Cathar country

Old Dec 8th, 2007, 02:44 AM
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Cathar country

We want to spend several days exploring the Cathar chateaux and that region of Languedoc late next April and were wondering whether the small town of Cucugnan would be a suitable base. Or would anyone have a better recommendation for a scenic town with good accommodation and good food choices in that general area? Specific hotels would be quite helpful, too, if you have a favorite. We'll be starting by car from Narbonne.
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Old Dec 8th, 2007, 02:36 PM
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Since no one else has offered any help, I'll try. We spent a week in this general area in 2005, visited Peyrepertuse, Queribus, Montsegur, Minerve and Rennes-le-Chateau. You might find something useful in the early parts of my trip report here:

http://tinyurl.com/2djt4z

We drove through Cucugnan which is very small. It's certainly convenient for Peyrepertuse and Queribus but not much else. And I'd be surprised if you found much there in the way of accommodations or restaurants. I think you'd be better off to look in Quillan or Couiza or even Limoux.

In 2005 we were renting a house just to the east of Carcassonne and saw the Cathar sites as day trips from there. So I can't recommend any hotels from that experience.

However, I also helped some friends plan a trip to that area in 2006. They stayed, on my recommendation, here http://www.gite.com/aliberts (I had visited the property in 2005.)and loved it. The owners are lovely people and might well rent for less than a week in April. It is near Minerve (not very far from Narbonne), so still some distance from the major Cathar castles.

These friends also spent a couple of nights here http://www.chateau-des-ducs.com/html_en/index.htm and enjoyed it. The French version of the website says that they are closed until March 1 and are doing some renovations so I don't know if you'd be able to contact them in time. It would be an excellent location for what you want to see, just outside Couiza and a km or so from Rennes-le-Chateau if that interests you.

I hope this helps and that you have a wonderful visit to this area. We certainly enjoyed our time there.


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Old Dec 8th, 2007, 03:16 PM
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I can't help but am fascinated by this area. Anyone read Montaillou? This area of south west France has long been on my list of places to go.
I shall be very interested to read any replies you get. Anselm, is this your area of interest?
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Old Dec 8th, 2007, 04:58 PM
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Gertie, you must be reading my mail, LOL. I do have an interest in that history, but didn't get to see enough the time we were there.

geebee14, we were in that end of Languedoc in 2001. I wish we'd had more time to explore the so-called Cathar castles. The only one that we visited was Puilaurens, which is west of Peyrepertuse and Quéribus and south of Quillan. The climb was well worth the effort.

I'm sorry I can't help you on accommodation in Cucugnan or the immediate area. We stayed in Agde for our first week and near Castlenaudary the second and made various day trips to places such as Béziers, Minerve, and Carcassonne.

If you have a particular interest in Cathar history, take a look at Stephen O'Shea's "The Perfect Heresy", an excellent combination of history and travel writing. If you are more seriously interested in the history, read Jonathan Sumption's "The Albigensian Crusade".

If your interests include Romanesque architecture, you might find time to look at l'Abbaye de Fontfroide, just outside Narbonne: www.fontfroide.com It's breathtakingly beautiful, but be sure to check opening and closing times on the website, as it is is private hands.

Gertie, I hadn't heard of "Montaillou". Sounds very interesting. I thought I recognized the name of the author (Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie) and it turns out he had written a review of a book I've been trying to read. "The Return of Martin Guerre" by Natalie Zemon Davis.

Anselm

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Old Dec 8th, 2007, 05:12 PM
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We visited that area in May; click on my name to see my trip report. We had lunch in Cucugnan, between visiting the castles of Peyrepertuse, Queribus. Cucugnan is very, very small - I'm not sure I would stay there for several days, though it's a cute place. We very much enjoyed visiting the castles; we also visited some to the north of Carcassonne (as well as Carcassonne, which I didn't like so much). I hope to return to the area some day to visit those we didn't get to.

I would also suggest to stay in another town; possibly even Carcassonne, though we considered Limoux as well.

The books already mentioned are good; there are a couple of others on the time period that I read, as well, but I don't have the names right now.
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Old Dec 9th, 2007, 11:31 AM
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Thank you one and all for your responses. Betty1, I enjoyed your trip report from 2005 and found it overlapped with our experiences in the past in several ways: Hotel Muguet, the Dordogne, Canal du Midi and Minerve. In 2006, we rented a gite for two weeks in Oupia, near Olonzac, and did a lot of biking along the canal (passed through Homps frequently) and visited Minerve on several occasions. Very exhilarating to see the area on a bike, particularly with the narrow roads. Unfortunately, we didn't get to the Cathar castles at that time. We will be renting the same gite in May 2008, but have a few days before the rental to explore the castles. I am not a fan of the DaVinci code, but will visit Rennes-le-Chateau. I've noted your trip details about the dangers of hiking to Peyrepertuse and driving the Gorges de Galamus. The latter description reminds me of the narrow road down to the Abby at Senangue near Gordes, which I drove with some trepidation, particularly having to back up to reach a pull-off and let the tour bus go by.
Cucugnan has a Logis de France two-star hotel with a good reputation, as nearly as I can tell, and I much prefer the small town experience. Pictures I've seen on the internet make the town and setting look attractive. I'm also considering the Hostellerie du Grand Duc in Gincla, but that seems even more remote.
Anselm, thanks for the reading suggestions. I read A Perfect Heresy a few months ago, but will follow up on the Albigensian Crusade. (By the way, is the cathedral at Albi worth the trip?) We did visit Fontfroide the last trip. Loved the hillside retreat with broom and wild rosemary, but missed the rose garden.
gertie 3751, I don't recognize the reference to Montaillou.
Lexma90, I couldn't access your trip report but will keep trying.
Thanks again everyone who replied.
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Old Dec 9th, 2007, 12:52 PM
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Geebee -

I don't know how to give you the url for my report, but if you put in "Cucugnan" in the search box, my report will be one of the results. We had lunch, I believe, at the hotel in Cucugnan that you're considering. See my report for my comments - seemed like a nice little place! You might also consider the "inn" where we spent the night, though it's a bit further north.

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Old Dec 9th, 2007, 01:50 PM
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Glad you enjoyed my report, geebee, although it sounds like you already knew as much or more about the area as I do!

I checked my map again and I think we must have driven just through the southern edge of Cucugnan and didn't realize that there was more to it than that. Out of curiosity I checked the Logis de France site and they list no less than 3 hotels in Cucugnan!

So if you're only planning to spend 2-3 nights there and would be content to stay and eat at one of those places, I think that would be fine. Personally I wouldn't want to have dinner elsewhere and then drive back to Cucugnan on those twisty roads after dark. Maybe you're braver about that than I am, though. The good thing is that the LDF hotels usually have good, reasonably priced restaurants attached.

If you found that road to the Abbaye de Senanque scary (as I did), believe me, you don't want to try the Gorge de Galamus! It's just as bad and goes on much longer!

Obviously you are happy with your gite in Oupia, but you might take a look at Les Aliberts. It can't be more than 5-10 kms away.

As for your question about Albi, if you read that part of my report, you won't be surprised that I think it is very much worth the trip. The cathedral is like no other, and the Toulouse-Lautrec museum is very nice, as is the town itself.

Happy travels!

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Old Dec 9th, 2007, 02:25 PM
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Topping for you as this may be an area Stu Dudley has visited.
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Old Dec 9th, 2007, 04:45 PM
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How long will you be in Narbonne? I was there only for a day trip but I would love to stay there for a few days. It was very mellow and friendly, small and navigable, and with pleasant little things to catch your attention. Boy, I have some fond memories of that day.
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Old Dec 10th, 2007, 08:53 AM
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Thanks, Betty, for the endorsement of the cathedral at Albi. I've been intending to visit it for some while. I'll be sure to check out les Aliberts, too. Here's where we stay in Oupia:
http://www.lourecantou.com/introeng.htm in case you might be interested another time. We are very, very happy with it. Did you try Relais Chantovent in Minerve? We had a great meal there. Lexma, I've read your excellent trip report and noted your description of the road from Maury to Quéribus. I'm no fan of heights either, and I see the double arrows on my Michelin map! pdx, we'll be overnight in Narbonne after the flight and TGV, so if we're not too tired, we'll have a chance to explore the downtown. Spent some time at the gare and car rental agency last time, but missed all the centre ville highlights. Your favorable comments confirm my decision to stay over there.
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Old Dec 10th, 2007, 10:36 AM
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Here is a link to the report on our trip to Languedoc last year::

http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/tripreport.asp?tripid=1060

I also included a bibliography of some books (fiction and nonfiction) about the Cathars -- a fascinating subject that I had known nothing about until we started planning the trip.
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Old Dec 10th, 2007, 11:35 AM
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Wow, geebee, that is a beautiful gite. I can understand why you are so happy with it. The only advantage I can see with Les Aliberts is that it would be more suitable for smaller or larger groups in that it has several gites of various sizes on the same property. But then, you'd have to be OK with having "neighbors."

I did not eat at Chantovent when I was in Minerve but the friends who went there in 2006 did and enjoyed it very much.

The first time I ever heard of the Cathars was when I spent that year in Albi. There was an old guy who was an habitué of the Café Pontié where my group often gathered in the evenings. When he had had a bit too much to drink, which was most of the time, he was apt to announce to all and sundry in a very loud voice "Je suis cathare, moi!"
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Old Dec 10th, 2007, 12:07 PM
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St. Cecile Cathedral at Albi is a must. It's so powerful; dwafts everything and everyone. Absolutely amazing. And, the Lautrec Musee next door is outstanding. A charming town, both old and new.

Fascinating history, the Cathars and barely a few sentences in Church writings! Wonder why? Too "perfect?"
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Old Dec 10th, 2007, 02:50 PM
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Thanks, nonnafelice. I really enjoyed your detailed account. You were particularly enthusiastic about Mirepoix; I think we'll try to make it there on market day.
Glad you liked Collioure. We stayed there for three nights in early May last year before the tourist hordes arrived. Delightful. Sorry you were disappointed in Montpellier, which struck us so favourably, particularly the way in which its core was pedestrian friendly. They had clever ways to restrict vehicle traffic which our cities and towns could take a lesson from. I think, based on your photos and description, I'd like to spend a day in Nimes, which we bypassed in favour of Montepellier last time.
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