Carcassonne

ChrisSue

ChrisSue

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Hi all. We are in Toulouse at the weekend though sadly not in the motorhome. We are there for the rugby league on Saturday evening which leaves a whole free day on Sunday. Does anyone know anything about Carcassonne on a Sunday in February? Is there much to see this time of year? Any advice welcomed
 
ChrisSue said:
Hi all. We are in Toulouse at the weekend though sadly not in the motorhome. We are there for the rugby league on Saturday evening which leaves a whole free day on Sunday. Does anyone know anything about Carcassonne on a Sunday in February? Is there much to see this time of year? Any advice welcomed
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Not much on a Sunday anywhere in France anytime.
 
We’ve been to carcasone citadel in February and it’s worth a visit . Not far away is Minerve -
A cathar stronghold or about an away is perpertuse castle - something to behold . Or just follow the canal du midi and see what u find
 
May I suggest a look at this link? It is by far the best guide to touring in France that I know.
www.france-voyage.com

Itineraries in France - Explore France at your own pace

Put together your own itinerary in France and discover unmissable sites that suit your interests, destination and time available. Fine-tune then download…
www.france-voyage.com www.france-voyage.com

Mind you, walking up the hill to the Citadel in a temperature of 39C was no joke...
 
We went in August and were lucky to get out of the old town alive. Would love to go back when it is quiet so February is great, although I don't now if any restaurants will be open on Sunday at this time of year, maybe take sandwiches in case.
 
John Barrett said:
May I suggest a look at this link? It is by far the best guide to touring in France that I know.
www.france-voyage.com

Itineraries in France - Explore France at your own pace

Put together your own itinerary in France and discover unmissable sites that suit your interests, destination and time available. Fine-tune then download…
www.france-voyage.com www.france-voyage.com

Mind you, walking up the hill to the Citadel in a temperature of 39C was no joke...
Click to expand...

You WALKED we took the Petit Train much easier
Though the aire by the campsite is a ruddy rip off when we went 3€ cheaper than the campsite but no electric except for 1 hour on the Bourne, didn't know about the other one that's further away worse luck
 
We went a couple of years ago in February. Almost everything was open and it was nice and quiet to walk around.
 
Mrs D loves the place, far to busy when we were last there though (Aug).

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Carcassonne can be manic in the summer.
This is a much more sensible time of year to visit.
Don't just look at the busy central area, have a mooch round the quieter outer parts of the old Cité.

Richard.
 
Le Cite is open for business all the year round. Some restaurants closed but some open. One of our favourite places especially out of season even though it is touristy and perhaps the restoration owes more to Disney than the Cathars
 
Thanks for all the help and advice. Fun wins again ?
 
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Reallyretired said:
perhaps the restoration owes more to Disney than the Cathars
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Not far off. The original building didn't have the pointed rooves on the towers. Fab place to wander round and so much lovelier out of season when the kiss me quick shops are shut.
 
Fenman said:
Not far off. The original building didn't have the pointed rooves on the towers. Fab place to wander round and so much lovelier out of season when the kiss me quick shops are shut.
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I was there in January last year. Restaurants and bars were open and if you get peckish the 'new' town over the river has all the usual amenities. As others have pointed out it's quite a hike from the aire.

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Agree - was heaving in October ... February would be nicer
 
If it's a nice day another option would be Banyuls although not sure what it is like out of season.
 
Thanks all. Flying out today so if we do go to Carcassonne, and from your comments it looks likely we'll be going by train.
Thank you all once again
 
We live about an hour south of Carcassonne.

The old town is well worth a visit and is a world heritage site. One particular piece of advice for anybody going is to not just rush into the centre of the citadel. There is excellent parking (although I cannot remember if there are height restrictions on the main car parks nearby, I don't think so but I am not certain).

Under an hour is free parking and after that it is about 5€ for a reasonable period. Park the vehicle and walk into the main gate. There are two main walls around and most people like lemmings just march into the centre. Instead I recommend that after passing through the outer wall that you turn right and walk around the outer walls. It gives excellent views both of the surrounding scenery but also gives you a great look at the citadel as well. After about 15 or 20 minutes you will arrive back at your starting point by the main entrance and you can turn back into the centre.

A couple of general points. being a very busy tourist site the general standard of restaurants in the old town is absolutely appalling. The classic local speciality is called Cassoulet which is a rich stew of white beans, Toulouse sausage, duck and ham. Done well it is a good (if heavy) dish. It almost never is done well however and even tinned versions are passed off by the tourist restaurants. One pl
 
Continued from post of a moment ago sorry, posted in error.

One local restaurant that is well worth visiting is here -

www.tripadvisor.com

RESTAURANT COMTE ROGER, Carcassonne Center - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews - Tripadvisor

Restaurant Comte Roger, Carcassonne Center: See 1,638 unbiased reviews of Restaurant Comte Roger, rated 4.5 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #9 of 208 restaurants in Carcassonne Center.
www.tripadvisor.com www.tripadvisor.com

This is no connection to our restaurant. It is very good however and despite being quite classy is not expensive especially at lunchtime.

One final piece of information. It is always quite windy at La Cite so take a jacket if walking around the walls.

Have a good trip. It is quite sunny here at present.
Paul



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When we visited Carcasonne we did the thing we normally do in anywhere new, we visited the tourist office. Got lots of info and also booked a guided tour, because there is a lot to take in. It was well worth it.

Edit Tour was in English
 
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There in Sept 19 couldn't find a parking place so we didn't stop, but took some impressive photos.
 

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