Hi there,

I have 6 days to spend in the Languedoc region. We want to see Carcassonne and the Niaux Caves. The caves are a half day and I was told Carcassonne needs one night. That is all we have planned - although it would be nice to see Collioure too. I am wondering if you can recommend a quaint town/village that we could use as a base and other places of interest in the area. We will be heading back to Spain after so do not really want to go further east of Carcassonne. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I did a trip a few years ago (actually it was way back in 2010 but it felt like a few years) that included Carcassonne and Collioure. We also stayed in Ceret which might work for your plans.


Here's the trip report - Barcelona to Carcassonne - Isabel's Spring Break to snowy Spain and France


The photos are now at: https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p789827808

How are you traveling? We live in SW France and spend a fair amount of time in Languedoc-Roussillon. But we travel mostly by train. Are you coming from Spain to Carcassonne by train? At any rate, Carcassonne doesn't even need a night, though we enjoyed two nights there last July to see the Tour de France riders. The Place Carnot is a delightful place to sit and have a drink and watch the world go by. Your obvious target is the Cité - it takes maybe an hour or two, more if you're lured by souvenir shops.

Living in a small village in France, I have really come to hate the word "quaint." It is everything I do not want people to think about the kind of place that I live. I think it is demeaning and despoiling. I can't even guess what you mean by it so I can't suggest places you should visit.

We love Narbonne. It has all the charms of those old Med-based cities in the overlooked Languedoc, and it sits nicely on its canal, but it didn't succumb to the hysteria of Zara and H&M and other flim-flam cookie-cutter stores nor did it fix up its cobblestones or tidy up its alleyways for tourists, so it's just kind of what it is in its raw state.Plus, it's got the Comptoir de Mathilde. Plus you cannot even begin to imagine a cathedral like that - and we've seen a lot of cathedrals.

You could also go to Perpignan, which doesn't do much for me but is apparently very popular among the French.

We are huge fans of Collioure and have spent gobs of time there. Go. Just avoid the Templiers Bar. It's not even close to what it was originally. It's a sports bar now, essentially, very little evidence of its artistic origins.

My wife & I have spent 14 weeks staying in 9 different gites in various areas around the Languedoc. Perhaps our favorite region is the Gorges du Tarn, with all the caves with stalactites & mites, plus small villages, and the scenic gorges. But you did not mention this region in your "wish list".



One of our "bases" was just a few Ks from Carcassonne and (IMO) Carcassonne is a 2 1/2 hr visit. We were there at night for a few dinners, and it was only OK at night. The best nighttime "experiences" were viewing Carcassonne from a distance away.



We also stayed for 2 weeks in a gite near Ceret - which is what I would recommend for your 6 nights. We were there for 2 weeks and never ran out of things to do & see.



I developed a 30+ page itinerary for Languedoc-Roussollon which describes our favorite villages, sites, scenic drives, markets, etc. I've sent my various itineraries to over 6,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail. Specify that you want the Languedoc itinerary - I have others too.


Stu Dudley

I agree with the above, a couple of hours in Carcassonne is plenty of time. If fact, you would be missing little with just a drive by.

I would make an effort to see Collioure and maybe Banyuls. There is also the Little Yellow Train, Ch teau de Quéribus, and Ch teau de Peyrepertuse.

No need to spend a lot of time in Carcassonne.

Here's my report of the area from a couple of years ago. Collioure is indeed a fine choice for a day, as is Toulouse, if you have not yet been.

A week in the Occitanie

Narbonne and Minerve are worth a visit. Carcassonne old town is ok.

It depends on one's interest in historical renovations. In addition, when we visited the castle for a second time, it held an exhibit on Viollet-le-Duc which was fascinating. I suspect that this is not the only exhibit that was held there. I think we spent about 4 hours in the cité, most of it seeing the castle itself, the church and walking on the ramparts.

Two different periods represented here:

True, if you're a fan (or not) of Viollet-le-Duc, Carcassonne is fascinating (I can't get enough of him), but do you really think the average person visiting has a clue about that? Naw, they're just gaping at "the biggest castle in Europe."

Do you consider the person asking questions on this forum to be average?

I have no way of knowing, Michael, but a wild guess would be NO.

@StuDudley - Hi there - I would very much appreciate a copy of your itinerary. Thank you for offering. I'll email you shortly.

Thank you to all the replied. We are travelling by car. I look forward to reading your trip reports, as well as researching the places you have mentioned.

BTW, I like to think I am above average, but hey, I may be biased 😃

I didn't even know Carcassonne was supposedly the biggest "castle" in Europe, it doesn't look that big to me. The grounds are really a fortified city or citadel, but they aren't the castle. The castle isn't even that big, as I recall. Prague Castle seems bigger and so does Windsor and Edinburgh, to think of a few I've been to.

But I wouldn't agree you need an overnight there, doesn't see a reason for that. I was there half a day, seemed plenty to me.

I also like Narbonne and didn't find Perpignan that fascinating, although it's fine for a day or so.

I did a fascinating drive around the Cathar region several years ago. I started from Carcassonne and it took several hours.

Here are some articles:

https://www.francetoday.com/travel/t...f-the-cathars/

Cathar Castles

Les sites et châteaux cathares de Midi-Pyrénées

Is Minerve in the wine area and vineyards of Languedoc?

I like Sète.

The port of Sète - July 2011 | Any Port in a Storm

When we visited Minerve a couple of years ago, there was a mobile bottling truck parked outside the village and they were bottling wine. So there must be vineyards near. Minervois is a wine appellation.


Minervois Appellations - AOC Minervois


Stu Dudley