Carcassonne

For the route you describe, Carcassonne would be a good and obvious choice. It's about 40 mins up the autoroute from Narbonne on the coast. It's well described in Rick's book France, and other books.

And here are all the posts made here in the past re Carcassonne click here

Kent: Thank you. From the info and RS Languedoc pgm. I am a bit unsure of Carcassonne - seems very "touristy", not authentic. I will have used Arles for a 3-night home base by this time in our trip. So, would you spend one more day/night in/around Arles or drive from Arles in the late afternoon, spend the evening in Carcassonne leave early the next morn to Figueres on way to Barca?

From your last post: I am a bit unsure of Carcassonne - seems very "touristy", not authentic.

It depends partly on what is meant by the words touristy and authentic. The northern interior wall is 5th - 7th centuries. The Chateau Comtal, a portion of the east wall, and, actually, the rest of both exterior walls are from the 8th to 13th centuries.

Rick wrote part of the following on his first visit to Carcassonne as a teenager:

"Before me lies Carcassonne, the perfect medieval city. Like a fish that everyone thought was extinct, Europe's greatest Romanesque fortress-city somehow survives.

Medieval Carcassonne is a 13th-century world of towers, turrets, and cobblestone alleys. It's a walled city and Camelot's castle rolled into one, frosted with too many day-tripping tourists. At 10 a.m. the salespeople stand at the doors of their main-street shops, their gauntlet of tacky temptations poised and ready for their daily ration of customers. But an empty Carcassonne rattles in the early morning or late-afternoon breeze.

I was supposed to be gone yesterday, but it's sundown and here I sit — imprisoned by choice — curled in a cranny on top of the wall. The moat is one foot over and 100 feet down. Happy little weeds and moss upholster my throne. The wind blows away many of the sounds of today, and my imagination "medievals" me."

If you mean by touristy, will there be a lot of other tourists besides you--yes there will be, esp. in the summer. They too want to see this worthwhile place.

Kent: Thanks for the added info. We will travel from Arles to Carcassonne on Sat., Aug 1 planning to and stay in the Cite. We will leave Sun., Aug 2 for Figueres and onto Barca (arv Barc Sun nite). Now all I need is a hotel to stay in the Cite on 8/1 and a spot in Barc from Aug 2-4 (we return Wed., Aug 5).
Any thoughts on hotel or itinerary while in Barc will be appreciated -
Best - Don

Oh-oh, you're there on an August weekend. Well, now I'm concerned that I may have oversold Carcassonne in my prior post, given your concerns about touristy, if by that you meant crowded. Many Europeans take their long summer vacations between mid-July and end of August. Hotels hard to book.

Re hotels, I don't make hotel recommendations myself, too personal, I don't keep up with the properties, etc.

If you still want to go, try booking Rick's picks in his France book, he makes about a dozen picks. If those are booked for your August weekend, I'd go to viamichelin.com and check the box for Red Guide Selections.

Just to add to Kent's last post, Carcassonne stages a number of weekend festivals through the summer, so you'll want to check their tourist office's website (you can Google for it, and now I sound like Carl from Dallas...)

If a hotel has availability - even in the lower city - I would stay overnight. The view out from the walls at dusk is truly cool. The walled Cite has a lot to see. It does take some time and being able to be there when the tour buses has left is worth spending the night.

Just one minor counter to Kent - with whom I disagree at my peril - Carcassonne is something of an historic confection. It was significantly renovated in the the last two centuries with some architectural inaccuracies. The tower roofs, for example, are of a different design. But pay that no mind. I've been there twice. It's a must see if you're in the area.

Doug and Kent - Great info. Appreciate it. Since you guys seem to have good experience, any tidbits of "where to stay" (I mean area, not hotel recommendations)and "what to do" in Barca? My first trip to Spain. I am planning to drive to Figueres from Carcassonne on Sunday and arrive Barca Sun night. Stay thru Tues night - leave Wed morning.
Should I drop the car off Sun/Mon? OR, I could stay an extra night in Provenence and arrive Carcassonne Sunday and arrive Barca Monday....