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U Ventenac- U Villeneuve- CA N O Minervois AL DU Villegailhenc la-Comtal M Moussoulens Cabardès Villalier M I A D L D623 I C
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A Malves- L Mayreville PAYS DU L Alzonne D101 D624 Bram Villemoustaussou en-Minervois LAURAGAIS Pennautier
Mazères D6 N1113 Villedubert Villasavary A61 Saint-Sernin Laurac D33 Rustiques CARCASSONNE Trèbes D625 N113 FORÊT DE D4 Belpech LA SELVE Montréal Marseillette D102 Cazalrenoux Arzens Fanjeaux PAYS LA Pezens VIXIÈGE D102 D623 CARCASSONNAIS Cazilhac Pamiers LAC DE LA Floure Brézilhac Cavanac CAVAYERE Villarzel- D118 D6 D119 D625 du-Razès Preixan Cailhau Leuc
Mirepoix LE D104 Belvèze-du-Razès SOU Verzeille St-Martin- Verzeille D102 Brugairolles de-Villeglan Cépie Ladern-sur-Lauquet D118 Rieunette Alaigne D102 D623 L'AUDE D110
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MASSIF DE MADRÈS Perpignan
Usson PIC DE MADRÈS 2469 m
Quérigut Font-Romeu SPAIN
0 10 KM Avec l'aimable autorisation du comité départemental du tourisme Reproduction Interdite Janvier 2011 5
Saint-Pons- de-Thomières PIC DE NORE Tarn Pradelles- 1011 m Cabardès D9 Aude Castans D620 Roquefère Cabrespine Citou Minerve Minerve
Villeneuve- Caunes-Minervois Bize- L
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LEGEND
Abbey - Church
Castle Pyrénées National Heritage Site DUBLIN Orientales KOBENHAVN World Heritage Site
LONDON AMSTERDAM Train BERLIN Chef lieu of canton
PARIS Commune - ZÜRICH Tourist Attraction
Seaside Resort Highway AUDE Main Road CACASSONNE
BARCELONNE Secondary Road ROME (1st an d 2d category) Secondary Road (3st category)
Cathar Path
11 Medieval city of Carcassonne.
© Claudio Giovanni COLOMBO – Shutterstock.com
14 MUST-SEES
It was made between 1667 and 1694 and two thousand Les châteaux cathares workers were hired from January 1667. This number rose to twelve thousand, including six hundred women, to Mentioned for the first time in written sources in the alleviate the shortage of men. The work was carried out 11th century, Arques was then qualified as villa, i.e. in three major projects: the first from Toulouse to Trèbes village, in the form of Villa de Archas. However, the (east of Carcassonne) which includes the basins and current village has retained a noble tower that is now the water supply systems, the second towards the south bell tower of the church. Arques was not an important of Trèbes to the pond of Thau, and the third that was stronghold when the Crusade against the Albigensian the construction of the harbour of Sète. To address started in 1209. It seems that Simon de Montfort took the problem of leveling throughout the course, more possession of the village after the fall of Château de than 60 locks had to be built, Riquet was perfectly Termes during summer 1210. In 1260, Arques was sold conscious of helping to forge a symbol of the power to Pierre de Voisins, former fellow soldier of Simon de of the 17th-century France, while giving the country a Montfort. His descendants decided to settle there, near functional communication channel. He thus particularly the village, at the end of the 13th century. Around 1280, made sure that the quality of the canal’s architecture is they built a fortified house, noble residence, of which worthy of this function. The bridges, the locks and the only the dungeon remains today. Listed as a historical structures associated with them, as well as the tunnel monument in 1887, this fortified house was built at entrances were designed and drawn with a great sense of the edge of the forest of Rialsesse. 11 metres side and aesthetic combined with technical constraints, the whole 25 metres high, it is a masterpiece of Gothic art and includes no less than 328 works of art and 63 locks. He military architecture. The four floors are open to visitors, was also extremely conscious of the impact of his work just like the two floors of the home tower located at the on the landscape and took great care to ensure that it South-West corner of the outer wall. Small quizzes are was properly bordered by trees and by vegetation in displayed in each room to make the visit of children more harmony with the landscapes crossed. Since 1996, this ludic. The idea is to develop! You can end your visit by performance has rightly been listed as a UNESCO World a stop at the castle’s honey shop which is made up of Heritage site.Having the width of 10 to 20 meters and several gourmet attractions. You can also go through the deep of about 2 meters, the canal passes to its highest museum dedicated to “Catharism nowadays”, located in point at the threshold of Naurouze, at the border of the the house where Déodat Roché’s (1887-1978), one of the department of Aude and Haute Garonne in the Lauragais. first historians of catharism, was born. Its history with Carcassonne was quite complex since, at CHÂTEAU DE QUÉRIBUS the completion of the first route, the canal was 2 kilo- 1, rue Achille-Mir meters from the city. A link between the city and the CUCUGNAN canal was suggested in 1686 by Vauban but it was only & +33 (0)4 68 45 03 69 a century later, in 1787, that the construction of a new www.queribuscucugnan.fr route was ordered and was completed in 1810 and that [email protected] wouldl definitely set the canal in its current configuration. Low season: open every day from 10am to 5pm. High E CANAL DU MIDI season: every day from 9am to 8pm. Audiopass: 4 in addition to the entrance ticket, 2nd offered. Adult: E5.50. www.sudouest.vnf.fr E Guided tour. Cruises with accompanying notes in several Child: 3. February: from 10am to 5.30pm. March: from languages are proposed on Canal du Midi. 10am to 6pm. April-May-June-September: from 9.30am to 7pm. Guided tour (for groups only). CANAL DE LA ROBINE Overlooking the Corbières, the majestic citadel of Quéribus NARBONNE is one of the major castles of the northern border of The Canal de la Robine occupies the former bed of the river the Kingdom of Aragon. Chabert de Barbaira, Royalist Aude in ancient times. This 32 km waterway entry in the party of the king of Aragon, occupies the fortified site heart of the town gives Narbonne its whole identity, as the of Quéribus in 1239, where he houses the fleeing Cathar city is divided into two districts by La Robine: Bourg in the heretics after the fall of Montségur. Quéribus will be the south and Cité in the north. This canal, which is classified last bastion to fall into the hands of crusaders in 1255. as a UNESCO world heritage, links the Canal du Midi to the After a 16-year reign, Chabert de Barbaira, negotiating Mediterranean and allows you to understand the town in his freedom, left Quéribus to royal engineers and soldiers a different way: by going along its landscaped banks on and turned back to the king of Aragon. Becoming a royal foot, by bicycle, or on board small electric boats that you fortress, Quéribus watches over the border between the rent. A beautiful walk, from the island of Moulin-du-Gua, kingdoms of France and Aragon. Thus Saint Louis becomes via the theatre to the island of Sainte-Lucie. You can get Master of Corbières. The castle lost its strategic interest in from one bank to the other by many footbridges. Pont 1659, under the reign of Louis XIV, with the treaty of the des Marchands is the equivalent of “Ponte Vecchio” in Pyrenees which set a new border between France and Italy: it is a pedestrian bridge lined with shops, linking Spain. A very beautiful visit: an arranged trail leads to two neighbourhoods of the town. However, only an arch the castle after a good 10-minutes walk, the explanatory is still visible, the six others are buried in the basements of panels explain what you see during the tour, the keep has houses. The canal is made even more pleasant by green a breathtaking view, and the elements related to daily spaces and quays fitted out with all the equipment needed life (cistern, main building, site of the chimneys...) have by boaters. Each moment is a pleasure. been preserved remarkably well. 15 © Bobdu11 - Fotolia
Canal du Midi. © Gianliguori – Fotolia
Medieval city of Carcassonne. © illustrez-vous – Adobe Stock © illustrez-vous
Bike hike on the banks of the Canal du Midi. 16 MUST-SEES
another model of royal architecture, but also to enjoy CHÂTEAU DE PEYREPERTUSE Route départementale 14 the view, the quietness and the beauty of nature. Every DUILHAC-SOUS-PEYREPERTUSE day in July and August, falconry shows are held within & +33 (0)4 68 45 40 55 the castle. Eagles, buzzards, falcons and owls fly over the www.chateau-peyrepertuse.com old stones. A pleasure for the eyes. Ask for the schedule. [email protected] LES QUATRE CHÂTEAUX Open all year round. Closed 3 weeks in January after school DE LASTOURS holidays – Visit can not be done in high wind conditions. & +33 (0)4 68 77 56 02 High season: every day and public holidays from 9am to www.chateauxdelastours.fr 8pm. In January, November and December from 10am [email protected] to 4.30pm; in February from 10am to 5pm; in April from From Carcassonne, follow Mazamet by D118, 9.30am to 7pm; in May, June and September from 9am then take Conques-sur-Orbiel by D101 to 7pm; in March and October from 10am to 6pm. Plan until Lastours. about 20 mn walk and 90 mn of visit. Free for children under Closed in January. February, March, October, November, 5 years old (impossible access with a pushchair). Adult: December (only weekends, and school holidays): from E8.50 (from July 1st to August 31st; from September 1st 10 am to 5 pm; April, May, June, September: from 10 am to June 30th: E6.50). Child (6-15 years old): E3. Group to 6 pm; July and August: from 9 am to 8 pm. Free for (20 people): E6. Impossible access to disabled people. under 5-year-olds. Adult: E6. Child (from 6 to 15 years Guided tour (audioguide: E4). old): E2. Group (15 people): E105 (package guided Peyrepertuse, which means “pierced stone”, is the name tour; package guided tour of the view-point: E60 – by of the rock upon which the fortress stands. Suspended at reservation). Access alone to the view-point: E2; free 800 m above empty space – hence the stunning view of for under 15-year-olds. Access for the P.M.R only on the Corbières and Fenouillèdes to the sea – with its 1.2 km of view-point. Guided tour (only for groups of 15 people, ramparts, it is the largest of the “fils de Carcassonne”. The check the conditions). Cultural shop, children booklet, first mentions of this castle date back to 1070. The fortress area of picnics, telephone, toilets. Pets are accepted only suffered a bit from the Crusade against the Albigensians on a leash. Entertainment in July and August. and did not experience any big battle. The citadel of this Perched at 300 m on a ridge above the Orbiel Valley, castle consists of three parts that stack three buildings in a steep landscape, each planted on a summit, these of the 11th and the 13th centuries: the low triangular four castles dominate the flow of the Orbiel and the wall is protected in the North by a wall of 120 m (the old torrent of the Grézilhou. From north to south: the monu- keep and house), the median wall encloses a collection mental Cabaret, Tour Régine - the most recent one (13th of ruins, including those of a huge polygonal building, century), Surdespine - the oldest one (12th century), and at the top, the Saint Jordi keep that offers captivating and Quertinheux. Cabaret, Surdespine and Quertinheux medieval rooms with embrasures oriented according to existed before the Crusade against the Albigensians. Tour sunrise or summer solstice. You can reach it via Saint-Louis Régine was built after, by the King of France. Despite the staircase, built under Louis IX in 1250. Peyrepertuse is multiple assaults suffered during the Crusade against the most completed and the better-preserved example the Albigensians, then those of religious wars – the of medieval architecture in Languedoc. On the heights, end of the 16th century (platform for Protestants) from a distance, it is possible to see Château de Quéribus, – they haven’t lost any of their majesty. For centuries, – Author’s Image ALASTRUEY Irène ©
Châteaux de Lastours. MUST-SEES 17 they controlled the passage of Montagne Noire’s ores. stunning view of a wild relief. The noble family of Termes Access to this impressive architectural complex is appeared in writings in 1061. The headquarters of a somewhat arduous, consider bringing walking shoes! vast feudal district, Termenès underwent the siege of But a remote stopover on the shady belvedere also Simon de Montfort in 1210 at the time of the Crusade allows you to admire this exceptional view of the castles. against the Albigensian, which is responsible for the The reception of visitors takes place in a former textile reputation of the place. Raymond de Termes, who was factory where the pieces of sheets and felt were made. locked up and died in the City of Carcassonne, was a Restored, it is used as an exhibition room where part Cathar sympathiser and his brother Benoît de Termes of the archeological furniture found during excavations was designated as a Cathar bishop. As the fortress was carried out on the site is presented. A shop offers an placed under the reign of France in 1228 and was used interesting selection of books on the Aude heritage to watch the borders with Aragon, it was rebuilt in the and the crusade against the Cathars in the region. You 13th century, and then destroyed in the 17th century by will also find books and games for children and books order of the king. The low walls are the best preserved: DISCOVER AUDE in different languages. curtain walls have kept their beauty, thereby giving the general outline of the castle, with its poterne opening CHÂTEAU DE PUILAURENS & +33 (0)4 68 20 65 26 onto the gorges (be careful of the vertigo! You are advised [email protected] to help the children). The second surrounding wall By D118 until Quillan, then by D117. contains various elements found by archaeologists, the Closed from November to January. July and August: scattered remains of the destroyed donjon, and most 9 am-8 pm; February, March (weekends and school importantly, the castrale chapel. As you go forward, holidays): 10 am-5 pm; April and from October 1st to you will discover two Roman windows, one of which is November 15th: 10 am-5 pm; May: 10 am-6 pm; June and cross-shaped. Besides, this cross-shaped window is the September: 10 am-7 pm. Adult: E4. Child (from 6-15 years emblematic part of the castle. For more than a year, the old): E2. Group (10 people): E3. Shop. Entertainments. reception has a wifi access (free and unlimited) which The fortress of Puilaurens, a real master piece of allows you to download the application of the castle medieval military architecture, towers at the doorsteps for a guided tour of the places on smartphone! Take the of Fenouillèdes. It is perched on a rocky peak, at 697m opportunity to give your opinion about the castle on the high; it dominates Lapradelle village and the Boulzane Petit Futé application! valley. The first traces of the Puilaurens castle were RUINES DU CHÂTEAU D’AGUILAR found in the middle of the 10th century, but the main TUCHAN fortification still visible today was built between the 12th & +33 (0)4 68 45 51 00 / +33 (0)6 80 44 64 25 and the 13th centuries: walls, barbicans and machicoulis, www.audetourisme.com towers, residential buildings, cisterns, etc. point out the [email protected] essential defenseive role played by Puilaurens on the Closed from November 4th to March 31st. Open Monday frontier between France and the Kingdom of Aragon until to Friday. From April 1st to June 15th: 10-18h; from the 17th century. With Peyrepertuse, Quéribus, Aguilar June 16th to September 30th: 9am-7pm; from October and Termes, Puilarens protected the frontier. These five 1st to November 3rd: 11am-5pm. Adult: E3.50. Child fortresses are also called the Five Sons of Carcassonne (10-15 years old): E1.50. Group (10 people): E1.50. because of their strategic position. In 1659, Puilarens lost Reduced rate (“passeport intersites”): E2.50. Credit card its military interest with the signing of the Treaty of the not accepted. Pyrenees and the royal fortress was gradually abandoned. Aguilar, means “eagle” in Latin. The Aguilar castle stands A rocky path converted to a botanic path leads to the in this beautiful Cathar Country, but it didn’t play any first walls of the castle. Signs posted on the path, as well military role during the Crusade against the Albigensian. as the cultural markers given at the reception will help There are written traces attesting to its existence from you to better understand this military architecture. In 1020 under the name “Puig Agilar”, it was then a property terms of architecture, this castle is the best preserved of the count Fonollède. This castle, proudly overlooking citadel in Aude. There is also a legend about it, the one of its “Dame blanche”... the plain of Tuchan from the top of its hill of 321 m, helped monitoring access to Corbières. However, despite its CHÂTEAU DE TERMES “height”, it was designed like a castle of plain. In second 2, camin dal Caste half of the 12th century, it passed to the hands of the & +33 (0)4 68 70 09 20 termes family. In the 13th century, in 1260, Saint-Louis www.chateau-termes.com bought the castle from Olivier de Termes, and had major [email protected] works undertaken there, Aguilar became one of the “Cinq Closed from January to February. In March and November Fils de Carcassonne” which protected the southern border from 10am to 5pm; in May, June, September and October of the kingdom against Aragon. But due to its rather easy from 10am to 6pm; in July and August from 10am to access, it regularly underwent attacks and from 1542, its 7.30pm. Free for children under 5 years old. Adult: E4. Child degradation was reported. It definitively lost its strategic (6-15 years old): E2. Group (10 people): E3. Students interest after the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in and unemployed people: E3. Guided tour (for groups). 1659 and was completely abandoned. It has been listed After winding roads in the middle of nature, the castle among Historical Monuments classified since 1949 and stands on a rocky promontory in a majestic site with a fully deserves a detour.