Carcassonne area any recommendations? (1 Viewer)

[chaser]

beggining of May we are heading down this area for a couple of weeks, we know the way having been a couple of times but thinking of staying there for a few days , anyone know what we should be looking for what we have missed just traveling through, or any good Aires or in fact anything.
Cheers looking forward to any suggestions

 

[glenn2926]

We stayed at mirepoix last year. Lovely little market town with a great market square. Nice Aire with water and grey/black disposal and wc.a couple of minuets into town. Stayed on the citie campsite in Carcasonne. We did not think it expensive and would use it again.

 

[Snowbird]

If you park on the citie and walk over the river footbridge into the new town, there are some lovely cafes and bars there. There is a little bar about 100 yards after you cross the river on your right, holds about 6 people when full. They make the best raspberry sangria I have ever had in my life. Dont risk more than 3 though.

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[DavidG58]

The canal du midi runs through or at least past Carcassonne, that route back up to Bordeaux looks to have some nice towns, but not explored ourselves yet, probably our next area to do as well

the aire at Carcasonne seemed rather car park like and quite expensive, but it is right next to the old city, we parked but did not stay over

 

[snowdrops]

We stayed at Camping de Sorèze, Le St-Martin, dans le Tarn au centre de la région Midi-Pyrénées. Lovely site, proprietors can't speak a lot of english and he loves when you try your french. Kept plying us with free liquor from a stone jug, it was lethal !!! ACSI. Carcassonne itself we were a little disappointed about. Expected to stay 2 days to take it all in, but was done in a few hours. Quite commercialised, tho only to be expected I suppose. A must see though.

 

[Snowbird]

As long as you dont mind being labeld a freeloader, immediately you have crossed the road bridge going south, turn right down the side of the river. You will see directly in front of you a VERY low bridge, do not panic. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left and there is a FREE parking on your left, right by the rivers edge. An easy walk for all refreshments.

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[yodeli]

I love Carcassonne, especially when it's all sunny and a bit crowded. I just feel summer is on its way. The way up tp the castle might be a bit steep for some , so take a big breath!
I am not sure there's still an aire there. I think it is now the municipal campsite which has taken the whole thing over.
I'll have a look to make sure. Don't forget to take your identity papers , you might have a discount if over 65. Or your disabled card if any, for the same purpose!

Take your time to roam around and have a drink here and there..... ENJOY!

Frankie

 

[chaser]

Thanks everyone, Carcassonne town it is then, we have toured the general corbieres area vineyards as we have a likeing for the wine, but than cut across to Biarritz and always missed that bottom corner, looks like we'll be rectifying that next month

 

[WillH]

As above, the castle is well worth a visit.

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[namwaldog]

There is a nice secure Aire in the town of Castelnauderay, which is the Toulouse side of Carcassonne. Backs right on to the Canal du Midi. Very handy for the town. €8 inc EHU & services.

There is a secure fence between the Aire and the Canal.

43.314235, 1.948920 43°18'51.2"N 1°56'56.1"E

 

[sdc77]

We don't mind the citie site at Carcassonne. .. it's a little expensive but a good site and in a great location. We love Carcassonne

 

[rb62]

If you like canals the staircase on the Canal du Midi is worth a visit
beside the inclined plain.Also watching the people on the hire boats is quite entertaining!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fonserannes_Lock

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[yodeli]

http://www.i-campingcar.fr/aires.php?ville=Carcassonne

@chaser Apparently the aire is still available . The infos were updated recently (16/02/2016). The aire in the centre of the town next to the citadelle .

Apparently quite expensive and you can't dump the cassette. Up to 20 euros/24hours

http://www.campingcitecarcassonne.com/

The campsite is also at the feet of the citadelle. 19 euros/day for 2 people + motorhome. You click on tarifs and then you just add electric or anything you want to that basic price

 

[magicsurfbus]

The Carcassonne citadel aire is a large gravel car park with no shade and can get pretty merciless on a hot day, but it is convenient for the walled city.

To the south east of Carcassonne, a relatively short drive through the Pyrenees foothills, is Lagrasse, with its distinctive medieval bridge, abbey, and winding streets. Quite picturesque, won't occupy you for much more than a day but worth a detour. Overnight parking is allowed on a grassy parking area not far from the river and within easy walking distance of the village centre, and there's a MH service point.

The TV serialisation of the Kate Mosse novel Labyrinth (set in Carcassonne) was filmed in Lagrasse.

 

[chaser]

Looks like we need two months, never mind two weeks

http://www.i-campingcar.fr/aires.php?ville=Carcassonne

@chaser Apparently the aire is still available . The infos were updated recently (16/02/2016). The aire in the centre of the town next to the citadelle .

Apparently quite expensive and you can't dump the cassette. Up to 20 euros/24hours

http://www.campingcitecarcassonne.com/

The campsite is also at the feet of the citadelle. 19 euros/day for 2 people + motorhome. You click on tarifs and then you just add electric or anything you want to that basic price

is this the cite site that was mentioned earlier

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[laird of Dunstan]

i bought a bar of chocolate in the cite ,it cost me 25 Euros ,the cite is well worth the visit ,there are a lot of great Cathar sites not too far from Carcasonne

 

[chaser]

i bought a bar of chocolate in the cite ,it cost me 25 Euros ,the cite is well worth the visit ,there are a lot of great Cathar sites not too far from Carcasonne

Time for a rethink

 

[yodeli]

@chaser I get a bit confused . It seems that citadelle and cité don't mean the same thing . Honestly I would stick to the campsite. Not a big difference and at least you'll have all the facilities.

i bought a bar of chocolate in the cite ,it cost me 25 Euros

Errr , how big was your bar? lol! 25 euros .... you probably sounded too much English!
Honestly I would have gone out of the shop in a very unsuitable way for a lady !

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[Chris]

I stayed at the site the August before last.

Nice walk into the old citadel but it was so busy I couldn't wait to get back to the site.

The site had a pool and a bar and was quite nice.

 

[chaser]

I stayed at the site the August before last.

Nice walk into the old citadel but it was so busy I couldn't wait to get back to the site.

The site had a pool and a bar and was quite nice.

How much was it then?

 

[Chris]

How much was it then?

From memory it was about €20 without hook up.

It was full so we didn't get any choice. It was in the Summer holidays

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[deleted-member02]

We've visited for the day and parked at the top aire (few hundred yards from the walled city).
A day's parking was about 7euros from memory.

I want to go back and stay overnight this time. Lots more bars and restaurants need visiting this time round

 

[chaser]

We've visited for the day and parked at the top aire (few hundred yards from the walled city).
A day's parking was about 7euros from memory.

I want to go back and stay overnight this time. Lots more bars and restaurants need visiting this time round
View attachment 100754

That's more like us

 

[Jenben]

Thanks for this thread @chaser , we have meandered down to the Canal du Midi. Currently parked on the aire at Castelnaudray.

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[Jenben]

Felt I should update this thread for @chaser after staying at the aire at Castelnaudary which is a great spot for the canal, we headed up into the countryside above the Canal du Midi.
We stayed at the aire at Revel (pay) which is a great little town with a buzzing market on a Saturday. Moving on to Puylaurens a small hilltop village with fantastic views of the Pyrenees from the aire (free). Further on is Lautrec, the aire ( free) is at a summer swimming lake below the mediaeval village.

As @DavidG58 has been on this thread I feel I need to tell him that the aire at Castelnaudary has a barriered entry system where you need a credit card and an email address

 

[MikeD]

We stayed at the cite campsite in early April this year and it was 25 euro per night with hook up.

The site was being refurbished and I think expanded when we were there but still clean and quiet.

A nice walk in to town along the river.

The walled city/castle was very disappointing and really felt just a tourist attraction eg: by Disney.