>>Toulouse... it takes only 1 hour and we will arrive in the center<<

The Carcassonne and Toulouse/Matabiau train stations are not near La Cite in Carcassonne and not near the center of Toulouse. Budget about 2 1/2 hrs of walking in your plans. A taxi may be available. There may be a bus, however, that gets you from La Cite to Toulouse center.

Albi may have changed since you were there. We visited it around 2004 and again last year. Much has improved. Also visit the very nice garden in the castle grounds that holds the Toulouse Lautrec museum.

I don't think you have asked for my Languedoc itinerary yet. We've spent 12 weeks exploring the Languedoc - including 2 weeks near Carcassonne and 2 weeks in the Gorges du Tarn last year. Lots of "hidden" gems and several restaurant recommendations are in the itinerary.

Here is my wife's Shutterfly photo book from our June/July trip last year
https://stududley.shutterfly.com/51

And Nice & Provence from 2014
https://stududley.shutterfly.com/28

Click "Full screen"
Because of Shutterfly software problems, many titles & captions are missing or truncated.

Stu Dudley

You can get buses deep into the Nice hinterland: 740 to St Etienne de Tinee; 750 to Isola ; 770to Beuil/ Valberg>

And of course by the Chemins de la fer Provence train I talk about above.

>>Toulouse? It's one of my favorite small cities<<>

Toulouse is one of my very favorite large French cities - so many neat Romanesque churches and a university crowd gives it unique persona.

We day tripped by train to nearby Carcassonne -easy day trip.

Toulouse sncf station is only a kilometer from Les Halles Victor Hugo, about 10 minutes' walk, so close enough for me, but thanks for the heads up. Very nice photos StuDudley.

The train station in Carcassonne is actually in the Bastide town - not La Cite where you will probably be visiting. According to ViaMichelin, it is a 30 min walk to the center of La Cite. You have some sort of an uphill walk as you get near La Cite.

Stu Dudley

Ah but we have a car, which we can park close to the train station in Carcassonne. Failing that we could just drive to Toulouse, but I think the train would be a nice break from driving for a day.

We have been known to take a taxi once in a while to save time as well. ;)

One possibility for a day from Carcassonne is to visit some of the ruined Cathar castles. I went to Queribus and Peyrepertuse - the latter being much bigger and with better (IMO) scenery - in an easy day from Carcassonne.

What was the B&B in St Remy?

gailscout, I looked up Helsie's blog but I cannot find a name of the apartment in St. Remy. Maybe she will get back to us.

We stayed 10 years ago in Domaine de Fontbelle, near Graveson. Seems that there has been someone else take over in the last year, and it looks more beautiful than ever, but prices have gone up.

Thanks, sundriedtopepo. I highly recommend Toulouse. My husband and I did a private house exchange a few years back and stayed 10 days there. there was so much to see and do plus a few holidays thrown in. II recommend this tour: http://www.toulousewalkingtours.com/index.php Penny was wonderful.

We usually don't get so immersed into a city but due to the weather and comfort of the apartment, we just seemed to find somewhere new to go every day.
Eat at Le Bibent on the square - the dessert waffles are not to be missed!

gailscout
We stayed in an apartment right in the Old Town of St Remy. Typical quirky old French apartment which we enjoy instead of hotels and B&Bs.

https://www.homeaway.co.uk/p432754

http://helsieshappenings.blogspot.co...s-st-remy.html

Worst part was the battle for parking and sometimes having to park outside the old town and walk in but outweighed by being able to walk everywhere to restaurants etc once you were "home".

Artsnletters is The Peyrepertuse castle a long day trip? The roads look quite winding and maybe slow going?

Gailscout thanks for the link, I think that's a great idea- a 2 hour tour to get a good overview of Toulouse, perfect for a short visit.

Helsie thanks for the info.

Artsnletters is The Peyrepertuse castle a long day trip? The roads look quite winding and maybe slow going?


Yes - a long but rewarding day trip. We've done it twice. Perhaps the most scenic drive in that entire Perpignan/Carcassonne region. This is from my Languedoc itinerary:

Route #2 – cute village, scenic gorges, wonderful countryside, and Cathars castles.
This is an ambitious itinerary, so get an early start. We followed the D117/Peyrepertuse/Gorges de Galamus/Gorges St Georges portion of this "Route #2" in 2015 when we stayed near Carcassonne, in addition to when we stayed near Ceret in 2004.

If you’re staying in Collioure, drive toward Ceret on the D114, D618, and then D115. Take the D615 north of Ceret towards Thuir. Use the map & get on the D48 west to Castelneu+. Explore Castelnou (GG under Perpignan). One of my guidebooks described it as “St Paul de Vence without the tourists”. It’s a cute town. After a visit, take the D48 west and then the D2 to Ille-sur-Tet. Continue past Ille-sur-Tet on the D2 and when it crosses over the N116, you will approach les Orgues+. There is a picture of les Orgues in my Michelin Guide under Perpignan. You may have to take the D21 a bit towards Belesta to get some good views. Turn around on the D21 and then take the D2 back to Ille and get on the N116 heading west (you will have to go through Ille a little to do this – follow the signs to Prades). Continue west to Prades, taking a picture of Eus if you have not done so yet. Take the loop north around Prades and then take the D619 north. Look up Fenouilledes** in the Green Guide. Follow the described route from Prades to St Paul – it’s quite picturesque. When you intersect the D117 at St Paul, take the D117 west – this road is quite scenic too. At Axat, take the D118 south through the Gorges de St Georges*. When you get as far as the D16 fork near Rouze, turn the car around and retrace your route all the way back to Axat on the D17. Head east on the D117, and shortly you'll see sights for Puilarens and the Chateau de Puilarens*. Turn right/south and drive on the D22 to this chateau for the view. We visited the interior, and it was not as interesting as the exterior or the setting which were quite remarkable. Return to the D117 and conntinue east to Maury. I know - you have driven on this road already, but the stretch from St Paul to Maury is very scenic, plus when we were enjoying this drive in '15, cars were only allowed to drive north to south through the fantastic Gorges de Galamus. I believe that there are some sorts (don't know all the details) of traffic control through July & August - so be aware.

As I indicated above, we've done this Route #2 twice - once from Ceret and once from Carcassonne. In the summer, this region can get very hot. Standing in the sun and walking long distances uphill and over rocks to & through Chateaux can become very exhausting. Therefore, I suggest that you only hike to and visit the interior of one Cathars Chateau - Peyrepertuse would be my choice. If you get too tired from walking to several chateaux and exploring the interiors, you may run out of gas and cut this route short, which would be very unfortunate. Actually, this route is my favorite in the Roussillon region.

If you have not already done so, read about the Cathars faith and history in the Green Guide (or other guidebook) and learn about their religion, life, and fate.

My wife took a series of pictures of each of the Cathar Castles - beginning when each was just a speck on the top of the jutting rocks & then as we advanced closer & closer. Honestly, viewing these chateaux from the road allows you to focus on, and appreciate the awesome settings and the majesty of the ruins.

At Maury, drive north on the D19 through the Grau de Maury** to Chateau de Queribus**. The views from the parking lot area are outstanding. You may want to walk into a field near the parking lot to get even better views. Continue driving counterclockwise on the D123/D14. This is an extremely scenic road. Now, drive to Chateau de Peyrepertuse***. Take lots of pictures on the way there. Visit the interior, but be aware that some climbing & walking is necessary, so you’ll have to walk along dirt paths, over rocks, & through some low hung trees to get to the chateau. Also, walking around the Chateau is treacherous at times – but worth it. Plan on a 2 hour visit. Then continue driving west and then south to the fabulous Gorges de Galamus**. At times, the road is only 1 car width wide. We were there in mid June twice & we didn’t encounter another car – I don’t know what happens in July or August when there are more tourists. Actually, if I had it to do over again, I would find a place to park the car and walk along this gorge on foot. Many other people were doing that, and since it is flat and in the shade at times, it will not be as exhausting as climbing up to a Cathars castle. At the south end of the Gorges, there is a large parking lot with many "lookouts". Park the car there and view the bridge with the small "hermitage" below. You can actually walk to this hermitage - several people were doing it - but not us.

Take the D117 (again!!) back to your hotel. If you are staying near Carcassonne, drive northwest along the very scenic D14 from Cubieres sur Cinoble to Montazels. The proprietor of our Gite told us about this road - it's a gem. If you have time, visit Rennes le Chateau just south of Montzales - but it is only "so-so". Could be skipped.

Stu Dudley

I'm not sure that you received my 35 page Languedoc itinerary - so here are some pertinent sections:

Switch to Map 344

Leave Toulouse on exit 5 towards Carcassonne & Montpellier. Since this is Sunday, there will be much less city traffic (almost none, if you leave by 8:00), and trucks won’t be on the roads. Continue on the A61 and visit Carcassonne***, which is the largest medieval fortress in Europe. After you pass exit # 23, look for the signs for the "Aire" exit, and get off the A61 and drive to the Aire for great views of La Cite (the "walled" part of Carcassonne) from the distance. Many tour buses usually stop at this "aire" vista. Then get back on the A61 and take the #24 exit and follow the signs to “La Cite”. Drive all the way to La Cite until you see the entrance gates to the fortress. There is plenty of parking to your right if you arrive before 9:30. We were last there in mid June ’15 for 2 weeks, and we feared that it would be crowded like Mt St Michel - but it wasn’t. But you need to get there early, because it can get mobbed in the afternoon. Perhaps arrive at 9:00, and walk the perimeter of the village between the two walls first. Then walk into the village and wander the streets until 10:00 when you can get into the castle for a visit. Rent a headset and take a self-guided audio tour in English. The tour will take about 1 hour. Since almost all of the commerce in la Cite is tourist-oriented, I imagine that all stores will be open on Sunday. La Cite is a good choice for lunch. Later in our '15 two-week stay in Trebes (near Carcassonne), we met two friends for lunch at Comte Roger restaurant in La Cite and enjoyed it.

Unless you have lunch in La Cite, it is only a 2 1/2 hour visit.

Perhaps the best views of La Cite are from the Pont Neuf bridge between La Cite and the Bastide city (which is not part of the "walled" section) of Carcassonne. We did not walk over the older Pont Vieux - but the views from Pont Neuf of La Cite and Pont Vieux were spectacular. My wife took many of photographs of this view, and the best one ended up on the cover of her Shutterfly book that she made for our 2015 trip to the Languedoc. We also enjoyed walking through the Bastide city of Carcassonne. Lots of shops (including an excellent wine store) & outside cafes. Quite "active" also. I would not recommend it, however, if you are just visiting La Cite as a stopover between two other places.

If you are staying near Carcassonne for multiple nights, here are some recommendations:
Restaurants
- Our best meal (by far) in the region was at the Michelin 2 star Le Parc Franck Putelet** www.franck-putelat.com This hotel/restaurant is just outside the walls of Carcassonne.
- We had an excellent dinner at the Michelin 1 star Le Puits du Tresor* in Lastours. The Lastours Cathars castles are on a hill top above the village of Lastours, and you can see some of them lit up at night from the village. Driving to/from the village was not difficult.
- Also an excellent meal at Chateau Saint Martin in Montredon, just outside of Carcassonne www.chateausaintmartin.net
- We dined at the La Barbacane* in La Cite. The ambience is lovely as you would expect, but it was a little too pretentious for us, and the food was not as good as St Martin and most of the other Michelin starred restaurants we dined at in the region.
- We also dined at the Domaine d'Auriac*, which is also a hotel. We sat outside (a rarity for us) and perhaps the smokers, and other hotel guests "running around" the place distracted us too much to fully enjoy our dinner there.
- L'Ambrosia* in Pezens was a little disappointing for a Michelin 1 star restaurant.
- Our dinner at La Bergerie* was very pleasing. This is also a small hotel, but it seems to get less of a "star-power" type guest than the Domaine d'Auriac gets. The views of the village of Aragon were interesting. We wanted to explore Aragon more during the daytime, but we ran out of time. http://www.labergeriearagon.com/

Scenic drives
The countryside is prettier the farther north & south that you get from the A61 and Carcassonne. The following are scenic roads north of the A61. I will describe the scenic drives south of the A61 later in this itinerary.

1. Find Trebes on the map (just east of Carcassonne), and drive there on the A61 or D6113. Drive through Trebes (no reason for a visit) and cross over both the Aude River and the Canal du Midi. Then follow the signs (very carefully) to Laure-Minervois. Soon after you leave Trebes, this road will become scenic. You will be on the D135 leaving Trebes, and then in Laure, angle left to the D111. When the D111 hits the D620, turn north/right. Continue on the D620 through Caunes-Minervois and keep driving north on the D620 to Lespinassiere, where you will branch left to Castans, and then either the D9 or the D89/D211 and the D211 through the Gorges de la Clamoux. Once you get to Villeuvois, the countryside is not as scenic as what you just experienced.

2. Find Centeilles on the map and drive there. There are many, many small short roads in this area, so I'll just describe the ones we found to be the most scenic. This route is in the Michelin Green Guide. From Centrelles, take the D56 north to Fornes, then the D181 east to D10E1 to Minerve* – another TMBVoF, and the site of a Cathars stronghold (only 1 tall tower remains). Park in the large parking lot, take pictures from the lot, and then walk downhill into Minerve. The setting is lovely – it’s in a ravine at the confluence of two rivers, surrounded by deep gorges and situated at the end of a limestone plateau. It was an old Cathars bastion destroyed by Simone de Montfort in 1210 as part of the Albigensian Crusade. There is a picture in the Green Guide – but that’s not what it looks like. We almost didn’t visit Minerve in '04 because the picture didn’t look that interesting. We actually visited it twice in '15 - once the day after we had just arrived from San Francisco and were still in a jet-lag "fog", and again a week later when the weather was better & no fog. Wander in Minerve - it is really quite small. Make sure you walk over the bridge at the south end of town, and then walk left/east for some great views of Minerve. Or course, the quality of the views will depend on the position of the sun - perhaps best in the AM from this venue, and better in the afternoon from the parking lot. There are some places to grab a bite to eat in town. There is also a small Cathars museum, where various scenes are presented with miniatures. It's a little hokey, but we enjoyed it. Minerve is about a 1 to 1 1/2 hr visit.

3. There are very interesting and thought-provoking views of a cluster of several Cathars castles near the town of Lastours. It is an easy/short drive from Carcassonne through Conques-sur-Orbiel to the village of Lastours. Then take the D701 west/left to the lookout across a valley to the castles. You'll park the car, pay an admission, and walk to a viewing area.

After visiting Carcassonne, get back on the A61 freeway (see if the good view looks the same later in the day), and drive towards Toulouse. Take exit #22 off the A61, and head southwest on the D4, and then the D119 to Mirepoix.

Mirepoix++ is the one of our three favorite bastide towns. There’s a picture of it in the Green Guide. There are some very pretty outdoor cafes in the center square, and it would be a great spot for a slow Sunday lunch. This town is worth at least 10 photos. There are some nice shops in town too. It’s Sunday, but Mirepoix may be one of those towns that’s a very popular destination for the French tourists who like to stroll in a town on Sundays - so the shops may be open.

Albi***

Thursday

Head out early to visit the beautiful city of Albi***. This is one of our favorite small cities in France. Get out the Red Guide to find your way into central Albi. You will enter at #6 and follow the road south across the bridge. From this bridge, there is a fabulous view of Albi. Just after crossing the bridge, you are in the old section of town. Look for the underground parking lot (it’s huge), and park there. Emerge from the lot, and retrace your route to take some pictures of Albi from the bridge. Albi closes up tight at lunchtime - except (June through Sept) for the fabulous Cathedral Ste Cecile***. My Green Guide says that the Toulouse Lautrec Museum** is closed for lunch (except July & Aug), but I’m not sure that’s the case. Perhaps call ahead (number is in the GG) to confirm opening times. Toulouse Lautrec is one of the few artists that I like (particularly the "poster art" for which he is probably best known), and I really enjoyed this museum. It’s located in the Palais de la Berbie*+. Don’t miss the formal gardens outside the palais. Albi is an interesting town to just wander in. There are informational plaques (also in English) affixed to the outsides of buildings. They describe the architecture & related historically significant events. Many of the old buildings had fallen into disrepair and had been slated for demolition in the 1970s. Instead, the City had refurbished them & they now provide “social” (low- income?) housing. In addition to viewing Albi from the Pont du 22 Aout 1944 (the bridge by which you drove into Albi), view it from the old Pont Vieux. To get the absolute best view of Albi from a distance (and from where the picture in the Green Guide was probably taken), go all the way across the Pont Vieux bridge, and then start taking all the streets to the left that you possibly can. You won't be walking on any major roads - just streets that access houses. Keep walking farther than you think you should, until you hit a large wall at a dead-end. You'll see this view when you get there.

We've visited Albi three times - in '03, '04, and in '15.

Hotel
We stayed at the Hostellerie St Antoine in 2015 (prior trips were day-trips from the Gorges de l'Aveyron area). This is a very comfortable hotel, and perfectly located. They have a garage - but we're glad we parked in the large underground city lot nearby in Albi instead. Cost was the same for the lot and St Antione parking.

Restaurant
It seems to me that there are no "fine dining/white tablecloth" restaurants in the old section of Albi. About 6 weeks before we arrived in Albi, I made reservations at a Michelin one star restaurant next to the Palais. When we arrived at our hotel, signs at the reception desk and in the elevator informed us that the restaurant had closed and the chef "had moved on". We ran around to several other "recommended" restaurants, but found nothing at all that appealed to us. We brooded for awhile, and then went to the Brasserie Le Pointie, which was in the large Place du Vigan at the main entrance to old town & just steps from our hotel. We had an enjoyable evening outside with casual dining, and "people watching".


Toulouse***

Friday and Saturday

Toulouse*** is tied (with Dijon) as our second favorite big city in France. You can find out all you need to know about it in the Green Guide. Take the three walking itineraries in the Guide. You can easily do them all in a day if you don’t spend a lot of time in the museums or at the Les Halles market, and can stay on your feet that long. I think you'll find plenty of stuff to do and see with two nights in Toulouse. We visited Toulouse once on a drizzly, cold, late-September Saturday evening and there was one of the largest gatherings of people I’ve ever seen. It seemed like the entire town was out wandering the streets – it was quite festive. Most of the crowds, however, were on the main shopping streets.

Hotels
We've stayed overnight in Toulouse on five different occasions.
Twice at the Mermoz
Once at Le President
Once at an airport hotel (very early morning flght - I recommend against an airport hotel).
Once at the Grand Hotel de l'Opera
Both the Mermoz and President were close to the train station, so we could drop off a car or pick one up easily.

Restaurants
- We dined outside at Emile once, and once we dined inside (rainy day). They are famous for their Cassoulet. Both times the restaurant was very crowded.
- We dined at Christian Constant's (of Paris fame - but he was born close to Toulouse) Le Bibant. The restaurant's decor is remarkable, and it is directly on the main square in town. Food was excellent.
- When we stayed at an airport hotel we dined at the Michelin one star L'Amphitryon**, which was awarded a second star the year after we dined there. This dinner was one of the best I've had in France.

Stu Dudley

Thanks, Stu, we only have 2 nights in Carcassonne but will keep this for reference if and when we go back to Languedoc. Also, others might be able to use this info.