Sleeping in Carcassonne

I remember that we stayed with a Scottish ex-pat, but I can't remember her name. She was really nice, let us check our baggage in the room free and insured the day that we checked out, and the tea was excellent. I can check my journal if you're interested in the name.

We stayed at The Du Chateau which is wonderful.....directly across from the castle ....one can see the castle from the patio all lighted at night,....but...and this is important....you cannot see all the tourists.This hotel is a splurge, but well worth it.We entered from the back of the castle drove right up and into the parking for the hotel and really enjoyed it. the rooms are really neat..very high tech with lights in the floor and in our room ...number 1...there was a window into the bath with a remote control to close the curtain. sounds odd, but it was neat. rooms are small , you have to pay extra for private parking, but where else would you park.The castle is neat and my husband is a photographer so he went out late and got a lot of night shots, but it was good to get away from all the people and come back to some peace. Good breakfast and again you can eat outside and view the castle while eating ...at night a bar and you can have a drink and look at the castle. We stayed a few nights and drove along the canal du midi and went to Caunes Minervois. Also, went north to the Aveyron......great areas. send me a PM if you have any questions.

Is the hostel an option, or would you rather not stay there?

Thanks for the suggestions as I will check them out. We'd like to stay within the wall so these are all good ideas.

We stayed at the B&B run by the Scottish lady and it was finebut, we arrived around noon and found a note on the door that check in was not allowed until 4 pm-note said enjoy walking around the town. We had luggage of course and there was nothing we could do but sit at a small cafe down the block. Then it rained and we had to huddle under the umbrella at a small table. Never have stayed anywhere that would not hold luggage for a few hours.

After checking out the comments I did find a place outside the wall mentioned in Rick's book-Chambres les Florentines. Very easy to communicate with over email. Thanks to all for the comments.

If by the Scottish lady you mean the the owner of L'Echappee-Belle I would avoid it at all cost. Inspite of 3 emails assuring me they would accept my luggage between 10 and 12 , there was no one there when we arrived at 10:15am and the place was locked up tight. A telephone call was answered by voice mail saying no one was available to take my call and my message to call me was never returned. We sat on her front step about an hour trying to decide what to do - we had our luggage and had walked in from the Narbonne Gate. I wasn't about to spend our only day in Carcassonne waiting till 3 pm to see if someone ever came. We walked around the corner and got a room at the Best Western Donjon. We lost our prepaid night at L'Echappee-Belle and paid more for Donjon but we got rid of the bags and could enjoy the day. When we returned home 2 weeks later I had an email from Johanna (the Scottish lady) stating she had to go to the dentist and her housekeeper had a car wreck - these should not have been my problems! First she said she called me back but the number I left was not good (my cell phone) then she claimed she left a message at another number (?) which I never returned. Altogether a very disappointing experience.

Sounds like Jean had a worse experience with Belle Chapee than we did. The owner takes a very casual attitude toward running a B&B/hotel. What does she expect guests to do with luggage all afternoon? I certainly could not recommend this place. There is a hotel just outside the wall that seems to be recommended on another forum.I believe it is in most of the travel books.