory of the Papal troops, the last Cathars locked themselves up in a series of almost impregnable mountain fortresses. Each has its' own sad history of torture and massacre, it's invigorating climb, and it's magnificent view. Montségur and Peyrepertreuse are the most famous and most spectacular. Other good choices are Termes, especially in the autumn; Puivert, because it has a lake with a sand beach; and Lastours, because it's in the Cabardés.
The Cabardés, northeast of Carcassonne, is the northernmost point of the Mediterranean climate. It's a naturelover's paradise, almost abandoned till a few years ago.
On the edge of the Cabardés is Durfort, a copper and iron working village, and the book village of Montolieu is nearby.
Nearby also are the caves of Limousis and Cabrespine, extraordinary underground limestone formations.
South of Carcassonne, the village of Rennes le Chateau is home to the mystery of the Cathar treasure, about which 700 books have been written.
Nearby are the Roman spa towns of Rennes les Bains and Alet les Bains.Alet was rebuilt in the 15th century and is perfectly preserved. It also has a casino, and the National Kayak Centre. The 5 succcessive grades of water running down the Aude from this point make it one of ther best places in the world to learn.
Esperaza has the Dinosaur Museum, fascinating for children of all ages, with more enormous skeletons than the British Museum.
If you go to Limoux by car, the drive northeast through the wooded area between Limoux and Lagrasse is fascinating (4 hours, tiny roads). Continuing south towards Perpignan from Esperaza, a sideturning before St Paul de Fenouillet takes you through the Gorge de Galamus.
On the coast, the Nationale going south from the beach town of Gruissan takes you through the Parc Nationale du Littorale. Around the medieval villages of Bages and Peyriac, you can see what the coastal saltmarshes were like before tourism. Much of it has been given now to the African Wildlife Park - lions, tigers, elephants and baboons in a natural enviroment, along with the flamingos who were always there.
This is just a short introduction to the area; really, every little country road you go down will bring an unexpected surprise.
Skiing in the Pyrenees
The sking season in the Pyrenees is mid-December to mid-March. There are several ski stations within reasonable distance of Carcassonne. The nearest is Camurac, one and a half hours away by road. It's generally regarded as a family station, but has red and black slopes. More for serious skiers is Ax les Thermes, two hours away. The National Ski Centre at Fort Romeu is two and a half hours away - probably pushing it a bit for a daytrip.
And don't forget the Fêtes!
This is a particularly sociable and optimistic part of France, and people love to party. Most villages have at least one fête a year, the more modest having just a village meal and a few stalls selling things, the larger with a dance to French musette music followed by a rock band in the evening. The largest can be huge - the Toques and Clochers festival near Limoux in April once had 30,000 people descend on a tiny village of 400! Apart from Toques and Clochers, others worth noting are the Stone Festival in Caunes Minervois in the summer, when sculptors can be seen working with jackhammers on colossal public monuments; and the Foire d'Espezel in the autumn, a giant agricultural fair with an animal market. Many of the events are advertised badly if at all, but a fair selection can usually be found in the Depeche newspaper Saturdays and Sundays.
A good source of further information about the area is www.Carcassonneinfo.com
The history of the area can be consulted on www.mescladis.fr
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