Good morning to all. I'm playing with an itinerary based out of Villemagne-l'Argentiere near Bedarieux. I would like to include Carcassone, Peyrpetruse, Lagrasse, Abbe de Fontfroid, Narbonne and possibly a meal at the coast. Would you please help me divide this into reasonable day trips? I think we would be happiest having a lunch at the coast rather than waiting for dinner and having to drive back to the apartment late at night.

Hi P,

You can get driving routes and times at www.viamichelin.com and www.mappy.com

Thanks, but it's not the maps and distance as much as timing and grouping. If we go to Carcassonne and Peyrpetruse will we still have time for Lagrasse or the Abbe de Frontfroid?

pdx, I think I can give you a little bit of information about that might help your planning.

Abbaye de Fontfroide is in private hands and they offer only guided tours. You can get more information on their website, but it looks like tours start every 45 minutes from 10 am onwards, with a 90 minute break between 1215 and 1345. You may want to plan your trip so that you arrive 15 minutes before a tour. That will give you time to walk from the parking lot to the ticket office, and then to the gates where the tour starts.

www.fontfroide.com

When we went in 2001, all tours were in French and lasted about an hour, perhaps longer. The guide offered us some descriptive material in English, which I really appreciated. My French comprehension is pretty strong, but there were a lot of architectural and monastic terms that went sailing right by me. However, if you have a particular interest in Cistercian architecture, this place is a gem.

I think I'm having trouble understanding the rest of your itinerary. Were you thinking about all those places in one day or spread out over several outings?

Anselm

Abbaye de Fontfroide is very close to Narbonne and you could easily drive to Carcassone on the same day (61 km from Narbonne.
You could also go from Lagrasse to Peyrepertuse in one day and drive back to Narbonne via Fitou and the coast(do not miss the castle of Quéribus,very close to Peyrepertuse).

I can only comment in regards to Carcassone and Lagrasse. We stayed in both places for a night. Lagrasse is a very small town and could be done comfortably as a short stop to see the Monastary and perhaps lunch...we had a very nice meal there at an outside restaurant...not sure of the name but it was the only one with tables outside. Carcassone is a little larger and I would say that you could spend the better part of a day there although 4-5 hours would likely do it. It is very nice at night when the walls around the old town are lit up.

This is an example of the beauty of this board! I was assuming the Abbe was part of a town (I think because it is marked on the map) where we would be meandering and now I see it is not. Thank you Anselm. And to plan 4-5 hours for Carcassonne, which is what I was fishing for all along even if it was not obvious by my posting. How much time do you allocate for all these little sites and sights when planning a day? Who knows? Go to the travel board and ask! It's like the ouija board when we were kids; ask a question and the spirits will spell it out for you.
We will probably use two days for this area, does that sound right?