travelin_girl

Are there any interesting day-trips from Carcassonne? We are trying decide whether we should stay there just long enough to see the La Cite or if several days provide a convenient base for visiting near-by places.

rhon

The Cathar castles are worth visiting. We stayed in Couiza [ south of Carcassonne ] for a week and enjoyed the area. We visited the castles of Queribus and Peyrepertuse - we drove along the Gorges of Galamus to get there . You can climb to the top at both and is a great experience. There are others you can visit.

You can visit St Hilaire and Limoux where the lovely sparkling wine , Blanquette de Limoux, originates. Mirepoix is a pretty market town with interesting carved wooden arcades around the square. Camon near Mirepoix is a Plus Beau Village de France. Alet les Bains is a pretty place on the Aude river and the mystical Rennes le Chateau is interesting even if only for the wonderful views. You are also close to the Corbieres wine region which we enjoy.

Bon voyage.

travelin_girl

Thanks, rhon. You gave me a lot of good ideas. We've never been to southern France.

I had thought Cathar Country was too far to cover from Carcassonne, but it sounds like it's doable. Do you remember if you spent a lot of time in transit? My husband can't spend more than an hour or so sitting.

rhon

From memory, we were about 30 mins, perhaps a bit more, from Carcassonne and just spent a morning in the cite which was enough as we did not visit the chateau or museums. The cathar castles would be doable from Carcassonne but would be more than an hour I think. In fact Michelin says 1 h 45 mins to Peyrepertuse, so perhaps too far. I thought there were some closer, but maybe not.

http://www.viamichelin.com/

Mirepoix - market on Monday I think - would certainly be doable and you could stop in Fanjeaux and the nearby small village in the round - Lasserre de Prouille from memory. We are away at the moment and I do not have my journals with me or our France road atlas.

People do say it is pleasant in Carcassonne after the tourists leave, but you could consider staying a bit further south like Limoux- large market on Friday I think - which would reduce times to some places and still be quite close to Carcassonne. We stay in self catering so cannot help with hotels or chamber d'hotes.

Alet les Bains is between Limoux and Couiza and is , as the name implies, an old spa town. It is pretty for a wander. Rennes le Chateau [ look up about its' story ] is reached from Couiza [ not far ] and has lovely views across the country.

If you are interested, you can read about our week here
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-of-france.cfm
It was the second week of our trip, so you will need to get through a few posts before getting to the relevant bits.
Good luck!!

travelin_girl

You're too good to me, rhon.

No matter where I stay I'm going to catch a lot of great places and miss a million more.

I definitely will read your trip report and noodle over your suggestions.