Cathar castles

The walk up to Peyrepertuse is not especially challenging for relatively fit people. The roads can be slow.

There's a lot to see in that corner. We spent 3 nights based in Esperaza and another 7 near Perpignan, in 2011.

If you head south from Carcassonne, through Limoux, you can follow the signs from Couiza to Rennes-le-Château. Park the car up near the tower and take a 2 min. walk to the church and site of the Abbé Saunière mystery (hidden treasure, Grail, etc.). Can be a short 30 min. visit. The little church is worth it, the museum not. There is a hole to see, in the floor of the little shop/ticket office - where someone broke in one night and used dynamite to search for the Abbé's gold.

Head back down into Couiza (5-10 min. max) and turn back towards Carcassone again for a minute, cross the bridge and turn right on the D613. Turn right again (15 min. or so, if I remember correctly) onto the D14. It's a pretty road that skirts the Pic de Bugarach, supposedly the inspiration for Spielberg's mountain in 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind', and the site of the failed end-of-the-world alien rescue of chosen humans (during the apocalypse of December 2012).

True. Weird stuff in those parts. Our B&B's British-born host described it this way: "shake any tree around here and a nut falls out".

Peyrepertuse can be done in 90 minutes or so, Quéribus maybe a little less. The climb is a bit steep, but for just a short bit. Cucugnan is between the two. Although in "Cathar country", these two are not so much Cathar castles, but rather fortresses that used to guard the old borders that shifted between the Spanish/Catalan and French kingdoms.

Of the two, Peyrepertuse is the most dramatic, IMO. It sits on the crest, longwise. You'll see the back end coming in and around from the D14. The cut-off that winds upwards to the parking lot is taken from the other side. Both châteaux are within view of each other.

From Quéribus, head back down the other side, from the D19 towards the D117.

Were you planning on stopping in Collioure on your way down to Cadaques or on the way back?

It's a beautiful, but very slow, drive from Collioure to Cadaques. We did that stretch as a very long day trip from our base near Perpignan (highway down, coastal route back).

Because of time constraints, I opted for Cadaques in place of Collioure. Afterwards we'll drive to Barcelona where we'll depart for home after three nights. Google maps shows the drive from Carcassonne to Cadaques via "Cathar country" to be 4-5 hours.

Ummm... forget about Rennes-le-Château then. I'd still drive the D14 route, maybe visit both Châteaux (but not dawdle) and have an early lunch in Cucugnan (spitting distance of Quéribus, when you are done). Then hit the D117 and the toll highway, in order to get to Collioure in the most direct and fast way possible. Spend a couple of hours in Collioure and prepare to drive the slow coast road to Cadaques.

Google maps' time estimate is kind of way-off for what you want to do. I'd even cut it to just one château (Peyrepertuse) and have lunch further down the way.

Jim, are you familiar with the concept of the 'restos routier'/'relais routiers'? There's even a new app for iOS 7 for finding one. We stumbled onto them 3 trips ago and are converts to the formula.

'Any thoughts?'
How about a bubble buster?

There's no such thing as a Cathar castle. The whole notion of the castles, trail, etc, was an invention of the Aude tourist bureau back around 1980. The existing castles either pre or post date the Cathars. The Cathars had neither the skill nor the knowledge nor the manpower to build a castle. The closest connection that can be made is when a bunch of Cathars scrunched into the old castle at Beziers and were massacred in the early twelve hundreds during the Albigensian Crusade.

Some of the local lords who may have owned some of the castles sympathized with the Cathars on political grounds.

I just knew that you'd chime in on this one, Ed!
You are very correct, Bets. Although not Cathar-occupied per se, that is the case for both Peyrepertuse and Aguilar nearby. It is more accurate, in some ways, to view the Albigensian Crusade as an extension of the quelling of what was an Occitan rebellion (in response to the King of France's 'main-basse' onto these lands). Quéribus did provide refuge to some Cathars and was briefly laid to siege.

The Château of Montségur, IMO, is the most evocative of the Cathar sites. Its original architecture as a fortified village was truly qualified as a Cathar-built and Cathar-occupied stronghold. It was the home, and eventually a last refuge, of both Cathars and 'faydits' (these same, now-dispossed, lords). I think that its locale is beautiful and the simple monument to the Cathar martyrs at its base is very moving. This one had been worth building a daytrip to get to.

If castles are your interest, as I know it is for Jim, then Peyrepertuse and Quéribus will make you happy. These castles played a role in the protracted disputes between Aragon and Toulouse, then in guarding the Kingdom of France's border after the control of the Pays d'Oc passed to the north.

If it's actually the history surrounding the Cathars that interest you, then the sites of Montségur (south-west of Carcassonne) and Minerve (north-east of Carcassonne) are the most interesting and worthwhile of the effort to get to, IMO.

As always, thanks for the great advice and bubble bursting. I'm sure the reference to 'Cathar castles' came from internet searches. That has been my only tool so far for understanding the history beyond what Rick provides in his France book. One château on that drive may be more realistic with lunch farther down the road. The previous day we'll have driven from Albi to Carcassonne and I've considered Châteaux de Lastours and/or Minerve as convenient stops on the way. Château de Peyrepertuse seemed convenient for the drive to Cadaques. Perhaps Montsegur via Mirepoix instead? I hadn't planned on going through Collioure. Is the slow coast road to Cadaques not to be missed Diane?

Minerve takes the cake in the area.

We're planning to spend some time in that area soon. To understand more about the history of the region, I'm reading The Perfect Heresy by Shephen O'Shea. Those Cathers were an interesting bunch!

You seem to be very well informed, but may I suggest you use the Michelin Green Guide for the areas where you'll be traveling. They offer excellent detail for France, particularly if you are traveling by car.

Hi Bets. We'll pick up the car in Nice and use it to explore the Inland Riviera on our way to Provence. From there, we drive through Avignon to the Vézère for caves. Then it's off to Albi and Carcassonne before two nights in Cadaques. We drop off the car in Barcelona. Does the Michelin guide for France provide the same detail as the region specific guides or do I need to get a guide for each area?

Probably not. We spend a lot of time in France, one area at a time, so we have regional guides. You'd need too many different ones if you followed my suggestion. I had the impression you were spending more time in one area; my suggestion is not very good for your route. Sorry. In any case, they are for sale in English in all areas you'll be going and you can thumb through once you are there.

Some knowledge of the historical background makes the visit certainly more interesting. For exploring the area a well detailed map like Michelin’s Departements France (€6, scale 1/150.000) with lots of touristical information can be besides the guides of interest. There are also atlasses containing all these maps of France, those with spiral back are most convenient to use. Maps and atlasses are easy to get at gasstations and supermarkets.

We have travelled in the area near Carcassonne. After having read The Templar Legacy by Steve Barry and two books by Kate Mosse, I wanted to visit Rennes-le-Chateau and the Cathar "castles". We had been in Albi and visited that cathedral. Seeing the solid grandeur of that church made you realize that the Catholic church and the king of France were not going to tolerate a small sect of Christians with different ideas!

For the Cathars, we went to the town below Montsegur and visited a small museum. We drove to where the trail to the top starts but didn't go up to the top. We did climb Peyrepertuse. For me, it was a difficult climb with BIG stone steps and no railings along the sides. No OSHA rules here. Once at the top of the chateau, it was really fun to look out over the surrounding area. The climb down wasn't any easier. We drove to Queribus to check about the difficulty of the climb but didn't go to the top. There are so many of these old ruins that you can see in the area.

When people ask about how much time to allot to the Chateau, it is difficult to answer. While you may be able to easily do the climb, how much time do you want to spend exploring the chateau once you make the climb. I wish we had spent more time there.

Rennes-le-Chateau was very interesting to me after reading the books. There are so many stories surrounding the town and church from the Templar stories.