Day and a half in Longuedoc
 

Hi
We are leaving Collioure early Monday morning driving to Beynac(Dordogne)Tuesday evening in September. I would like to see Cacasonne on the way. Any thoughts on the most interesting route, either through Saint-Martin-du Canigou and north to Carcasonne, or to Chateau de Peyrepertuse and west. We like small midevil villages. Also any ideas asto where to spend the evening. Merci in advance

The Languedoc is beautiful. We stayed in the small town of Fabrezon at a guest house called lou Castelet. The old walled section of Carcassonne was a neat old village and worth a visit but it is usually overrun by tour busses. Go to the little town of Lagrasse which is on the list of the most beautiful villages in France.

I can only answer about the route to Carcassonne. Peyrepertuse is well worth your time, as long as it isn't raining -- the path to the castle traverses a lot of rocks and is very slippery when wet, not to mention the castle steps. You can't really see anything from the parking lot so it's not worth a detour if you're not going up.

The western route is through scenic rugged rural country. No medieval villages, just funky little farming towns. It looks like the French equivalent of the midwest, I'd imagine. If you just drive straight up north, however, it is a quicker but much duller drive.

Dear Photoguy, A night in collioure may be on our intinerary for our Sept. trip to toulouse etc. Where are you staying?

We are staying at the Hotel Templier in Collioure. Recommended by others on this board. It sounds very interesting, inexpensive and a great location (which is more important to us than creature comforts)

www.hotel-templiers.com/

We have just spent a week in Languedoc. We visited Carcassonne and were very impressed. We stayed in a small village called Olonzac which has a fantastic market on Tuesdays and Fridays, visited Narbonne and surrounds and Beziers and surrounds but the locals told us we missed a treat by not visiting Toulouse which we are led to believe is something to see and the shopping is well worth it. We visited the Noir Montagnes and the surrounding countryside is very spectacular and there are grapevines everywhere. The stone fruit and berries are wonderful too as is most of the food and wine. In Carcasonne we received a free bottle of wine with our lunch. Loved the place - the locals do not speak much English but are very welcoming and it is fun trying ones schoolgirl French!!!

skfavas

Not sure if you are still visiting this forum. Could you comment on your accommodation in the Languedoc.

Thx.

s

Don't know if you have left for France yet, but I just looked up Hotel Les Templieres on TripAdvisor.com and it gets mixed reviews. The #1 hotel listed for Collioure is Les Caranques, inexpensive with great views and nice hosts

Not that I didn't believe the OP, but
I had to check the Trip Advisor website that rated Les Caranques #1.

It's true, they did, but I think the
customer's reviews really tell the story - yes, it does have an amazing
view looking over the town; the breakfast is just fine and the owners are v pleasant BUT it is a very basic two star - our room took 'no frills'
to another level altogether! Definately not a place you'd want to spend any time in if you could help it!

We were there in September and I left with a huge mosquito bites that took weeks to clear up......

Ah, yes, midevil villages....I like them so much better when they are thoroughly evil! (sorry, couldn't resist).

The Hotel des Templiers in Collioure is a classic. It may not be elegant, but it certainly has a certain panache that will make it memorable. I loved it (but I like the Casa Pairal overall better).

I'd get up very early and make a beeline to Carcassonne so as to get there before it gets completely overrun.

Then from Carcassonne I'd meander north o, first the D629, then the D84 through Revel and Graulhet and Gaillac. If you want to spend the night in a gorgeous little bastide town, continue north a few kilometers to Castelnau-le-Montmiral. If you'd rather a nice bustling town, divert east a few kms to Albi.

Next day it'll be only a couple of hours' drive on to Beynac.