Lexma90

DH, 17yoDD and I will be traveling from Barcelona to the Dordogne (4 nights in Sarlat), then on to Paris, in early summer. DH and I did did a very similar itinerary with DS some time ago. That time, we spent two nights in the Languedoc, one in a chambre d'hote south of Carcassonne, the next in a small inn near Castres. We loved Queribus, Peyrepertuse and Lastours, did not like Carcassonne itself so much. We only have two nights for the Languedoc.

This time I want to see some different (and some of the same) sights. DH and DD said whatever I decide is fine - I'm pretty much that means they trust my judgement. First night in France, the chateau in Couiza got a yes vote (we plan to visit Queribus and Peyrepertuse, and may Puilaurens if we have time), but where to spend the next night after, before we head up to Sarlat?

I really want to visit Monsegur even though I know the "Cathar" remains are no longer there. Albi appeals, and I would like to see the Toulouse Lautrec museum, but I'm thinking rural would be better, as a lot of the rest of the trip will be in bigger cities. We tend to prefer castles, mostly older; we live in the mountains in the US and are quite active, so we will enjoy hiking up to the castles. We plan to visit a cave or two, but I think Niaux and the other caves in that area are off our list.

So what to do? From Couiza, head west to Puivert, Montsegur, then spend the night in Foix with possibly a short visit to the castle? Or we could do the same, but end up in Mirepoix, which does seem to have more appealing hotels (though we usually don't spend much time in our hotel or hotel room). Or other options?

StCirq

I have never warmed up to Foix, i n several visits. Last time I just drove through. Perhaps I'm missing something.

I love Albi and many of the towns nearby it (but some of these are really villages): Ravel, Puylaurent, Graulhet, Castelnaudary, Castelnaud-de-Montmiral. Mirepoix is very nice. And Figeac is fabulous, with Villefranche-de-Rouergue and Rodez just trailing behind. But of course much depends on the route you want to take.

Luhimari

Niaux is impressive. If you have the time, do visit it.

StuDudley

We spent a week in a gite just outside of Foix in 2012 and spent a night in Foix in 2001. As St Cirq mentioned, the town isn't really that much of a "major" destination - and the fort even less. However, there are some wonderful "other" attractions in the area. Here are some very interesting things to do (the stars indicate the Michelin Green Guide ratng):

Most of the places below are described on this web site
http://www.grands-sites-ariege.fr/en/

Visit the Parc de la Prehistoric ** Open 10-8. When you get to the ticket booth, reserve the Grotte de Niaux for some later day or time. Reserve an English tour. There is a discount for both the Parc Prehistoric and the Grotte. The Parc Prehistoric, especially the museum, is fantastic - we spent several hours visiting this new complex. don't miss.

Grotte de Niaux** 1 tour per day in English. don't miss

Underground river of Labouiche* 9:30-4:30 1 ¼ hr boat tour. This was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.

Les Forges de Pyrene* 10-7 This has medieval tools - quite interesting.

Grotte de Mas d’Azil ** open 10-6 45 min guided tour.

When we stayed near Carcassonne for 2 weeks last year, we did an "overnight" to Albi. It's one of our "top 10" medium sized cities in France. Here is the section of my Languedoc itinerary about Albi:

Head out early to visit the beautiful city of Albi***. This is one of our favorite small cities in France. Get out the Red Guide to find your way into central Albi. You will enter at #6 and follow the road south across the bridge. From this bridge, there is a fabulous view of Albi. Just after crossing the bridge, you are in the old section of town. Look for the underground parking lot (it’s huge), and park there. Emerge from the lot, and retrace your route to take some pictures of Albi from the bridge. Albi closes up tight at lunchtime - except (June through Sept) for the fabulous Cathedral Ste Cecile***. My Green Guide says that the Toulouse Lautrec Museum** is closed for lunch (except July & Aug), but I’m not sure that’s the case. Perhaps call ahead (number is in the GG) to confirm opening times. Toulouse Lautrec is one of the few artists that I like (particularly the "poster art" for which he is probably best known), and I really enjoyed this museum. It’s located in the Palais de la Berbie*+. Don’t miss the formal gardens outside the palais. Albi is an interesting town to just wander in. There are informational plaques (also in English) affixed to the outsides of buildings. They describe the architecture & related historically significant events. Many of the old buildings had fallen into disrepair and had been slated for demolition in the 1970s. Instead, the City had refurbished them & they now provide “social” (low- income?) housing. In addition to viewing Albi from the Pont du 22 Aout 1944 (the bridge by which you drove into Albi), view it from the old Pont Vieux. To get the absolute best view of Albi from a distance (and from where the picture in the Green Guide was probably taken), go all the way across the Pont Vieux bridge, and then start taking all the streets to the left that you possibly can. You won't be walking on any major roads - just streets that access houses. Keep walking farther than you think you should, until you hit a large wall at a dead-end. You'll see this view when you get there.

We've visited Albi three times - in '03, '04, and in '15.

Close to Albi is one of our "top 3" large cities in France - Toulouse.

We were in the Languedoc for 4 weeks last year (Carcassonne & Gorges du Tarn area) and I did a major update to my Languedoc itinerary. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

Cathinjoetown

Agree about Foix, not worth a major detour but fine if you are in the immediate area. The citadel fortress is impressive and there's a fairly good market 1-2 times a week, part of which is under a beautiful wrought-iron covered permanent structure.

That, and two interesting pedestrian streets with ancient colombage buildings, is about it. The Cathar fortress is, I believe, the only one that didn't fall during the crusades, probably because of its location.

Mirepoix has a large rectangular "square" again with ancient buildings, interesting because they are relatively untouched. A few nice restaurants and shops.

Which leaves Albi, very interesting. I've not seen the Toulouse-Lautrec museum since it was rennovated, the cathedral is unusual. My favorite nearby village is Najac, more popular is Cordes sur Ciel.

StuDudley

The Citadel Fortress in Foix is indeed impressive from the outside. We must have taken 50 pictures of it from many vantage points. But it is not impressive at all from the inside. Rather boring, IMO.

Stu Dudley

rhon

Mirepoix is about 50 kms from Couiza , so I do not see much point in moving bases if you end up in Mirepoix as your second night. We spent a week in Couiza in 2012 and visited Mirepoix from there.

I would be more inclined to set out towards Sarlat by whatever route appeals to you and stay in an interesting place overnight.

We have not been to Albi - we will be staying nearby later this year - but it looks lovely . From my research, there are a host of interesting small towns and villages in the vicinity. As already mentioned, Figeac is also really attractive.

We stopped in Foix in 2012 on our way from our gite in the Gers to our stay in Couiza. The castle is impressive from the outside. It was closed so we did not visit, but we enjoyed our walk around the town before continuing on to Couiza.

Make sure you have some Blanquette de Limoux while you are in the region. It is reputed to be discovered before champagne and is very nice.
Good luck

Lexma90

Thanks for all of the replies, you've provided useful information, especially about Foix. I admit, the pictures of the pastel houses in Mirepoix are cute.

One of the factors is locating a place that's closer to Sarlat. Albi is only 1/2 hour closer, because it's further east. Still a possibility, though. And I really haven't come up with any other location that's much closer but still interesting (Montauban is a possibility).