The Cathars and the walled cities
Impossible castles on top of the rock, and a heresy crushed.
Free, no account needed. You'll still be able to change dates, travellers and the rest.
Where it goes
- Where you sleep
- Carcasona · Foix · Perpiñán
- What you visit without staying the night
- Montségur · Minerve
What you're going to see
Carcasona
La Cité de Carcassonne
Double walls, 52 towers and the largest medieval citadel in Europe. Restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the nineteenth century, with liberties still argued over today.
Château Comtal
The castle inside the citadel. Admission includes walking the top of the ramparts, which is the part genuinely worth it.
Basílica de Saint-Nazaire
Half Romanesque and half Gothic, with thirteenth- and fourteenth-century windows among the oldest in the south of France.
Canal du Midi
A World Heritage site, it runs through the lower town. It is the quiet counterweight to the citadel.
Foix
Castillo de Foix
Three towers on a crag in the middle of town. The counts of Foix protected the Cathars, which is how they ended up in the crusade's sights.
Montségur
The last Cathar refuge: in 1244 more than two hundred let themselves be burned rather than recant. The climb is hard and the site has nothing to dress it up, which is why it lands so hard.
Cueva de Niaux
Cave paintings from 14,000 years ago, visitable in limited groups and by booking. There are no reproductions: these are the originals.
Château de Roquefixade
Another ridge-top castle, twenty minutes' climb and far fewer people than Montségur.
Perpiñán
Quéribus
The last Cathar stronghold to fall, in 1255, perched at 728 metres. Access closes on windy days.
Peyrepertuse
Three hundred metres of fortress following the mountain ridge. It is the most spectacular of the “five sons of Carcassonne”.
Palacio de los Reyes de Mallorca
Perpignan was the capital of the Kingdom of Majorca in the thirteenth century. The Gothic palace still stands above the city.
Tautavel
Where one of the oldest human skulls in Europe was found, 450,000 years old. The museum is 30 km out.
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