Carcassone
The cité of Carcassonne
The cité of Carcassonne
The medieval Cité of Carcassonne, a UNESCO World Heritage, welcomes you for a dizzying jump into 2,500 years of History.
Walk in the footsteps of the Romans, Visigoths, Saracens and Franks!
Completely at your own pace, take a trip into the depths of this enchanted town, surrounded by two defensive walls and fifty-two towers.
The Bastide « Saint-Louis » Carcassonne town
The Bastide « Saint-Louis » Carcassonne town
The Bastide, designed in 1260, also known as the ville basse or low town, is the modern part of Carcassonne and is home to 48,000 residents.
From the medieval Cité, you can admire the view over the Bastide, its tiled roofs and its bell towers, including the tour Saint-Vincent, which is 54 metres high. After strolling through the square Gambetta, with its floral pathways and the museum of fine arts, walk along commercial street rue de Verdun, towards place Carnot and its fountain. This is the real heart of the town. Then rue Courtejaire leads you to the canal du Midi, Carcassonne's other UNESCO world heritage site.
Canal du Midi
Canal du Midi
The canal, which links Toulouse and Sète, winds through the vineyards to Carcassonne town centre. Savouring the tranquillity of this unique waterway, is to allow yourself to be soothed by the sun shining playfully through the leaves of the plane trees, but it's also to appreciate the picture-perfect landscapes which surround you.
Whether you take a bike ride, along the old towpaths, or you sail like a captain in a hired boat, it is a time of peace for everyone, where either nature's beauty or the tranquillity is the star. At each port and each lock there is also a chance to moor up and discover the surrounding area and the picturesque villages.
Montolieu the book village
Montolieu the book village
Montolieu, Book & Arts Village, 20 minutes north-west of Carcassonne and 45 minutes from Toulouse, should be explored like you leaf through a book, patiently, with good humour and curiosity.
There are some fifteen or so second-hand bookshops, artists and crafts, a museum of book arts and trades, the museum of raw and individual art, the “Coopérative-Musée Cérès-Franco”, but also numerous shops and restaurants for a pleasant day out.
The village of Caunes-Minervois
The village of Caunes-Minervois
Famous for its red marble, used in the château de Versailles, the Louvre and the Opéra de Paris, but also for its 13th century Benedictine abbey, Caunes-Minervois is located 25 minutes north-east of Carcassonne. Walking along the narrow streets, you discover the façades of mansions dating from the 11th to 18th centuries, evidence of the rich local bourgeois. The spectacular marble sculpture will lead you to the ancient quarries.
Gouffre géant of Cabrespine
Gouffre géant of Cabrespine
The Gouffre géant, or giant chasm, is located 25 km from Carcassonne, and dominates the small village of Cabrespine nestled in the Clamoux gorges, at the foot of the Pic de Nore (1211m).
Visiting this natural wonder, you discover one of the largest caves open to the public in the world, which is also one of the ten most beautiful caves in Europe.
It is famous for its wealth of crystallisations: aragonite, curtains, columns, waterfalls... all stars of the show. A glass « skywalk » and possibility of cave exploration or adventure park make the site even more spectacular.
