A group of three couples are planning a two week stay in Carcassonne around this time next year (September/October)
Can anyone recommend a self catering accommodation to accommodate us. We would prefer to be in or close to Carcassonne or a nearby village.
Have already researched the internet, but have been caught before when "what you get is not what you saw on the website"!!!
So, I would welcome real life suggestions. Thanks in advance!

Best advice I can give you is NOT to spend two weeks in Carcassonne: It is even worse than Aigues Mortes as a tourist trap. There are plenty of other places of more charm in that part of France, and I have had no problems booking accommodation through the Gites De France website.

We stayed in a little village called Fabrezon about 1/2 hour from Carcassone. The B & B was called lou Castelet and it was a perfect base for touring the area.

Two weeks is the time we are suggesting so that we can have a base in the Languedoc-Roussillon area. I passed through this area in 1997 and Carcassonne of course sticks in my memories.
We are hoping for a base which will provide us with easy access to the surrounding villages / towns. We want to enjoy the food and the wine as well as visit places of historical and cultural signifigance.
We hope to find a self catering villa (or such).
Some possibilities of locations to stay (gleaned from other posts) include Castelnou; St Guiheim-Le-Desert; Uzes; Collioure.
We welcome feedback from Fodorites who have stayed for some time in this area.
We also hope to spend a week on the Canal in a self drive canal boat at the beginning or end of our stay in the area.

Hi

Carcassonne is a long way west to tour Languedoc.

Somewhere near Pezenas would give you easy access to all Languedoc, and even Western Provence.

Peter
www.the-languedoc-page.com

First of all, you definitely do not want to stay IN Carcassonne itself. There are much nicer, more relaxing towns all around.

Second, Peter's right - Carcassonne's not a good baseif Languedoc is your goal.

St-Guilhem-le-Desert is a great little town but kind of out in the middle of nowhere. It wouldn't make a good base, either.

Collioure is lovely, but as a base I wouldn't want to stay there for two weeks.

I always thought Uzès was in Provence. At least the one I Know is - near the Pont du Gard. Is there another Uzes you're referring to?

I don't know Castelnou so can't comment.

I think you should be narrowing down the part of the Languedoc that most appeals to you. I also think you might want to consider two separate rentals for a week each.

Thanks Peter. As I begin to gain a better understanding of the area I can see your point. I am in the very early stages of planning where, and doing a lot of reading. Suggestions such as yours StCirq help that process. Because we were on a tour in '97 Carcassonne sticks in my mind but does not have to be our base.
The idea of a week at two places rather than two weeks in one location certainly has merit and will enable us to explore a little more of the area. Your assistance is appreciated.
What is the weather like in September and October?

My wife & I have spent 9 weeks vacationing in the Lauguedoc/Roussillon region in the last 4 years - all in self catering Gites. We've stayed in 6 different locations. This region is way too large & too rugged (slow roads) to base in one location and try to see a lot of stuff. I agree with others, that Carcassone would not be a good location. Our favorite area is on the Lot river - hear Estaing. From there you can visit the Gorges du Tarn, Conques, lovely villages on the Lot, etc.

Stu Dudley

We stayed in St Hilaire D'Hozilan and visited Avignon, Usez, Pont du Gard, the Gorge at Tarn and the Norman Forster Bridge in Millau in less than a week. We were staying with a friend, but given a choice I would have stayed in Usez as it was a larger pleasant town with more to enjoy in the way of restaurants and bars in the evening. St Hilaire is pretty, but very very quiet.

I found the city of Montpelier an absolute delight. You will really enjoy the town square, I believe they call it "Le Cirque". It is unlike anything you will ever see. The rest of the town is great. It is one of the cleanest cities I have ever visited.

Hi

Just a few points :

The main square in Montpellier is La Comedie, but known locally as L'Oeuf (it was egg shaped before it became pedestrianised).

Weather in September / October is best described as variable. Can be cloudless skies and around 25C, but can have spells of heavy rain. The rain generally does not last long, and is often overnight.

Uzes is in Gard, which strictly is in Languedoc. Provence, today, starts on the other side of the Rhone, but historically the borders have varied over time. It is a great place, but maybe a little remote to tour Languedoc, and especially Rousillon. Great for W Provence & Avignon, though.

The reason I suggested Pezenas was :
it has a range of accomodation and restaurants, is fairly central for Languedoc-Rousillon, reasonably close to the highway, is small enough to manage, big enough to be interesting, has nice architecture.

Further East, Sommieres is also an interesting town, but not too convenient for Catalonia.

Peter
www.the-languedoc-page.com

Peter

I think you undersold Pezenas. It also has a great Saturday morning market, lots of antique shops, and it will remind many people of St Remy in Provence - with fewer tourists.

Like I said earlier, we've stayed in Gites for 2 weeks near Uzes, 1 week near Ganges, 2 weeks in the Quercy region near Caussade, 2 weeks on the Lot near Espalion, 1 week near Lamalou les Bains, and 2 weeks near Ceret in Roussillon. If you stay in the Roussillon region, you can take side trips into Spain. We were quite busy almost every minute while in the Roussillon Gite - lots of things to see there.

I have a 35+ page itinerary that describes our favorite villages, sites, drives, markets, restaurants, etc. E-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy. Peter has the restaurant portion on his Languedoc page.

Stu Dudley

The real value of this site is the tremendous amount of feedback that occurs from people who have actually experienced the areas discussed.Thanks Stu and Peter. The amount of feedback is going to give me huge research possibilities. Thanks! I'm glad I have twelve months to plan this.
I thought we aussies were fortunate with the holidays we have, but nine weeks is a really good amount of time to begin to get the feel of the area visited. I envy you!