There is no need to hire a car to enjoy the two cities of Carcassonne. All of the following are within a 15 minute stroll:

La Cité, the medieval fortified citadel of Carcassonne is only 500 yards away and truly it is a fairytale castle of epic proportions. La Cité is free to enter and inside you will find plenty of quality gift and craft workshops, restaurants and cafés, plus the Chateau Comtal and the St Nazaire Cathedral with its fantastic stained glass windows. There are also guided tours and animated museums to bring the history of La Cité to life for you.

During the summer months there is a full programme of musical entertainments including street musicians, an open air theatre where the history of Carcassonne is re enacted, and all the pageantry and excitement of medieval jousting displays.

RueTrivalle                                                                                                                                                                   Top

The ancient and picturesque rue Trivalle with its café’s, restaurants, antique and gift shops passes within 25 yards of Les Troubadours, connecting La Cité to the Bastide St Louis via the old bridge, the Pont Vieux.

At the foot of the Trivalle is the river and the Pont Vieux with its beautiful stone arches and views of the Pyrenees, the Black Mountains, and of course La Cité itself.

Carcassonne is proud of its green spaces and all along the river there are parks, gardens, play areas for children, and of course the wide tree lined banks. The river is home to a family of otters and a colony of herons.

The Quai Bellevue makes a pleasant evening stroll especially if you stop for dinner at La Paicherrou restaurant where they cook over a wood fire and have live music and dancing in the garden.

On the Quai Paicherrou you will find tennis courts, a beautiful lido with sunbathing terraces and full lifeguard surveillance, and landscaped leisure areas for relaxing on the bank of the river.

In the Roman built Bastide St Louis you can shop to your hearts content among the boutiques, antique shops, jewellers and parfumiers, chocolatier/patissiers, drapers, cookware and interiors shops, and of course the delicatessens stocking the speciality produce and vintage wines of the region.                             Top

Place Carnot with its celebrated Neptune marble fountain and marvellous architecture is at the heart of the Bastide and is an excellent spot from which to base your shopping spree and it is to the many bars and cafés of Place Carnot that the Carcassonnais come to socialise and relax in the sun on market day. 

Carcassonne also puts on a wonderful show at Christmas time transforming Place Carnot into a winter wonderland complete with snowy chalets offering festive fare, an ice skating rink, toboggan run, big wheel and winter wonderland sleigh rides for the children.  The Christmas market runs from the first weekend of December.

The gastronomic pleasures of the region are celebrated worldwide and Carcassonne has plenty of bistros and restaurants from which to choose. We can direct you to excellent local restaurants where you can explore Occitan cuisine.

The Canal du Midi passes right through Carcassonne and is our second World Heritage Site.  You can enjoy a good seafood meal overlooking the canal, stroll or cycle along its shady banks, and marvel at the very beautiful oval lock basin controlling the eastern descent.  Hire an electric dayboat (no licence required), join the tour boat, or simply enjoy watching the pleasure craft cruise by.