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daily itinerary ideas for southern Languedoc and Rousillon

daily itinerary ideas for southern Languedoc and Rousillon

Old Feb 6th, 2016, 05:01 PM
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daily itinerary ideas for southern Languedoc and Rousillon

I posted a high level itinerary for our upcoming trip in May to Barcelona, Catalonia and L-R. I would like some input on specific ideas for the France portion of our trip.

We will be based in Limoux (about 20 minutes south of Carcassonne) for a week.

My ideas (and questions) so far are:

Saturday: depart Cadaques. drive to Limoux, with lunch detour to Ceret. Check into our villa in Limoux at 4pm.

Sunday: Carcassonne and Lastours (with a drive a la Stu Dudley through the XX Gorge)

Monday: Mirepoix (for the Monday morning market); quick drive through Foix; to Grotte de Niaux for the 1:30 english tour. Drive back to Limoux through Puivert. (Is it worth stopping at the Chateau in Puivert?)

Tuesday: Drive to Collioure via Perpignon, and spend the day. (To avoid completely retracing our steps we could drive back to Limoux via the Gorges de Galamus. Will it be too late? Should we bundle the visit to GdG with our Cathar Castle day instead?)

Wednesday: Cathar castles. Visit Payrepturuse, Queribus and Puilarens. (Should we do Gorges de Galamus on this day?) One of our group has a bad knee...so I'm a bit concerned about the climb up (and particularly down) to these locations. Any comments? Which of the Cathar "castles" should we avoid? Is there a nice cafe/restaurant/village nearby as an alternative distraction for this person if these are non-miss places for some of the others in our group?

Thursday: Lagrasse: Abbaye Fontfroide: winery in Les Corbieres; Narbonne.

Friday: Toulouse. (should we squeeze in Albi?)

Saturday: check out and drive back to Barcelona for our last night.(possibly via Vic?)

Any changes you would make to this itinerary?
TIA for any advice.
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Old Feb 6th, 2016, 05:08 PM
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*Peyrepertuse. (pardon)
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Old Feb 6th, 2016, 05:16 PM
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Carcassonne may be quite full of tourists on a Sunday. I would try to visit during the week. Maybe switch your Sunday and Tuesday or Wednesday itineraries?
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Old Feb 7th, 2016, 03:00 AM
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What is a "high-level" itinerary? Is it special? Here's my "high-level" advice:

I would agree that Carcassonne could be crowded on a weekend.

I would definitely try to squueze in Albi if you can, though just one day in Toulouse is already shortchanging it.There are also countless towns between Toulouse and Albi that are well worth a visit.

I don't know why Collioure demands an entire day. It's a charming place for sure, but a whole day unless you're lingering in the region seems a bt much.

There is always a café somewhere around for a person who can't manage climbing up or down.
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Old Feb 7th, 2016, 04:58 PM
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>

No, it isn't special. It's simply our first take at an itinerary without worrying about specific logistics.

Regarding Collioure, I guess we thought it would be cool to hang around a nice Med town, considering this would represent only the 2nd day by the Med for us during a 2 week vacation. I thought we could stop in Perpignan on the way and then dawdle on to Collioure where we could have a late lunch and stroll around town, before heading back to Limoux before dark. It's a couple of hours drive each way. Is this a silly idea? If so, why?

Regarding Albi, everyone sings it's praises. Should we spend the entire day in Toulouse, or should we split our limited day between the Albi and Toulouse?
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Old Feb 7th, 2016, 09:03 PM
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"Is there a nice cafe/restaurant/village nearby as an alternative distraction for this person"
The nearest villages are Cucugnan (for Queribus) and Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse for Peyrepertuse. The castles themselves are isolated.
Things to see in Cucugnan : a windmill (in operation) and the statue of a pregnant Virgin Mary (church).
Beware of the many May holidyas in France : May 1st, May 5 (Ascension Day), May 15 and 16 (Whitsun Sunday and Monday).
Going to Collioure for the day is a very good idea. I would bypass Perpignan and enjoy Collioure. If you have enough time, drive on to Port-Vendres and Banyuls.
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Old Feb 8th, 2016, 10:30 AM
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Gorges de Galamus AND the Cathar castles in one day is way too much IMO.
Collioure for lunch and a few hours stroll isn't silly at all. It's a very charming town, yet very touristy and a nightmare to find a nearby parking place for your car.
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Old Feb 8th, 2016, 10:49 AM
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Going to Collioure isn't silly at all. I'm just not sure I would spend an entire day there. We actually enjoyed lunch and dinner in Portes-Vendres a lot more than in the rather hectic restaurant atmosphere of Collioure.
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Old Feb 8th, 2016, 10:57 AM
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"Gorges de Galamus AND the Cathar castles in one day is way too much IMO."
It is very doable if the OP is coming from Limoux via Quillan, La Pradelle and St Paul de Fenouillet. From St Paul, he can drive through the Gorges (only 2 km) and be at a short distance from Pëyrepertuse (7.5 km)
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Old Feb 8th, 2016, 01:57 PM
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We stayed in Couiza [ a little south of Limoux ] and drove to visit Queribus and Peyrepertuse via the Gorges and did not find it too much.
As for Albi and Toulouse, Michelin gives a trip to Toulouse, on to Albi and back to Limoux of 330 kms. It does not allow much time in each place by the time you drive in and find a park. I would choose one.
Limoux itself has a large market on Friday from memory. We were there in spring and bought some new lovely asparagus.
Bon voyage.
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Old Feb 8th, 2016, 02:27 PM
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In terms of people with bad knees visiting Peyrepertuse and Queribus (I haven't yet been to Puilaurens - planning to go there in early summer). Queribus, you drive up (and up), then there's a parking lot for the unbrave (that included me), then a drive on a narrower road and a parking lot higher up. But after that, there's still a bit of climbing. And I don't recall any cafes anywhere in the vicinity.

Peyrepertuse I don't remember as much, due to visiting after wine with lunch. But I think there might have been some sort of cafe by the parking area.

They were both interesting and well worth the visit. And the views, of course, were spectacular.

There are also (slightly more authentic) Cathar ruins in Lastours; that involves a climb, as well.
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Old Feb 11th, 2016, 07:05 PM
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Thank you to everyone for your replies. I've been on the road for work this week and unable to spend time focusing here on Fodors! Oh, the shame!

So far it sounds like it is reasonable to visit Gorges de Galamus AND a couple of the Cathar "castles" in a day trip from Limoux. WE still have to work out the challenge of one of our travellers with the knee problem.

Also,it seems that it would be a bit too ambitious to visit both Toulouse AND Albi in one day.

I'm also hearing the suggestion that Collioure is a worthwhile visit, but skip Perpignon and head further down the coast for a better daytrip.

We do indeed arrive late on Saturday May 14. This means that our first two days in France will be holidays. (thank you @Pvoyaguese!) What impact will this have on our itinerary? Does it still make sense to swap day 1 in Carcassonne, with day 3 or 4? Will the market in Mirepoix still happen on Monday May 16?

We can't wait to experience the region. ...the foothills, the mountains, the villages, the coast!

Thank you to all for your continued advice. I can't imagine planning this trip without your input!
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Old Feb 11th, 2016, 08:28 PM
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Whitsun week end will be crowded everywhere. The only way to avoid the crowds is to visit the Cité of Carcassonne before the crowds arrive. I would make reservations for Sunday lunch.
Where are you having lunch in Céret? L'Atelier de Fred is excellent (I live in the area).
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Old Feb 12th, 2016, 03:59 PM
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I have been following this topic. I am hoping to get to this part of France next. I have read several books about the Cathars. There is a new fiction book just out called In Another Life by Julie Johnson. It takes place in the Languedoc area of France. I have not read it yet, but you may want to see if it interests you.

Your trip sounds as if it is shaping up nicely!
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Old Feb 17th, 2016, 06:08 PM
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Our villa host will hopefully know about the impact of the holidays on potential itineraries. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we won't have to sit on our butts for a couple of days.

(I guess if we have wine it will be a minor inconvenience! )
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Old Feb 17th, 2016, 06:33 PM
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About Collioure--it has the typical open tourist tram, often these aren't special but the route this one takes is spectacular. You begin on streets in the town but soon cut off the streets and on to a trail through the vineyards, climbing quite high and stopping twice for amazing photo ops of the Med and the vineyards. The route then proceeds toward Portes Vendres, where it stops briefly then heads back to Collioure via the corniche.

The restaurants can be very crowded, if you get there around 10:00 or so and stroll around the shops and restaurants along the small front, you might try to book if you see a place you like.

Driving the Gorge de Galamus scared the hell out of me but I'm a wimp at that type of drive. Not sure about May, in summer there are traffic lights and you can wait as much as half an hour before starting through it. It's one lane with cut outs every so often to allow cars to pass. Not sorry I did it because it was great.

I like what you're planning but just keep in mind it can be slow-going on the secondary roads.
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Old Feb 18th, 2016, 12:54 PM
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If you're interested in art, stop into the Hotel des Templiers in Collioure where artists like Derain, Matisse, Dufy and others sometimes paid their bills with paintings that are still on display there.

I'll also recommend the drive from Collioure to Port Vendres and on to the Spanish border. The D914 is especially scenic around Banyuls and south of there.
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Old Feb 24th, 2016, 12:38 PM
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If you have time, then continue your drive all the way to Cadaqués in Spain. It's a scenic drive and Cadaqués is a pretty coastal town.
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