Castles

Five castles, Quéribus, Peyrepertuse, Aguilar, Termes et Puilaurens, propries of the king of France from the XIII th century up to the Revolution, protect the frontier with Aragon, Spain.

The castle of Quéribus was the last cathar fortress conquered by the Catholics in 1255. At the foot of the castle is the village of Cucugnan, known for its famous Curé who's story is recounted by A. Daudet in "Les Lettres de mon Moulin".

Peyrepertuse is a castle, near the castle of Quéribus, but was never occupied by the Cathars. Listed as a historic monument, it is situated imposingly high on a hill, its walls blending in with the rocks. It is accessible by a shaded and relatively easy footpath. A stairway carved in the rock leads to the dungeon of San Jordi, built by Saint-Louis.

Carcassonne, the medievale city.
A Roman town fortified in the IV th C, Carcassonne was expanded in the XIII th C by the king of France.

With its ramparts over a kilometre long and equipped with 26 towers, the city housed the castle of the Count of Carcasonne during the XIth C. Its appearence today dates from its gastronomie in the XIXth C by Viollet-le-Duc.

Narbonne

Narbonne, with its gothique cathedral and museums (acheological, peintures). There is the Roman Horreum, the only Roman monument that you can visit at Narbonne, which is a vast underground warehouse.

The Abbey of Fontfroide, 15 minutes from Narbonne. The abbey was founded in the XI th C, affiliated to the Cistercian order of Cîteaux in 1145.

The Abbey of Lagrasse, founded in the VIII th C is one of the oldest Benedictine abbeys in Europe. Lagrasse, listed as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages of France", is in the heart of the Corbières country.

The Salses castle, is just north of Perpignan. Constructed in the late 15th century by the Spanish, the fortress guarded the former frontier between Catalonia and France. It is a rare example of the transition from the medieval fortified château to the fortifications of the more modern era. The Fortress survived the Thirty Years War and was later abandoned to the French. website

The Museum of Tautavel. This modern museum traces the life of the Homo Erectus skeleton, the oldest in Europe, discovered near the village in the caune (cave) of Arago.