Carcassonne, one of the best preserved medieval cities in the world, has something of a fairytale feel thanks to the restoration work of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

The old town is surrounded by 3km of walls and ramparts which you can simply walk around, or get a guided tour to learn about some of its grislier times, such as the Albigensian Crusade. In the summers, there are also night-time guided walks.

If you are bringing little ones with you, you may want to check out the child-friendly activities. But with or without kids, it's probably best to get fully into the spirit and watch a jousting tournament. And if you want to get a marauders point of view, why not go on a circular walk/cycle-ride outside the city walls?

The Canal du Midi, which connects Toulouse to Sete, flows past Carcassonne and you can walk along the tow paths or hire a bike to go further. If you're not sure how much cycling you want to do, there are bikes available that you can use free for the first 30 minutes and 2 euros an hour after that. If you want to cycle in style, it might be worth checking out the groovy looking bikes at Alterride.

As a reward for being an eco-responsible traveller and coming by train, there's currently a 50% discount on Le Carca’Pass, which gives you access to museums, virtual reality medieval tour and other stuff.

Highlights

Station stroll ideas

If you have some time free, why not go for a wander?

Tourist info provide a set of walks here and other brochures here.

Guided tours

Tourist info have listed a set of guided tours here.

Luggage

If you want to stroll without a care in the world, including your luggage, you could try using Bounce to find a place that will take your bags.

Getting there

It takes 40 minutes from Toulouse, 1 hour from Sète and 2 hours from Nîmes and 3 hours from Bordeaux.

Useful links

Tourist info: https://www.tourisme-carcassonne.fr/en/

UNESCO - Historic fortified city of Carcassonne: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/345

Where next?

How about Toulouse, Sète or Nîmes?